New NPS agreement to amp up collaboration with tribal nations
 

New NPS agreement to amp up collaboration with tribal nations

The National Park Service and the American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association recently finalized a new five-year agreement that aims…
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Help the Park Service solve a murder
 

Help the Park Service solve a murder

The National Park Service is asking anybody who took pictures or videos on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina…
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Smokies superintendent receives leadership award

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash was one of five leaders nationwide recognized with the Walter T. Cox…
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Smokies volunteers honored for service

A pair of volunteer organizations within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park earned regional recognition for their service in 2020. 
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New StoryWalk book up in Cashiers

A new book is available on the StoryWalk in the Village Green in Cashiers. 
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Public input sought on Nikwasi

Help determine the future of a unique and precious cultural resource in downtown Franklin by taking an online survey hosted…
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Making the invisible visible: Smokies marks three years of research effort in African American history project

Combing through the dustiest tomes of park history, Great Smoky Mountains National Park researchers have since 2018 been working to…
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Wheelchair-accessible trail comes to Cades Cove

A new wheelchair-accessible trail in the Cades Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers a half-mile pathway…
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Emergency loans available for flood-affected farms
 

Emergency loans available for flood-affected farms

Twelve counties in Western North Carolina have received disaster declarations from U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack due to…
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N.C. law aims for carbon neutrality by 2050

After extensive negotiation and revision, a bill aiming to steer North Carolina toward carbon neutrality by 2050 has been signed…
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N.C. senators co-sponsor critical wildlife bill

North Carolina Senators Thom Tillis and Richard Burr are among the 28 cosponsors on a bill that the N.C. Wildlife…
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Highlands gets BearWise recognition

Highlands recently became the first recognized BearWise Town in the U.S., with the honor officially bestowed on Oct. 5. 
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Haywood lumberjack team takes first place

Haywood Community College recently hosted the 30th John G. Palmer Woodsmen’s Meet, usually held at the Cradle of Forestry, In…
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Hands-on approach key to HCC program

When Dylan Brooks first started his college education, he began in a business program. It didn’t take long to figure…
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Straight for the basket: Disc golf course will open soon in Cherokee

By the end of this year, a new championship-caliber disc golf course will debut on a wooded property along Raven…
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Discovery revises timeline for human presence in North America

Fossilized footprints found in New Mexico’ White Sands National Park have revealed evidence of human occupation there beginning 23,000 years…
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Venture abroad 
with NOC
 

Venture abroad 
with NOC

In celebration of its 50th anniversary year in 2022, the Nantahala Outdoor Center has announced a schedule of international travel…
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Moderate fall color season predicted

A “reasonably colorful” fall leaf season with a less pronounced peak than usual is predicted for Western North Carolina, according…
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Two injured in bear encounter: Parkway logs first bear attack in at least 25 years

Trail closures and food prohibitions are expected to remain in place on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville through the…
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Outdoor Economy Conference postponed
 

Outdoor Economy Conference postponed

Due to the Delta variant’s continued impact on public health, the Outdoor Economy Conference originally scheduled for Oct. 12-15 has…
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Transformation on trail: Volunteers converge to secure Max Patch’s future

On a sunny Saturday in September, tall grasses wave a fringe atop Max Patch, framing mountain layers fading from ripened…
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Cleanup efforts remove tons of litter

This year’s Big Sweep event in Haywood County removed a whopping 3,100 pounds of trash from county streams with the…
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Bear attack injures two on the Blue Ridge Parkway

A black bear injured two people near the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville when it…
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WNC water treatment plants honored
 

WNC water treatment plants honored

Two Haywood County water treatment plants were among the 13 North Carolina facilities recognized with the Gold Star honor for…
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Improved disc golf course opening at HCC
 

Improved disc golf course opening at HCC

Help celebrate the grand re-opening of the Haywood Community College disc golf course with a two-round tournament starting at 9…
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‘Black Folks Camp Too’ wins national award

The Brevard-based business Black Folks Camp Too was recently given The President’s Award from America’s State Parks during the organization’s…
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Jackson Chamber tees off annual golf tourney

The 30th annual Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Chamber Challenge Golf Tournament drew 92 golfers to participate in 23 four-person…
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Grant award to spur WNC’s outdoor economy

Nearly $3 million in newly announced funding will support further development of the outdoor-driven community and economy in Western North…
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Judaculla property protected

Mainspring Conservation Trust recently closed on an in-holding of the Nantahala National Forest Service in the Caney Fork Valley of…
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Highlands educator given statewide honor
 

Highlands educator given statewide honor

Patrick Brannon, outreach specialist at the Highlands Biological Station, has received the 2021 award for exceptional environmental education programs from…
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Winner announced for Kids in the Creek shirt design

Waynesville Middle School student Kate Clark is the winner of this year’s Haywood Waterways Association Kids in the Creek T-shirt…
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Get in gear for adventure

UPDATE: Due to rising COVID-19 cases, the Sept. 25 event has been postponed until next spring. A full weekend of…
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Songbird outbreak is subsiding

A mysterious outbreak that has been affecting songbirds since May 2020 appears to be subsiding, and thanks to diligent reporting…
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Country miles: Federal designation sought for Benton MacKaye Trail

This year marked both the 16th birthday of the Benton MacKaye Trail and the 100th anniversary of its namesake’s flagship…
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Fishing after the flood: Flood took two-thirds of state hatchery’s trout

When the Davidson River first hit flood stage on at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, it was a normal — albeit…
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Below the waterline: Fred’s impact on aquatic life remains to be seen

Eric Romaniszyn had been Haywood Waterways Association’s project manager for less than six months when the legendary floods  of September…
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Weigh in on Haywood’s recreation planning
 

Weigh in on Haywood’s recreation planning

An update to the 2007 Haywood County Recreation Master Plan is underway, with a survey now available to take public…
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Smokies sees two fatal accidents in one weekend

Two men died while visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last weekend, one due to drowning and another resulting…
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HCC student wins national timbersports title

A Haywood Community College student earned the 2021 U.S. Rookie Champion title at the recent STIHL Timbersports U.S. Championships in…
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Dispose of chemicals safely

As floodwaters recede and cleanup continues, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services urges farmers and homeowners to evaluate…
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Second fatal bear attack in Smokies history confirmed

A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died…
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Fred's impact on public lands

In addition to claiming lives, homes and livelihoods, Tropical Storm Fred has had a significant impact on many beloved sites…
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Lasting damage: Recreation impacts from Fred could linger for years

A week before Tropical Storm Fred unleashed historically high floodwaters on Western North Carolina, Greg Philipp was in Washington fighting…
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Planning for adventure: Sylva, Cherokee to partner on trails plan

The highest-elevation mountain bike trail on the East Coast is on the path from concept to reality after the Cherokee…
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Wildlife Commission elects new leadership

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has elected Richmond County resident Monty R. Crump as its new chairman, replacing Dallas resident…
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NPS institutes mask mandate

A national mask mandate is now in place across the National Park Service. 
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Closures at Waynesville pool
 

Closures at Waynesville pool

Lack of staffing has prompted the Waynesville Recreation Center to close its water park and constrain hours for the lap…
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Daytime closures resume on Newfound Gap Road
 

Daytime closures resume on Newfound Gap Road

Daytime closures associated with an 8-mile paving project on Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will…
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‘Year of the Trail’ planned for 2023

The N.C. General Assembly has declared 2023 to be “Year of the Trail” in North Carolina, marking it as a…
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Bear caused 2020 Smokies death, autopsy shows

A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died…
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