Blue Ridge Breakaway registration open
 

Blue Ridge Breakaway registration open

Early registration is open for the Blue Ridge Breakaway, a multi-distance bike ride based in Haywood County.
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Pancakes popular with AT hikers
 

Pancakes popular with AT hikers

Appalachian Trail hikers in search of a satisfying meal found it at the First Baptist Church of Franklin this year…
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Paul Carlson honored for conservation work
 

Paul Carlson honored for conservation work

Paul Carlson of Land Trust for the Little Tennessee was named Outstanding Conservationist in the 2015 Roosevelt-Ashe awards given out…
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Grant brings real-life science to classrooms
 

Grant brings real-life science to classrooms

A $500 grant from the N.C. Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts’ Auxiliary will mean some hands-on science for…
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Local food guide now available
 

Local food guide now available

A new edition of Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project’s Local Food Guide is out in time for the spring growing season. …
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Excursion series offers a full gamut of activities
 

Excursion series offers a full gamut of activities

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust will kick off its annual lineup of eco tours to ecologically important areas throughout the region…
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Pedal like a girl: Women give mountain biking a try
 

Pedal like a girl: Women give mountain biking a try

Four years ago, Jennie Wyderko — then finishing up her undergrad at Virginia Tech — had barely even touched a…
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NOC rings in spring
 

NOC rings in spring

A celebration of spring and its waterborne joys will be held April 24-26 at Nantahala Outdoor Center with a Spring…
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Racing ahead: Successful athletic events bolster tourism
 

Racing ahead: Successful athletic events bolster tourism

From paved 5K routes to epic trail runs and triathlons, Western North Carolina is rife with outdoor races of all…
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Jackson fifth graders get a conservation education
 

Jackson fifth graders get a conservation education

More than 200 fifth graders from Jackson County Schools spent two days learning about natural resources at East LaPorte Recreation…
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Cumberland Island National Seashore
 

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Cumberland Island, which is composed of Great Cumberland Island (the national seashore) and Little Cumberland Island (private), is one of…
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Swain students illustrate wetlands
 

Swain students illustrate wetlands

Swain County students got creative on the theme “Wetlands are Wonderful” this spring, sending in their bookmark designs for a…
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Joyce Kilmer reroute planned for Benton McKaye Trail
 

Joyce Kilmer reroute planned for Benton McKaye Trail

The Benton McKaye Trail Association recently completed a major reroute of the trail’s path through the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness.
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Soaking in the sun: Solar energy movement comes to WNC
 

Soaking in the sun: Solar energy movement comes to WNC

Solar power is on the rise across the U.S., and a campaign recently launched in Western North Carolina is urging…
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Wildflower pilgrimage celebrates spring
 

Wildflower pilgrimage celebrates spring

The Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage will kick off its 65th year of outdoors programming Tuesday, April 21, with the five-day event…
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Tuck River cleanup puts out call for volunteers
 

Tuck River cleanup puts out call for volunteers

The nation’s largest single-day river litter removal will mark its 31st year Saturday, April 18.
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Weather watchers wanted for citizen science program
 

Weather watchers wanted for citizen science program

A network of amateur rain and weather spotters are contributing to the scientific understanding of niche weather patterns on a…
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Two-hundred-mile foot race to loop western counties
 

Two-hundred-mile foot race to loop western counties

The Southeast’s most grueling team race will take off from Pink Beds Picnic Area in the Pisgah National Forest near…
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Teacher scholarships available for nature summit
 

Teacher scholarships available for nature summit

Applications are open for teachers looking to attend the 2015 Family Nature Summit, based in Lake Junaluska.
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The swamp a ghost saved
 

The swamp a ghost saved

Yay! Spring break! That special time to be sequestered with adolescents and/or pre-adolescents in about 50 square feet while hurtling…
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Water ordinance nabs Jackson state award
 

Water ordinance nabs Jackson state award

Jackson County snagged one of eight statewide awards given to individuals and organizations that protect public drinking water sources.  The…
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WNC towns snag grants for bike route, pedestrian planning
 

WNC towns snag grants for bike route, pedestrian planning

The towns of Franklin and Canton were among 10 municipalities across the state to win a grant for bicycle and…
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Mapping project brings natural landmarks
 

Mapping project brings natural landmarks

Virtual views of some of America’s most iconic places are now online, with Chimney Rock, Grandfather Mountain and DuPont State…
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School partners with land trust for wetland conservation
 

School partners with land trust for wetland conservation

Though the wetland bordering U.S. 441 on the North Carolina-Georgia line isn’t that noteworthy on first glance, it’s an ecological…
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Foundation pledges $600,000 for Parkway projects
 

