Above: Brown Eyed Susies growing at Catoosa
Catoosa WMA Exploring
Sunday August 6, 2023 and Saturday August 12, 2023
Kenny & Dana Koogler
Catoosa Pix Here
**You can purchase a good map of Catoosa WMA from the TWRA. I have one .
It has been quite helpful. I included the how to order a map on the link above for directions.**
Preface
My initial purpose in writing this blog entry was simply to tell the story of what we experienced at Catoosa. Subsequent questions of my own, my husband's, and those of others made me realize I should provide some directions and useful information. The primary purpose of Catoosa WMA is for hunting. It is a multiuse area with lots of other things to do. Hunting wildflowers and wildlife viewing and just exploring are allowed.
You have to familiarize yourself with the the place and the regulations. I made a separate page for the directions and regulations. It is printable to take along. You don't have to read this trip report to find them. I often find my own directions useful even when I am the one who wrote them, and should be familiar with them.
Catoosa History and Visits
Kenny and I always enjoy visiting Catoosa Wildlife Management Area. It is located in Morgan County. It is a multi use area with hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, and limited ATV use available.
It is a beautiful area with a rich history. It was a common hunting ground for several Native American tribes. It was forested at one point, but there are descriptions of it being a huge grassy plain with scrub and very small trees now and then. It was that way from grazing animals and periodic prescribed burns by the Indians. They were way ahead of us in the forest management department!
It was hard for me to understand what was being described with regards to the grazing. I was not sure what the context was. I did not think the Indians had livestock ? It was not domesticated animals. It was huge herds of buffalo, deer, and elk that were doing the grazing!
Today Catoosa is a remnant grassland or prairie of what once was. I always love seeing the Oak Savanna restoration and watching the progress. They are managing it today with equipment, and a heavy dose of "Squirt and Burn" Brush killer applied. Periodic prescribed burns. I have watched the plant communities grow and become more vibrant over the years. It is amazing to see.
We always see interesting wildlife out here. Today I saw a clearwing hawkmoth, butterflies, a goldfinch, a fawn with spots, a copperhead snake, and a hawk!
We went out after lunch since my mom had been down for a visit. She left to go have breakfast with Jared & Lydia and the kiddos. We goofed off awhile and finally the drizzle outside stopped. We threw out stuff together and headed out. A friend had told me where I might be able to find some special flowers. I wanted to try to locate them while they were in bloom. We ended up not finding them the first trip, but returned for my birthday and found them. This trip report is a combination of the two trips. It was more fun the second trip. What an adventure!
Above: Clearwing Hawkmoth on wild bergamot.
Catoosa is huge and has numerous access points. You still have to be careful and think about what you want to see as well as where it is located in relation to the entrances. Keep in mind the Daddy's Creek bridge is out at Hebbertsburg Road near Devil's Breakfast Table. We needed to be on the western side of Catoosa for our purposes today. We initially were on the Struggle Bus because we thought we knew what we were doing. We forgot that there is Peavine Road (SR 101) and Peavine Fire Tower Road. A brief mix up and sort out and we were on course for the day.
I saw lots of wild bergamot with its delicate frilly lavender blooms. A clearwing hawkmoth was feeding on nectar along the road. I always enjoy seeing these tiny creatures. They are a moth, but they look like a hummingbird, butterfly combo!
Above: Wild bergamot was abundant all along the roads today as well as in the fields.
Catoosa is managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. We have watched over the past two decades as things changed out there for the better. I have to hand it to them. They have done a marvelous job with this place. Southern Grasslands Institute I believe has worked with them to restore this savanna and protect and promote wet grasslands, seepage slopes, and a wide variety of habitats that are fading fast in today's world. I am not a believer in cutting down old growth timber to restore grasslands, but I know that quail habitat, pheasant, dove, deer hunting, and small game all depend upon grassy fields and disturbed areas to forage. Take a look sometime at the types of vegetation you see in forested areas where there has been no disturbance for a long time. Then take a look at a power line cut or field where there has been some kind of man made disturbance. There is a lot more variety in the disturbed areas than there is in the "unspoiled" forest. Many years of fire suppression allowed timber to grow, but in the wake of the forests the grasslands vanished. So did the little mini ecosystems within those grasslands or prairies.
