Tennessee Division of Natural Areas

Tennessee Division of Natural Areas Dedicated to the conservation of biodiversity in Tennessee S., and similar programs from Canada, Central and South America.
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The Tennessee Division of Natural Areas, located within the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation's Bureau of Parks and Conservation, is dedicated to restoration and protection of plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the natural biological diversity of the state. The Division of Natural Areas oversees the Natural Heritage Inventory Program and the Natural Areas an

d Scenic Rivers Program. The Division administers the Tennessee Natural Areas Preservation Act of 1971, the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, the Rare Plant Protection and Conservation Act of 1985, the Ginseng Dealer Registration Act of 1983 and the Ginseng Harvest Season Act of 1985. The Division of Natural Areas, with a staff including professional biologists, botanists, zoologists,ecologists, natural resource management specialists and data managers, conducts a wide variety of programs and activities focused on the conservation, restoration and management of Tennessee's vast diversity of natural resources. These activities include providing technical assistance and educational programs for governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, industrial and other private landowners, educational institutions, as well as managing a statewide system of State Natural Areas and Scenic Rivers. The Division of Natural Areas is a member of the Natural Heritage Network, a consortium of Natural Heritage Programs from each state in the U. The division receives technical support from, and cooperates with, Natureserve, the science and data affiliate of The Nature Conservancy. The division’s Natural Heritage programs and Natureserve together provide a scientific basis for effective conservation and serve as a trusted source for information about rare and endangered species and threatened ecosystems.

08/28/2026
08/10/2026
We’re out here managing the invasive Lespedeza at John & Hester Lane Cedar Glade State Natural Area. We use a blue foam ...
08/07/2026

We’re out here managing the invasive Lespedeza at John & Hester Lane Cedar Glade State Natural Area. We use a blue foam herbicide that we carefully apply to target Lespedeza. Removing this invasive species improves the habitat quality for the federally endangered Dalea foliosa (purple inflorescence). Its habitat, known as the cedar glade, is dry and very hot on summer days. Open and exposed to the sun, with shallow soils — very rare species have adapted to survive here. Enjoy the hard worker bumble bees diving into native Morning Glories.

During our work at the 2026 National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) we observed a group of American green tree frog...
08/06/2026

During our work at the 2026 National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) we observed a group of American green tree frogs (Dryophytes cinereus) in a horsetail stand at a wetland in Meeman-Shelby Forest
This is a common tree frog in Tennessee and is widespread through the southeast.

In search of the State and Federally endangered Clemantis morefieldii (Morefield’s Leatherflower) in a gorge at the Cumb...
07/27/2026

In search of the State and Federally endangered Clemantis morefieldii (Morefield’s Leatherflower) in a gorge at the Cumberland Plateau. We encountered a very humid day, the atmosphere felt like v***r while we trekked off trail to limestone bluffs where the plant lives. We are following distribution models generated by our state botanist to find new occurrences of this rare species. This day we couldn’t find it.

07/27/2026
TDEC Division of Natural Areas conducted wetland sampling at randomly selected sites throughout Tennessee for the Envir...
07/27/2026

TDEC Division of Natural Areas conducted wetland sampling at randomly selected sites throughout Tennessee for the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2026 National Wetland Condition Assessment.
Team TDEC has led this national data collection effort for the state every five years since 2016. These sites are randomly selected and occur across both private and public lands, collecting data on wetland vegetation, soil characteristics, and water chemistry data that informs the EPA’s analysis and reporting on the condition of wetlands in the conterminous United States, for which the 2026 survey is the fourth national sampling event since it began in 2011.

TDEC and the Division of Natural Areas benefit from this EPA-funded project by identifying new high-quality wetlands, improving our understanding of the ecological range of wetland types and characteristics, collaborating with interagency, non-profit, academic, and private landowner partners, and improving our scientific sampling capabilities. This work also provides a valuable and unique learning opportunity for our 2026 DNA interns. More information on the National Wetland Condition Assessment and other National Aquatic Surveys, including data analysis and results from past surveys, can be found here:
https://www.epa.gov/national-aquatic-resource-surveys/nwca

Thank you to our beyond amazing University of Tennessee (UT) interns for their strong help.

Address

500 James Robertson Parkway, 8th Floor
Nashville, TN
37243

Telephone

+16155320431

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