Foundation pledges $600,000 for Parkway projects

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will spend $600,000 in 2015 on projects to benefit the Parkway and the plant and…
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When the bats leave the belfry: Fungus cuts down bat population, sparks speculation on species, ecosystem future
 

When the bats leave the belfry: Fungus cuts down bat population, sparks speculation on species, ecosystem future

Sarah Davis loves bats. They’ve been the wintertime residents of Linville Caverns for as long as she can remember, a…
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Solarize WNC forums demystify solar energy for the masses
 

Solarize WNC forums demystify solar energy for the masses

A forum on how to transition to solar energy will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, at the…
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Locals take gold and silver in Assault on BlackRock
 

Locals take gold and silver in Assault on BlackRock

The fifth annual Assault on BlackRock trail race is now in the rearview mirror, with 82 brave souls battling freezing…
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Bike rodeo comes to Jackson County
 

Bike rodeo comes to Jackson County

The Jackson County Bike Rodeo is calling all kids to come out 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 11,…
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Clingmans Dome Road opens for the year
 

Clingmans Dome Road opens for the year

Clingmans Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened last week, six days ahead of its scheduled April…
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Bear encounter causes camping restrictions
 

Bear encounter causes camping restrictions

Graveyard Fields is closed to overnight camping following a bear break-in to a tent in the popular recreation area, and…
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Winter ends for Cataloochee
 

Winter ends for Cataloochee

Cataloochee Ski Area closed for the season Sunday, ending 141 days of open slopes for 2014-15. The season outstripped the…
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Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding
 

Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding

A recently awarded $200,000 grant will pay for two years of work to improve water quality and raise public awareness…
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Brookies get a boost in the Smokies
 

Brookies get a boost in the Smokies

Following a seven-year brook trout restoration project, Lynn Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now open…
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Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid
 

Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid

The battle against the hemlock wooly adelgid in North Carolina will continue with help from a bevy of grants from…
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Spiffed-up shelter hits the Macon County AT
 

Spiffed-up shelter hits the Macon County AT

With a higher-than-normal volume of thru-hikers expected next season, the Nantahala Hiking Club is getting prepared with upgrades to the…
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Commission calls on turkey hunters
 

Commission calls on turkey hunters

A study of lymphoproliferative disease virus, a malady affecting wild turkeys, is calling in help from hunters.
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Tribe granted authority over water standards
 

Tribe granted authority over water standards

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is now able to administer its own water quality certifications, becoming the 49th tribe…
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Cherokee to weigh in on fish conservation
 

Cherokee to weigh in on fish conservation

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River will hold its annual meeting celebrating Earth Month at 6 p.m. Monday, April…
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WCU students win bass angling title
 

WCU students win bass angling title

A pair of Western Carolina University students took first this spring, in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Regional, presented…
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Bat protection prompts Smokies caving restrictions
 

Bat protection prompts Smokies caving restrictions

After closing the area in September to protect wintering bats, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will reopen Whiteoak Sink…
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Life in bear country: Bear encounter sparks camping closure, bear canister requirement
 

Life in bear country: Bear encounter sparks camping closure, bear canister requirement

A pair of hikers camped near the Lower Falls in Graveyard Fields got a rude awakening March 16 when a…
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Put the forest first!
 

Put the forest first!

I was commiserating with a friend who works for the Forest Service just after it was announced that they were…
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WNC air quality to be unpacked
 

WNC air quality to be unpacked

The Annual Ozone Season Kickoff will unveil the state of Western North Carolina’s air quality in 2014 with a program…
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Nature for the whole family
 

Nature for the whole family

By Danny Bernstein • Guest columnist When I first thought about taking my granddaughter, Hannah, on an outdoor experience, I looked…
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Nation’s best paddlers to compete at NOC
 

Nation’s best paddlers to compete at NOC

The Nantahala Racing Club’s Whitewater U.S. Open will keep the river churning at Nantahala Outdoor Center March 27-29.
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Logging, prescribed burning aims to bolster wildlife habitat
 

Logging, prescribed burning aims to bolster wildlife habitat

A U.S. Forest Service project aiming to improve wildlife habitat and forest health will allow logging, fire, thinning and other…
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Learn to tread lightly at Wilderness Skills Institute
 

Learn to tread lightly at Wilderness Skills Institute

Registration is now open for the fifth Wilderness Skills Institute, a training program for Wilderness stewardship and management, held at…
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Grit and wonder: 2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills
 

Grit and wonder: 2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills

If the stack of boxes piling up on the counter of the outfitter store at Nantahala Outdoor Center is any…
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Hail, hail the gang’s still here
 

Hail, hail the gang’s still here

I’ve recently been seeing lots of posts like these on Carolina Birders’ FaceBook page: “… My pine siskins have departed,…
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