Below is a view of the Cumberland Plateau viewed from across Catoosa.
Above and Below: Potters Ford crosses the Obed River. It is a particularly serene, peaceful place and quite beautiful. Lots of wildflowers here.
Above: Tall purple phlox and lots of woodland sunflowers at Potters Ford. They are abundant here.
Below is a close up of the tall purple phlox (Phlox paniculata)
Below: Also seen at Potters Ford Greenheaded Coneflowers
Rudbeckia lacinata. The Cherokee's ate these and call them Sochan. They are a pot herb.
I have done some reading and found that early in Spring when they first come out they pick the tender leaves and boil them and drain off the water. They then fry them up with oil and often other herbs. They are a bitter herb. The leaves and roots of this plant also have medicinal uses.
Above and below are views of Joe Pye Weed with it's fluffy pink blooms. It is a great pollinator plant. Eutrochium purpureum.
Above: Starry Campion seen at Potters Ford
Silene stellata
Catoosa is a large area at around 85,000 acres. I believe that number was prior to the addition of the Terry Tract on the far western end of the WMA. It was added in 2023 and is 1740 acres. Here is an article about that acquisition. It will maintain access to a couple streams including the Obed River. I am interested to see what opportunities this will open up for users of the area.
I had to sit down and do some thinking about the reasons Catoosa has been so attractive to me. They are many.
- Far fewer visitors encountered
- quiet/solitude
- wildlife viewing
- exploring and the unknown
- the views and scenery
- history
- botanizing
- photography opportunities
- four wheeling
- hiking
- variety of textures and the ungroomed character of its roads and trails compared to trails elsewhere
Below: Rose Pinks were a common sight on both trips all along the roads and out in the fields.
Above: Butterflies nectaring on butterfly weed
Below: a close up of the butterfly weed after they flitted away. Tiny orange gems!
Below is a photo of Helianthus silphiodes the Ozark Sunflower. These were abundant on both trips. They are elegant looking to me.
Above: Yet another vista across the WMA
Below: This view was one of my favorites. Click on the image to view it full sized to get the full effect. The colors and textures standing before those blue green mountains are a treat for my eyes. You can see the beginnings of Autumn colors creeping in to the scrub here. Red leaves dotted in there amidst green trees. Also the various shapes and tones of the goldenrod are especially pretty.
Our visit of August 6 we went looking for orchids and failed to find them. Yet it was a good time and I believe all it really did was whet our appetites for more adventures in Catoosa. It was a hot day and very humid, but clear. We looked all around the oak savannas for those orchids.
I believed I knew where they would be, but I had failed to take into account one important factor in the search. Going below the slopes and flat plains up top would yield interesting, and better results. It doesn't take a lot of elevation change to make a big difference. Out in the plateau the area is a plain with mountains, and inverted mountains in the forms of wide gulfs. Thanks to the flat terrain there are lots of ponds and lakes visible everywhere you go. The water has to go somewhere. Run off water is going to take advantage of any slope and roll downhill.
Lots of mini ecosystems can be found in these spots.
Catoosa has loads of wildlife ponds in various states of existence. Some are clear and you can see fish in them. Some are murky and scum covered and so thickly surrounded with vegetation you can't really get close to them. They are swamps. One really pretty pond is near Potters Ford. It is clear and shimmers in the sun. 
Above: wildlife pond at Catoosa near Potters Ford
One of the things we witnessed on trip # 1 was a hawk dining on a copperhead. He flew up and lit in a tree when we passed by. I got out to see if the copperhead was still alive? He was not. He'd already been run over by a vehicle. The hawk was merely the clean up crew today.
Below: Hawk after he landed in the tree. Sorry it is blurry.
Below is a photo of the copperhead or what is left of him. The photo doesn't do a good job of showing the scale of the snake. He was just out of the juvenile stage. Having lots the neon green tail tip, but not large at all.
Above: A photo of one of the areas of oak savanna restoration and the signage.
