(WBIR - Knoxville) The debate over fracking continues in East Tennessee as UT moves forward with its proposal to bring the controversial energy extraction process to the Cumberland Forest.

The University of Tennessee has considered the idea of fracking the 8,300-acre Cumberland Forest, which lays in Morgan and Scott Counties, since at least 2001. But, the process is not new to Tennessee.

Scientists say black bears are making a strong comeback on the plateau in Tennessee thanks to a family tree with roots in the Great Smoky Mountains.

USGS research ecologist and UT adjunct professor Joe Clark says the bears' current success started with an experiment a couple of decades ago.

"Well, you know bears were here a long time before we were," said Clark.  "They are an important part of the ecosystem and we have worked to replace this extricated species."

The hard part is over for Macy Neely, 8, and her grandmother, Christy Hawks. But even though she is safe and sound, she still has to readjust to life in East Tennessee.

Hawks rescued Macy from a Mexican orphanage in January with the help of a team of child advocates. Macy lived there for three years as a ward of the Mexican government. Guadalajara police found her when she was barely four years old abandoned, with only her dog. She spoke only Spanish at the time of her rescue, a language no one in her family knows.