The parks have been established by the people in recognition of their uniqueness and are managed as preserves where present and future generations may enjoy and study remnants of primeval America. Wildlife, being a part of the natural scheme, may be expected to subsist here in the Smokies without human management. Before there was a park, people lived in the Smokies and hunted as they pleased. For some of their descendants such traditions die hard. Other people travel to the Smokies and violate park boundaries to hunt for commercial and personal gain.
Pets running loose and chasing wildlife are an ongoing problem.
There is also growing concern over the inroads of brown and rainbow trout on the native brook trout. Maintaining natural populatons. In nature, plant and animal populations regulate themselves. However, when human impacts reduce numbers of species, the entire system is affected. For example, the removal of a predator such as a wolf causes an unnatural abundance of smaller, plant-eating animals.