Below: Another vantage point to look over the savanna
Below: A photo of a drum chopper used by the area managers to break up woody vegetation. Kenny explained the use of this to me. I am still not 100% sure I understand how it is used. It is pulled behind a tractor or piece of equipment and it rolls along chopping brush and smaller woody pieces. He said they use it after timbering to take care of the remaining pieces and brush. I think that is true, but I read that they also use it before doing prescribed burns. Interesting.
Trip One we did not find the looked for orchids so we went on down to Daddy's Creek. It was looking beautiful today.
Below is a view downstream toward what is left of the rickety bridge. They have placed huge blocks of stone on either end of it to prevent anyone attempting to drive on it. Today we could have forded Daddy's Creek either on foot or in the RZR safely.
Below is a view upstream of the swimming and fishing hole on Daddy's Creek. A man and woman were the only ones taking advantage of it. If you enlarge the photo you can see them.
Below is a video of Daddy's Creek on August 6, 2023 visit #1
See them in the image below. These attract butterflies and hummingbirds.
Above: Some variety of ladies tresses. It is a native orchid.
Below is some type of St. John's wort. It is likely Coppery St. John's wort. It is "glabrous" or smooth all over. I had seen this before somewhere. It was very pretty. I only saw one plant of this.
Below: Steeplebush Spirea tomentosa... a native species. I am not sure this isn't the first time seeing the native form. I have seen loads of non native, invasive Spirea japonica.
Above and below: Views of orchids .. Platanthera ciliaris in huge numbers.
Above: I liked this moody, dark shot. The sun must have gone behind a cloud. It was overcast today now and then. I like how the gloom sets off the neon orange colors of the orchids. It really makes them pop! These photos are best viewed full sized so click on them.
Below is one of the varieties of Blazing Star
We made it back to the RZR and got out of those hot gaiters and got in the machine. We headed onward with the wind cooling us off. It was a blessed mercy. It was near lunch time or after, but we were a little too hot to worry about eating for a bit. The other part of the plan today was to continue toward Daddy's Creek and ford. We would then proceed on to Crab Orchard Creek where I wanted to swim and get underwater photos and video. We got down to Daddy's Creek to find the water levels dangerously high. When creek kayakers are arriving in great numbers you know it is too high to ford. They were rolling in droves across the river. We were mortified and turned around. Kenny at this point said "No worries. We'll get there some other way." We went back up the road to the first shady spot we found. We pulled over to eat lunch. While there two hikers emerged from the Cumberland Trail through the downed tree we saw across the trail. They were good sports. They had done an out and back. They found the heat and humidity to be a bit much today so they did not go far as they planned. It was nice talking to them.
Having struck out we decided to call it a day on trip one and headed for home. We were in my jeep on trip number one. Trip two we brought the RZR.
Try, Try Again!
We had a long planned family camping trip for my birthday Thursday through Sunday at Indian Boundary. Kenny put a lot of work into planning it and reserving campsites for everyone going. Our daughter Crystal, son-in-law Adam, grandkids Michael and Tessa. Our friends Gary and Kaylee and their little boy Kash, ourselves and Gabe & Mia were all to go. We arrived on Thursday midday. It was a little rainy Thursday morning, but let up. The forecast called for better days Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I believe Gabe is correct when he says weather forecasters have the world's worst job. He calls them Wrong Guessers. He was oh so right this time. They missed the forecast by a mile. Friday dawned rainy. The other bad thing was the No Can Do Attitude of so many of the rangers down in the Cherokee National Forest. I won't get into that, but I see it is there and growing worse.
We were down in that hole with no way to get a phone signal to even check the forecast to see the radar. We finally took a ride out to Tellico Plains in hopes of the weather breaking and we'd get to go hiking, swimming, exploring. All the fun things we wanted to do. It just wasn't in the cards. We had a comin' to Jesus meeting in that truck. I told Kenny I appreciated all the effort, but that I was not having fun and neither was anybody else on this trip. I was not spending my birthday cooped up in a camper in the pouring rain with two dissatisfied kids. The kids quickly chimed in that they were over it. We went back to the camper and packed up and headed home.
Saturday morning dawned clear and pretty. Today was my birthday and I wanted to spend it doing something fun. I decided by golly I was going back to see if I couldn't find those orchids. I had handled disappointment on the camping trip. What was a little more if it did not pan out?
