To the Editor:

Last week, we were informed that one of our Macon County commissioners is planning to eliminate the floodplain (development) ordinance. My small eco-tours business will be negatively impacted by this. 

The U.S. Forest Service and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) are temporarily restricting activities on or near several cliff and rock face areas in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests to protect nesting peregrine falcons and their fledgling.  

With spring arriving and wildlife encounters set to increase as the weather gets warmer, the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) has helpful guidance for what to do when encountering various wildlife. 

Researchers are concerned that the Appalachian cottontail’s population may be impacted by a fast-spreading virus, RHDV2. 

They can eat just about anything and multiply like crazy. They live all over the world, in a variety of environments — wherever you go, they’re likely nearby. 

Volunteers are wanted to help the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission stock trout into the West Fork Pigeon River in Haywood County beginning at 10:30 a.m. Monday, March 4. 

I was hiking in the woods above our house at sunrise when coyotes began to howl behind me, and they howled and howled.

A draft conservation plan for the federally endangered Virginia big-eared bat is out for public comment through March 1. 

The U.S. Forest Service has completed its review of proposed renovations at the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard and determined that current environmental regulations allow the project to move forward.

The eastern hellbender does not deserve listing under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided, but the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, which was first described as a unique species in 2019, warrants a status review to consider listing.