New species found in Smokies

'Hot spot of biodiversity' shelters hundreds of unclassified plants and animals

ASHEVILLE -- A 10-year study has found more than 6,000 species of plant and animal life previously unidentified in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

The Asheville Citizen-Times reported Tuesday the All Taxa Biodiversity Project also discovered nearly 900 species that are new to science.

The results of the study were discussed Monday during a U.S. Senate subcommittee field hearing in Asheville.

The project began in 1997 to inventory all species in the park which covers more than 800 square miles in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. More than 1,000 scientists have studied species in the park, identifying a total of more than 16,000.

Peter White, a biology professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the park is "a hot spot of biodiversity."

The survey can help educate the public in the importance of preserving natural species, the panelists said.

"I think we're in an era right now where young people especially need to feel inspired by biodiversity and the environment around them and stewardship about their community," said Tim Watkins of the National Geographic Society.

Information collected in the survey will help create a baseline of data that can be used to manage the park and help prevent future threats as well as be used in the classroom.

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., and a member of the subcommittee on national parks, said the survey isn't just about visitors' experience in the park.

"It's about the preservation of species, and as we see in the first big phase of this project, we are learning things we didn't ever envision we'd learn, and I think that's always proven to be invaluable in more ways than in just tourism aspects," Burr said.