We took the RZR this time. We parked along Genesis Road and went in from there.
We took Potters Ford Road and cut across to Otter Creek Road. This was the most direct route to get us across. We found our trailhead we wanted to try and parked the machine. I insisted we were wearing our snake proofing today. It was getting hot outside, but we sprayed down with loads of DEET. We donned our snake gaiters or boots and headed out.
I spotted several nice ladies tresses orchids today from the place we parked right on into the area the other orchids lived.
Above: Some variety of ladies tresses. It is a native orchid.
Below are a couple other neat flowering plants I spotted.
Canby's lobelia is the one immediately below.
We started out on a foot travel only trail that initially was pretty clear. I was enjoying checking all around for wildflowers. Kenny was tromping along up ahead of me. The trail quickly became more brushy, and weedy. It got to the point I was watching like a hawk. I was on high alert not for flowers, but for snakes. Last Summer's foolish encounter with a huge rattlesnake had me with my head on a swivel. I was not letting my guard down today.
At this point I was briefly not having fun, but it wasn't long until the path thinned out a bit and became more open once more. We passed through spots that were quite boggy and muddy thanks to the rain. Kenny was grousing to himself "I hope we are on the right path today. It is mighty hot out here not to know where we are going." In my mind I was in agreement, but kept my mouth shut. This was after all, my idea. Moments later he sang out "No matter! I see 'em! They are HERE!"
Now was one of those moments I knew that my botanical proclivities had changed him. Just as his engineering shows and career have influenced me.... I have at least influenced him some.
He likes finding rare and special places and flowers too.
Sure enough I rounded a bend and there in the brush were the first two yellow fringed orchids!
I have seen these in great numbers and in too many locations to quite remember them all. I have only seen them in a few locations in our home state of Tennessee. One was in the Smokies in Blount County... the other was in the southern Cumberland Plateau. I so enjoy finding native orchids.
Above: First two orchids along the trail
Above: The photo above doesn't show it well, but the ground here is disturbed and has holes and water standing.
The image below is another spot where the water was the most. It may be a creek or the headwaters of one.
Below: We passed a large patch of Maryland Meadow Beauty.
Below: A close up of Maryland Meadow Beauty. It is a white color while Virginia Meadow Beauty is pink. Both like wet meadows.
Below is a rock outcropping I ran across. I had to go snoop around it. Spots like this can be special environments to find unusual plants and flowers. This was true here. Nothing super rare, but it was neat. The rock was a seepage spring and slick as snot. I just about fell climbing around here.
Below: a closer look at the rocky seepage. Pineweed aka Orange grass, reindeer moss, and Curtiss' milkwort. Orange grass has a very pleasant citrus scent if you crush the stems. I have seen this before on the property we used to lease in Tallassee. It was growing in a rocky area.
Kenny was ahead of me over in the scrub of the wet grassland. It was about knee high in most places. Low shrubby growth, grasses, and tiny tree sprouts were around. The ground was irregular with tussocks of grass and the occasional hole. Kenny was very excited for me to get over to where he was. "You're not gonna believe it!" I pushed on toward him and there they were. Yellow Fringed Orchids everywhere I looked. They stretched on as far as the eye could see. In nearly every direction. It was an amazing sight and a real treat. It was the perfect birthday present. There may not be many women who want to spend their birthday getting swarmed by gnats and bugs, sweating in the heat and humidity, wading around in knee deep brush and weeds, but I did. I do when the pay off is as great as this was.
Below: A close up shot of one individual orchid to give a better idea what these look like.
I remembered to make a video of the flowers this time. I'm doing better about video taping things aside from waterfalls. It is a process. You get a feel for the conditions watching it. The bugs were horrendous. Despite our Deep Woods OFF we still had to contend with them. Yet we did not get a single mosquito bite or tick!
Below are a few other interesting finds in the grassland. I saw Narrowleaf Mountain Mint for the first time. I pinched off one leaf and crushed it. Though it doesn't look like typical mint it certainly smells like it.
Above: A large Polyphemus moth fluttering about in the grass. I think it is a male because of his richer, deeper brown coloring. They are not rare. I had never seen one before though. They are a silk moth. He is named for the mythical cyclops Polyphemus with one huge eye.
