• HbP_Winter_2009_FINAL.pdf  Hellbender Press Winter 2009 (last hardcopy issue)

The proposed racetrack would destroy natural assets that DOE committed to protect and adversely affect recreational users and nearby residents. 

Sponsored by Oak Ridgers for Responsible Development (OR4RD), Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning (TCWP), and AFORR.

More details and required registration

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis), a native salamander, is an indicator species. It requires clear, oxygen-rich water to respire, find its prey, and reproduce.

The presence of hellbenders in a stream indicates good water quality and a healthy intact ecosystem.

Hellbender Press aspires to help you discover the degrees of resilience and sustainability of your community, our bioregion and planet Earth.

Hellbender Press informs about what is beneficial for life — here and elsewhere.

It also points out where we must do better to rescue and restore what can still be saved.

See superb photographs of hellbenders from the Natural History Museum of London.

FGS is a transdisciplinary educational non-profit advocacy organization. It works to restore the balance between human activities and the natural life support systems of the Earth. 

FGS publications, special reports, events and outreach inform and educate the public about vital regional and global issues and how they interdepend. 

FGS monitors and addresses social and environmental issues in the Upper Tennessee Valley and the Southern Appalachian Mountains. It fosters and supports conservation initiatives, including 

— action committees that address egregious assaults, on our natural heritage for example, which require temporary assistance only

— campaigns by other nonprofits, such as

• Southern Alliance for Clean Energy
• Endangered Species Coalition
• Southern Appalachian Man and the Biosphere
• Narrow Ridge Earth Literacy Center
• Tennessee Environmental Council
• Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning
• East Tennessee Quality Growth
• Technical Society of Knoxville
• Advocates for the Oak Ridge Reservation

— groups that want to address systemic problems in a systematic fashion. Among the latter, three evolved to establish themselves as independent 501(c)(3) organization:

• Tennessee Clean Water Network
• Oak Ridge Environmetal Peace Alliance
• Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project, which since merged with, and assumed management responsibilities for, the Wild South network.

Hellbender Press: The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia is a digital environmental news service with a focus on the Southern Appalachian bioregion. It aggregates relevant stories from across the news media space and provides original news, features and commentary.

Espousing the “Think Globally, Act Locally” ethos of FGS, Hellbender Press promotes the conservation and study of the environment and protections for air, water, climate, natural areas, and other resources that are critical to human health and a robust, resilient economy.

The Hellbender also champions civil and human rights, especially in matters of environmental justice, equity of access to natural resources and the right to a clean environment.

Hellbender Press is a self-organizing project of the Foundation for Global Sustainability’s Living Sustainably Program. All donations made for Hellbender Press to FGS are tax-deductible. We offer a free environmental news and information site, but grants and charitable contributions are encouraged and needed to support our work. Much of the content is provided on a volunteer basis by individuals and organizations that share a common cause.

Hellbender Press encourages the submission of original and relevant articles and photography for consideration to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For more details on the history and objectives of Hellbender Press, watch the interview of Thomas Fraser in Knoxille Community Media’s “Serving Knoxville” series.