From the Tennessee Wildlife Resources agency:

TWRA, in collaboration with TDEC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is reintroducing the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) to Tennessee — the first since the species was last documented here in 1994.

The announcement was made today at the Tennessee Biodiversity Summit, celebrating years of dedicated restoration work and partnerships. The reintroduction site, located within Savage Gulf State Park, is being carefully managed to rebuild healthy shortleaf pine ecosystems, with RCW releases planned for 2028.

This milestone marks not just the return of a rare species, but the renewal of Tennessee’s commitment to conserving our forests and wildlife for generations to come.