Up in flames?
I sit this morning being bathed in luxurious rain. The kind of life-affirming, life-giving rain the Smokies are noted for.…
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Devil’s Courthouse logging proposal criticized by environmental groups
Proposed logging below Devil’s Courthouse in the Pisgah National Forest is being widely decried among outdoor recreation groups and environmental…
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Freeze your icicle off at winter bike race
Riders are invited to compete and spectators are invited to watch at the Icycle Mountain Bike Race at Fontana Village…
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Deputy superintendent retires from GSMNP
Kevin FitzGerald, deputy superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 2006, retired this month after 34 years with…
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Haywood Waterways to launch endowment fundraising campaign
The Haywood Waterways Association has named their endowment fund the “Joetta Rinehart Endowment Fund” in honor of one of the…
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Lake Junaluska a top spot for winter birding
The Highlands Plateau chapter of the Audubon Society will go birding at Lake Junaluska on Monday, Jan. 21, to mark…
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Global warming series aims to inspire change
A six-week discussion course on climate change called “Global Warming: Changing Course” is being put on by the Western North…
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A closer look
Only you can apply the brakes to slow down the Courthouse Timber Sale and get everyone to take a closer…
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Food cables help backpackers ward off bears
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has provided $800 from its specialty license plate funds to help secure backpackers’ food from bears…
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New soil and water expert named
Waynesville native John Ottinger has been named District Conservationist for the Haywood and Madison counties Soil and Water Conservation District.
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Carrying the torch through history
It’s all started with a phone call. A lifelong thirst for adventure led Ronald R. Cooper to a love of…
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Restored Lodge offers retreats, rustic getaway in the Nantahala National Forest
Nestled deep in the mountains between Sylva and Cashiers, the scenic U.S. Forest Service Balsam Lodge is celebrating its 30th…
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Contest captures state’s natural beauty
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has announced the winners of the eighth annual Wildlife in North Carolina magazine outdoor photo…
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Local food on the rise
Last year was a promising year for local food production and farm education in WNC, according to the Appalachian Sustainable…
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Friends, feathers and fellowship
Friday, Dec. 28, was the date of the eleventh annual Balsam Christmas Bird Count (CBC) — 11 dates but 10…
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Forests and water could be doomed in 2060
A comprehensive U.S. Forest Service report released last month examines how expanding populations, increased urbanization, and changing land-use patterns could…
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Classes and workshops
Wildlife program seeks help with classes Wild South’s Wildlife Outreach Initiative, along with Mountain Wildlife Days, are in the process…
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Ready, set, ski! Races begin at Catalaoochee
Cataloochee Ski Area is opening its winter race series beginning 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, for middle school competitors, followed…
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New hiker shelter finished on the AT
Hikers of the Appalachian Trail now have a new shelter where they can rest their bones. The U.S. Forest Service…
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When it’s good to be threatened
I wrote about wood storks, Mycteria americana, back in August of this year after a trip to Isle of Palms…
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It’s all about the schwag: Race organizers get creative with attracting participants
You’ve been training for months. You’ve skipped the kids’ piano recitals and parent teacher conferences; you’ve bailed on dinner with…
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WNC lakes join list with mercury warning for fish
Two more lakes in the region are now under a fish consumption advisory due to mercury contamination. Unsafe levels of…
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Reintroduce rudolph! (You may need your children to help you read this)
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a great wilderness of about a half-million square acres. It has been the…
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Project to engage farmers in biofuel industry
A $130,000 grant from The Biofuels Center of North Carolina is providing seed money aimed at developing the clean energy…
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Foundation makes year-end push for one donation per mile
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has once again launched a year-end fundraising campaign called the 469 Challenge. Inspired by the…
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Franklin Young Professionals awarded for trash pick-up
The Franklin Young Professionals were recently awarded a plaque for their participation in the N.C. Big Sweep river cleanup this…
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Historic Appalachian Trail shelter gets a lift
The Nantahala Hiking Club recently renovated an 80-year-old Appalachian Trail shelter about a mile north of Burningtown Gap in Macon…
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Holiday gear guide to the rescue: SMN serves up goods bets for the outdoors person on your shopping list
For outdoors enthusiasts, Christmas brings but fleeting respite from the cold, dark days of winter — with the promise of…
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REI grant used to save Chimney Tops trail in the Smokies
Recreational Equipment Inc. donated $5,000 to support the Smokies Trails Forever program and helped fund a crew and 106 volunteers…
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New speciality plate looking for support
Show your support for the Mountain to Sea Trail by being one of the first 300 people to buy a…
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Appalachian Trail ambassadors sought
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy seeks to fill 15 volunteer positions as Appalachian Trail community ambassadors. These ambassadors will support the AT…
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The day the sun stood still
Ladies and gentlemen, return to your seats and fasten your seatbelts. Spaceship Earth will be screeching to a stop at…
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Gear Guide 2012: Blackrock Outdoor Company
Hammocks by Eagle’s Nest Outfitters — $55 to $80 These hammocks are a great gift for anyone simply looking to…
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Gear Guide 2012: Nantahala Outdoor Center Wesser
GoPro Hero3 Camera: Black Edition — $400 If you’re tired of showing boring vacation photographs and videos to friends and…
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Gear Guide 2012: Outdoor 76 Franklin
Outdoor 76 t-shirts and “828” caps — $22 to $26 If you fish local, hike local or kayak local, then…
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Gear guide 2012: Mast General Store
Sawyer Squeeze Filter — $60 This may be the best, and last water filter, you ever buy. The new filter…
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Over the fiscal cliff – and into the abyss
First Mate McConnell: “Cap’n the ship is headed straight for that iceberg and there’s no way we kin stop her…
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Little Tennessee heralded for wildlife spotting
The Little Tennessee River in Macon County landed a spot on the N.C. Wildlife Federation’s “top nine” list of spots…
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Is the chestnut making a comeback?
Volunteers and scientists planted 200 American chestnut seedlings in the Nantahala National Forest that are hopefully blight resistant in efforts…
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Land trust protects entrance to protected area
In November the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy purchased 89 acres at the southern end of the Yellow Mountain State Natural…
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Scouting a Smokies Blueway Trail: Recreation abounds, but knowing where and how to tap it can be a mystery
The mountains rising above the valleys have long been the main attraction for tourists planning a trip to Western North…
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Christmas bird count is counting on you
Tune up your listening ears and wipe down the binoculars: the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society is calling all birders to…
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Red wolf exhibit gets upgrades at WNC Nature Center
A $50,000 grant will fund improvements to the red wolf exhibit and build a covered pavilion at the Western North…
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Hometown biologist honored for saving quail
A biologist with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, who hails from Haywood County and has played a leading role in…
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Mingus Creek and more on guided hike
A guided hike of the Mingus Creek Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be held Saturday, Dec.…
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Endangered red wolves on the line in lawsuit over night hunting
After four endangered red wolves were killed by hunters who possibly mistook them for coyotes while night hunting, a North…
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Park bracing for devastation of ash trees
The first backcountry emerald ash borer infestation has been confirmed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Power birding at Tessentee (again)
Don’t know why, but the last two birding trips to Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Macon County — one last Sunday…
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Sweet single-track coming to WCU
Outdoors enthusiasts and diehard mountain bikers are waiting in anticipation the winter opening of a seven-mile mountain biking and hiking…
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Feast your eyes on wild turkey facts
The domestic, farm-raised turkey most Americans eat on Thanksgiving Day is nothing like the wild turkey feasted on by the…
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