Help feed the hungry
 

Help feed the hungry

Haywood Gleaners is looking for a co-field glean coordinator to assist in its efforts to feed the hungry with fresh…
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Junaluska golf course turns 100

The Lake Junaluska golf course turns 100 on July 24, and in honor of the anniversary golfers will be able…
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Dreams on the water: Bryson City paddler, age 15, wows international audience

On Friday, June 21, a 15-year-old girl from Bryson City took her place in the water for the first heat…
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Man dies following car accident near Clingmans Dome
 

Man dies following car accident near Clingmans Dome

Cherokee emergency responders were among those who answered the call following a fatal vehicle accident on Clingmans Dome Road in…
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Wilderness therapy provider joins chamber
 

Wilderness therapy provider joins chamber

A wilderness therapy business that launched locally in May 2018 is now a member of the Franklin Chamber of Commerce. 
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Trailhead expansion complete near Mount Mitchell
 

Trailhead expansion complete near Mount Mitchell

The South Toe Trailhead parking area across from Black Mountain Campground in the Pisgah National Forest has been reopened now…
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Worth protecting: Conservation organizations partner to preserve Parkway lands

Born in the upstairs of the Post Office building his mom ran in Crabtree, Robert Williams, now 87, has always…
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Progress continues on clean air in WNC: State looks to accelerate shift to renewable energy

In an era when most environment-related news carries a hue of doom and gloom, the saga of air quality trends…
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Pollinator garden opens

A new pollinator garden has been completed in the Waynesville Recreation Park. 
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Program doubles SNAP benefits at Asheville farmers markets
 

Program doubles SNAP benefits at Asheville farmers markets

A new Double SNAP program is now available at Asheville City Market, offered through the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. 
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The Naturalist's Corner: Buteo jamaicensis

A red-tail by any other name and there are several “named” red-tails. But I dare say for we sons and…
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Adopt-A-Stream turns 10

The Adopt-A-Stream program in Haywood County turned 10 this year, with 1,600 volunteers spending 4,000 hours removing more than 27…
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Rare shrub seeds for sale
 

Rare shrub seeds for sale

Alarka Institute in Cowee is now selling seeds from the Franklinia, one of the rarest shrubs in the world.
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Parkway paving planned for 2019
 

Parkway paving planned for 2019

More than 115 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway will be resurfaced this year as part of a pavement preservation…
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Better access to Bartram Trail

A relatively new trailhead now has a brand new parking lot that’s sure to make accessing the Bartram Trail in…
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Record-setting wild turkey harvest
 

Record-setting wild turkey harvest

Results from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s wild turkey harvest summary show this year’s harvest was the second highest ever…
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Longtime Mainspring board member retires

Longtime Mainspring Conservation Trust board member Richard Clark has retired from the board. 
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Nantahala District ranger to retire

After 29 years at the helm of the Nantahala District of the Nantahala National Forest, District Ranger Mike Wilkins is…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Windy City peregrines

My bride and I spent a few days in Chicago last week. She was there for a business seminar and…
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Lumberjack ‘family’ to get a home: Construction underway on new HCC timbersports building

After more than 20 years of wood chopping and log sawing and award winning, the Haywood Community College Lumberjacks —…
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Law changes appointment structure for Clean Water board

Gov. Roy Cooper has signed into law a bill that reconstitutes several boards and commissions that the court previously held…
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Science program goes statewide: ecoEXPLORE program for kids now available in N.C. State Parks

A program that’s been getting Western North Carolina kids outside since 2016 is now a statewide offering, with a whirlwind…
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Baseball for autistic youth planned in WNC

The fresh cut grass, the din of the crowd, the white chalk lines on the dusty dirt infield — every…
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Waynesville Judo Club brings home awards

The Waynesville Judo Club recently competed in the South Carolina State Championship, coming away with 11 medals.
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Tennis courts get makeover at Lake Junaluska

Renovated tennis courts will greet Lake Junaluska visitors this summer season. 
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Find local food

The 2019 edition of the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s Local Food Guide is now available, an essential source for finding…
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Help hellbenders
 

Help hellbenders

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission wants to hear about hellbender sightings, part of agency biologists’ ongoing effort to learn more…
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Bears active in Panthertown
 

Bears active in Panthertown

Recent reports of increased bear encounters in Panthertown Valley have prompted a call for caution among visitors.
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The Naturalist's Corner: Birding daze

The six weeks from May 1 to June 15 are always a busy time for me. That is the window…
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Road work underway in the Smokies
 

Road work underway in the Smokies

A pavement preservation project is underway on Little River Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, expected to result…
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New mapping program available for farmers
 

New mapping program available for farmers

A new program will allow growers to map crops by herbicide-resistant traits. 
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The Naturalist's Corner: 20 years are in the can; as they say in the biz

I can’t, thinking back now, remember what the two floors below us were at 9 Main Street, in 1999 when…
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Mainspring expands to Sylva
 

Mainspring expands to Sylva

Mainspring Conservation Trust now has an office in downtown Sylva. 
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Lime treatment reverses acid rain effects

You can’t always believe what you see. The water in our mountain streams is sometimes polluted even though it appears…
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Kids in Parks logs one million TRACK Trails adventures

In its mission to engage children with the outdoors, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Kids in Parks program is marking…
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A vision for the Tuck: New WATR director looks to make strides in water quality improvement

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River has a new leader. Two years after former executive director Roger Clapp retired…
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The story behind the man: First-ever Horace Kephart biography explores a complex man and momentous life

Horace Kephart has been dead for 88 years, but his name and his story still pull an undercurrent through Western…
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Life at two miles an hour: A.T. hikers share their stories

From flip-flops to overnights to the quintessential northbound thru-hike, there are many different ways to experience the Appalachian Trail on…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Eastern box turtle, our state reptile

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in a June 2001 issue of The Smoky Mountain News Taksi was a legendary…
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Smokies plates celebrate milestone

Twenty years after the program launched, drivers in Tennessee and North Carolina have passed the $15 million mark in support…
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N.C. deer harvest declines in 2018-19
 

N.C. deer harvest declines in 2018-19

Deer harvest in North Carolina declined 9 percent from the previous three-year average in the 2018-19 season, despite the fact…
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Believing Bigfoot: Locals log Sasquatch evidence in North Carolina’s mountains

Jeff Carpenter knows the woods.  A native of Otto who’s spent most of his adult life the next county over…
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Boating fatalities abnormally high in 2018
 

Boating fatalities abnormally high in 2018

On the heels of a year when more people died from boating accidents in North Carolina than in any other…
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Trillium Gap Trail rehab has begun

A two-year trail rehabilitation project is now underway at the Trillium Gap Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,…
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Bethel student wins art contest

Eighth grader Gracie Burgess, of Bethel Middle School, will see her artwork worn by eighth-graders across Haywood County during Kids…
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Hiking club achieves nonprofit status
 

Hiking club achieves nonprofit status

As of March 18, the Nantahala Hiking Club is officially a 501c3 nonprofit. 
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Cost-share available for organic certification
 

Cost-share available for organic certification

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is now accepting applications from producers looking for help to cover the cost of organic…
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Landslide closes Jackson trail system

A landslide on Forest Service Road 4650 in Jackson County has resulted in closure of the Wayehutta OHV Trail System. 
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Plans complete for Macon/Jackson timber project

An environmental analysis is now complete for the Southside Project, expected to improve forest health, diversity and wildlife habitat in…
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Magnolia trifecta

It’s May! That means my 2019 Forest Service bird survey has begun — another six weeks of roaming the wilds…
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