The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and other partners will announce a major accomplishment in the effort to protect some of Florida’s most imperiled species by acquiring land, restoring wetlands and establishing a wildlife conservation corridor. It will also benefit Everglades restoration goals. ... (click for more)

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) has settled a major wetlands protection lawsuit brought against it by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). While the settlement approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee addresses only a handful of sites where TDOT did not perform required wetland restoration or creation, it has ... (click for more)

A horse trainer featured in a secretly taped video beating a horse faces up to five years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, supervised release for up to three years, and a $100 special assessment after pleading guilty in Federal Court in Chattanooga on Tuesday morning.  Jackie Lynn McConnell, 60, of Collierville, Tn., appeared before Federal Court Magistrate ... (click for more)

Hamilton County School Superintendent Rick Smith has notified Tom McCullough that he is suspended from his job as principal of Signal Mountain high school and middle school. The suspension will be for the remainder of the contract period and will be without pay. Dr. McCullough is retiring at the end of this year. He has long been an educator in the Chattanooga area including ... (click for more)

Roy Exum has said it all- "The industry is laughable."  The Humane Society's Keith Dane said last week, "The penalties are not sufficient ... jail time is the only sufficient penalty." Absolutely.  It is time for the Walking Horse industry to be treated in the same way that cock fighting and dog fighting are treated by the law.  Remember Michael Vick?  ... (click for more)

I am convinced that when Jackie "The Jerk" McConnell appears in U.S. District Court today in Chattanooga, he will do so as perhaps the most despised man in the history of the state of Tennessee. A heart-wrenching video of the despicable McConnell cruelly beating a horse in its face with an electric cattle prod has been shown repeatedly since Wednesday night and has appeared in countless ... (click for more)