We hung around wallowing in the beauty of the orchids and grasses. Finally the heat, bugs and humidity got to us and we began our walk back. Below is a photo of Kenny way ahead of me. I am lollygagging because I am still trying to make sure I don't miss anything.
We began our drive back. I asked if Kenny minded for us to check out some side roads? He agreed readily. We did and it was fun! The roads we picked dwindled down to trails. We had views out from high places. We had beautiful forests and meadows to see. It felt so great to be free, having fun, and not having a locked in destination. We were just exploring. We'd had success today thankfully finding the longed for orchids. Now it was all just exploring for the pure enjoyment of seeing what was out there? We ambled round for quite awhile heading in the general direction of the truck, but taking lots of side trips. Many of them form loops back to the main road.
We had our first downed tree encounter on the first side road. We were within 100 yards of the main road and happened upon several downed trees so bad we could not proceed. We did not have the chainsaw along today. Another fellow pulled up on the opposite side in a RZR with his wife. We all had a good laugh at the fix we found ourselves in. No sense getting tore up over it.
Below is a view from on high. You can really see the beginning of Fall colors in the scrub brush. Up high the leaves were turning red and orange. 
Above: Wild Senna is one of the nice surprises we saw along the side trips. It looks like little monster mouths. I've seen this only once before.
Below: Another bonus find was the beautiful swath of Possum Paw fern we spied by the trail in a wet area. The binomial for it is Lygopodium palmatum
Above is a photo taken through the RZR windshield in the downpour.
Below is a large patch of Virginia Meadow Beauty (Rhexia virginica) with its deep pink flowers.
It was growing in a wet area.
I recalled seeing an area with a lot of ponds. It was beginning to make me doubt myself if I had just made it all up in my head. I could not remember where I had seen them. Today's side ramblings we passed all of them. The vegetation has grown so much over the past decade we could not get good photos of them today. These ponds were filled with scum and dead trees.
Above is a view out the windshield on a side trip. It was beautiful on the northern edge of the WMA.
Finally we came back out to the main road. It began to rain. It did not last too long and it let up.
It just drizzled. It was cooling things down so that was nice. We had one more side trip planned.
A loop off Potters Ford Road that would change the scenery up on the way back to the truck.
We were on that when the bottom fell out and the rain set in. We encountered downed tree after downed tree. Some we made it through with a little work. We were getting drenched, but we were laughing. We got within sight of the main road and had to turn around. Two massive trees down over the end. Kenny cussed and we headed back the way we'd come. We were laughing at our luck. It was a bit of excitement and variety to wrap up our day. The rain stuck around so no point going to Crab Orchard Creek for a swim. The lightning and thunder made that unwise.
Below is a video of the ride highlights.
Once we got to I-40 the drive home was long and in the rain. They are repaving and we sat in traffic for 30 minutes plus. I was in such a great frame of mind I was unconcerned. We stopped in Lenoir City and grabbed fast food at Arby's. We were wet and muddy, but happy and laughing.
What a good birthday it turned out to be after all! I was so grateful.
Upon getting home I did some more reading on the Southern Grassland Institute and the work being done in habitat and grassland restoration at Catoosa. I knew to my lay person eyes things looked better. Reading this article I found once I got home and just savoring the experience I understood two things: 1. I was correct and things actually are better 2. I learned the almost magical WHY things are better. Once Catoosa's oak savanna and grasslands began to be restored something special happened.
The conditions returned to how they were supposed to be. Unknown to the land managers there was an underground treasure box of seeds! The ground was full of the seeds of former plants left over from the time it was a grassland. Return it to its proper state and the plants emerged and flourished.
It is an amazing success story. Below is a photo of one of the humble little plants I found on the wet grassland for my first time sighting. It is called Roundleaf Thoroughwort. Eupatorium rotundifolium.
It may not look like much, but it has well proven anticancer properties!
It occurs to me we do not know fully how important restoration of these grasslands and mini ecosytems may be to our own survival. Perhaps in the plants or flowers contained in such places are the cures for various ailments? I do know that I am pleased to see how this is shaping up. It is beautiful and the wildlife seem to thrive here.
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Dana 🐝