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February 1-28

Support Our Wildlife Ambassadors
Roan Mountain State Park
All month

Price:

• $10: Feeds one bird a day
• $20: Feeds two birds a day
• $30: Feeds three birds a day
• $40: Feeds four birds a day
• $50: Feeds five birds a day

At Roan Mountain, we house, care for, and educate the public on a variety of native animals. We work under an educational permit from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Currently, we care for three birds of prey and several snakes. As you can imagine, caring for these animals is costly, as their food and health care are specialties.

All of our animals are nonreleasable for a variety of reasons. We frequently program with these animals and never charge for educational programs when using them. Here is your opportunity to support our educational wildlife program and help us care for these animals.

All donations will go to purchase food, pay veterinary bills, buy gloves, tethers, falconry equipment, and aquarium bedding, and improve and build more housing facilities for our nonreleasable birds of prey.

To donate, click the green “Register for Event” button at the right. Your donation is a one-time payment. If you wish to cover more than one day, update the “quantity” you wish to donate, or simply return to this page in future months.

Thank you for supporting our wildlife ambassadors at Roan Mountain State Park!

February 28

Raptors of the Roan
4-5 p.m.
Meet at the Roan Mountain State Park Office Aviary.

Join Roan Mountain State Park at the aviary, located at the park headquarters building, to meet our owl ambassadors and aviary staff. Participants will become familiar with the rich and unique diversity of birds of prey found in the park and surrounding area.

This is a great way to learn about local raptor birding destinations and events. Of course, meeting our live education owls is an experience all its own!

March 1

2025 Roan Mountain Weed Wrangle
2-5 p.m.
Meet at the Roan Mountain State Park Visitor Center.

Join Roan Mountain State Park on Saturday, March 1, for a nationwide effort spearheaded by the Garden Club of America to remove invasive exotic plants from our landscape and replace them with useful native plants.

From 2-5 p.m. EST at the Visitor Center, volunteers and park ranger staff will work together to remove nonnative Chinese privet from along the shores of the Doe River and prepare the area for planting native plants to outcompete the privet. This workday will start and end at the Visitor Center parking lot, where restrooms will be close by at all times.

Volunteers will be given park tools and safety gear (gloves and eye protection) but are asked to bring water bottles and any snacks or medicine needed for a three-hour work event.

May 2

2025 Garlic Mustard Pull
9:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Meet at Roan Mountain State Park Office Parking Lot.

Location: Roan Mountain State Park Conference Center
Google Directions

Start time: 9:30 a.m.

Weather: The weather looks cloudy and cool (in the 50s), so please dress accordingly and bring layers. You can never go wrong with a rain jacket in the Roan.

Schedule:

• 9:30-9:45 a.m. – Brief introduction, safety talk, etc. Volunteers will be briefed, divided into groups, and dispersed across the park and along public roadsides to pull garlic mustard. We will need some folks to volunteer to carpool in personal vehicles to make this happen.
• 9:45 a.m.-1 p.m. – Pulling and bagging up garlic mustard!
• 1-2 p.m. – Lunch at the Conference Center and our official weigh-in.

Food/Drinks: Please bring your own snacks, lunch, and bottled water. Lunch is not provided. Water and light snacks are available from the Park Office store.

Equipment/Precautions: Work gloves and trash bags will be provided. Feel free to bring personal gloves or a trowel. Pulling garlic mustard is usually easy, but a trowel can be helpful for compacted roadside soil and stubborn roots.

You will need: A hat and/or sunscreen, long pants, sturdy shoes, lunch, water, a warm layer for high-elevation hiking, and rain gear. If you are allergic to poison ivy or insects, consider wearing long sleeves and pants as a precaution.

Note: It may be difficult to return to your car while we are working, so bring a bag to keep your items with you throughout the day. Some work sites are very steep. Please let us know in the morning if you prefer to work on flatter terrain or have medical conditions. First aid kits will be on-site.

Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to seeing you all on May 2!

May 10

Elks Lodge 2025 Youth Trout Tournament
7 a.m.-2 p.m.
Meet at the Roan Mountain State Park Amphitheater.

Join Roan Mountain State Park and the Elizabethton Elks Lodge for the 42nd annual Elks Lodge Youth Trout Tournament on Saturday, May 10 (Mother’s Day weekend). This year’s trout tournament is strictly for youth ages 4-14, with participants competing in three age groups:

• 4-7
• 8-11
• 12-14

Families must register youth participants in person at the amphitheater from 7-9 a.m. before fishing begins.

Tournament Schedule:

• 7-9 a.m. – Participant registration @ Amphitheater
• 9 a.m.-1 p.m. – Trout fishing tournament within the boundaries of the Doe River (see rules)
• Noon-2 p.m. – Fish judging and prize preparations @ Amphitheater
• 2-3 p.m. – Prize award ceremony @ Amphitheater

Tournament Rules:

• The tournament is limited to 350 youth participants.
• Youth must provide their own fishing gear and bait/tackle.
• Fishing tournament boundaries include the Doe River within Roan Mountain State Park and along Highway 143 north of the park to Magill Memorial Church before the split on Highway 143.
• Family members may assist youth but may not fish for them—remember, this is for the kids!
• Fishing laws are per Tennessee state law: 7 trout per day (all species) may be kept to present for turn-in for measurements. Keep your best 7!
• Youth ages 13 and 14 must have a valid Tennessee fishing license to participate. Youth under age 13 may fish without a license. Tennessee offers resident youth ages 13-15 a Junior Fish/Hunt/Trap license for $9 plus tax.
• Judging of fish is by total length and weight of all trout presented. In case of a tie, the winner will be decided by total species caught.
• First- through third-place prizes and trophies will be awarded in each age category, along with door prizes for all participants.

Park Rules and Laws: Rangers will enforce fishing regulations, state laws, and parking throughout the park—remember, no parking on grass or roadsides. You must park in a designated area.

Participants can bring their own food, or lunch will be available from the Elks Lodge staff at the amphitheater (drinks, chips, fruit, and hot dogs with chili).

June 23, 2025

Junior Ranger Camp (Ages 8-12)
8:30 a.m.-noon

Price:

• $75 per participant
• $55 for Cloudland Elementary students

Learn about safety, plants, animals, bugs, astronomy, environmental stewardship, history, and more. The camp runs Monday through Thursday, with a graduation ceremony and party Friday night from 6-8:30 p.m. at the park Conference Center.

The registration fee includes a T-shirt, daily snacks, and a fun awards celebration.

Registration closes June 1. Refunds are available before June 1; no refunds will be granted after this date.