Lifetime achievement award honors former HCC instructor
Retired Haywood Community College forestry instructor John Palmer has been honored with a Lifetime Achievement award in the annual EcoForesters’…
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MountainTrue award winners
MountainTrue is recognizing six people for their work to preserve Western North Carolina’s natural heritage through its annual awards.
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Mainspring purchases lot next to Franklin office
Mainspring Conservation Trust has expanded its physical presence in the Franklin river district by purchasing half of an acre adjacent…
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Grant awards support water quality projects
Environmental groups working for the benefit of waterways and watersheds in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties were awarded $262,000 in…
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Grant funds Smokies bear cable repairs
A grant from the Appalachian Trail Conservancy will allow Friends of the Smokies to improve bear safety infrastructure at A.T.…
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Celebration of life planned for NOC co-founder
A celebration of life for Aurelia Turpin Kennedy, co-founder of the Nantahala Outdoor Center, will be held at 2 p.m.…
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Mission accomplished: Waynesville woman sets record, raises trail rehab money with LeConte hike
The first time Nancy East visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it was the 1990s and she was in…
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Lake J greenhouse renovated
Lake Junaluska’s greenhouse is heading into the winter fully renovated, thanks to a charitable gift Dale Stanton-Hoyle made in honor…
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The Naturalist's Corner: And then it happened
My wife, daughter Maddie, a friend of hers and I took a short hike out to Pickens Nose last Monday,…
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Horace Kephart biography wins literary award
Back of Beyond: A Horace Kephart Biography has been named the winner of the 2019 Thomas Wolfe Memorial Literary Award,…
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Ride on: Kids mountain biking park opens in Jackson
More than a year of planning, collaboration and plain old-fashioned hard work has resulted in a new kids bike park…
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Drought weakens statewide
A new drought map released Thursday, Oct. 31, shows conditions normalizing throughout the state for the first time since an…
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Riding the wave: Hemp testing begins in Asheville
Though just barely off the ground, a new hemp testing service launched in Asheville is receiving a markedly positive response…
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Foothills Parkway bridge dedicated
A bridge on the Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley, Tennessee, has been newly dedicated as Dean Stone Bridge,…
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New Friends of the Parkway chapter to form in WNC
A new Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway chapter is forming in Western North Carolina, and everyone interested in learning…
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Strong leaf season predicted
This autumn should yield vibrant fall colors in the mountains, according to Western Carolina University’s fall color forecaster Beverly Collins.
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Report pine snake sightings
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission wants to know about pine snake sightings in North Carolina, found mostly in the southwestern…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Aster-risk*
Blue, white, lavender and purple corymbs, racemes and panicles will glow from shadowy woods and blaze from sunny meadows from…
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Purchase will protect Canton water quality
A newly conserved 139 acres in Haywood County will connect the Town of Canton’s Rough Creek watershed property to other…
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Gardening shot a win for Lake J
The Lake Junaluska landscaping department finished third in a national gardening photography contest sponsored by the gardening supply company Kinsman…
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Clean Water money to conserve WNC land
The latest round of awards from the Clean Water Management Trust Fund totals $14.3 million, with nearly $3 million of…
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Wildlife students earn scholarship
Haywood Community College fish and wildlife management technology students Parker Grandy and Andrew Jones have won the 2019 Dave Dudek…
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Federal, state agencies to collaborate on land management
North Carolina and federal agriculture agencies will be better able to collaborate on land management following establishment of a new…
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Macon youth hit the target
Macon County youth recently placed in an archery and sharpshooting completion that included 380 4H members from across the state.
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Haywood swimmers dominate state meet
Four Haywood County swimmers scored at the Senior Games state swim meet this fall, held Saturday, Sept. 21, at the…
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HCC Lumberjacks dominate
The Lumberjack Team at Haywood Community College took first place at the 24th annual John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet,…
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Outdoor economy efforts continue
If the United States’ outdoor recreation industry were its own country, it would be the world’s 25th largest economy. And,…
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Tessentee Bottomland Preserve grows
An additional 43 acres has been added to the Tessentee Bottomland Preserve owned by Mainspring Conservation Trust in southern Macon…
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Wildlife ambassadors available for school programs
This summer’s Mountain Wildlife Days event in Sapphire was one of the most successful ever, and Mountain Wildlife Outreach will…
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Conservation purchase will protect elk, other wildlife on I-40
A 187-acre conservation purchase in Haywood County will allow for wildlife grazing and movement near Interstate 40.
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Youth learn life lessons from bees
Students in the HIGHTS program, which works with vulnerable youth and their families in Western North Carolina, learn about more…
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Environmental analysis complete for national forest’s Buck Project
The U.S. Forest Service has completed an environmental analysis for the Buck Project on the Nantahala National Forest’s Tusquitee Ranger…
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Work will soon begin on I-26
Widening work will begin on Interstate 26 in Buncombe County this fall, a project that will include replacing the Blue…
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Two killed in Smokies car crash
Two people died during a three-vehicle collision at 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 21, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Drought arrives in the mountains
A ban on backcountry fires in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was announced Sept. 26 following the release of…
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Park recognizes first African-American naturalist
Florida resident Dr. Joe Lee earned recognition recently for his role as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s first African-American…
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Virginia Parkway section closed indefinitely
A section of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Virginia portion that has been closed since September will continue to be closed…
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Family Heirlooms return to the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently received a priceless donation of Cades Cove artifacts to the museum collections when…
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Gift of the Mountains: Rooted in the Mountains connects Cherokee past and global future
It was an hour and a half after sunrise, and the day’s first rays had not yet touched Judaculla Rock,…
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The Naturalist's Corner: A tale of two monarchs
I was on the Blue Ridge Parkway last weekend scouting for an upcoming Alarka Expeditions trip, “Migration Celebration” which will…
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More land conserved at Highlands of Roan
The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy has purchased 62 acres at Doll Branch in the Highlands of Roan, an acquisition that…
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TVA: No new floating home construction on the water
It’s been about three years since the Tennessee Valley Authority tried to remove all floating homes on its 49 lakes.
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The Naturalist's Corner: Climate change brings more challenges
WNC Climate Action Coalition’s screening of David Weintraub’s new documentary “Guardians of our Troubled Waters” is both a history lesson…
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To the moon and back: Astronaut discusses the Space Age’s past and future at WCU
There are a few moments in history that every American alive at the time remembers in crisp detail. The assassination…
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Delayed Harvest waters to close for trout fishing
Delayed Harvest Trout Waters regulations will go into effect in 20 Western North Carolina counties on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
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Nature center lands grant for school outreach
A $4,500 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation is helping the Highlands Nature Center support its school outreach program.
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Webcams give round-the-clock Smokies views
Webcams recently installed at Newfound Gap and Clingmans Dome will give visitors nearly real-time access to weather conditions and views…
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Conserving for clean water: Project protects 710 acres in Maggie, with 1,350 more to come
Conservation leaders from across the state and nation gathered in Maggie Valley earlier this month to dedicate a land protection…
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Forest Service land closed in the Nantahala Gorge
Until further notice, public access to U.S. Forest Service lands in the Nantahala Gorge is closed due to hazards created…
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Nantahala Gorge reopens for national forest users
The Nantahala River in the Nantahala Gorge is now open to the public for all uses for the first time…
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