Get all the dirt on growing grapes
 

Get all the dirt on growing grapes

A viticulture conference focused on how to grow grapes in a sustainable manner in Western North Carolina will be held…
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Arboretum celebrates trails and tales with two-day event
 

Arboretum celebrates trails and tales with two-day event

“Books and Boots,” a two-day event celebrating the beauty and bounty of the natural world will be held at the…
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Franklin now has AT “ambassador”
 

Franklin now has AT “ambassador”

Mary Bennett has been chosen to serve as the volunteer ambassador for the designated Appalachian Trail Community of Franklin. Bennett…
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Camp in Maggie Valley helps troubled youth
 

Camp in Maggie Valley helps troubled youth

A grant from Healthy Haywood has helped launch an Outdoor Mission Camp for court-involved kids. Positive Community Connections is designed…
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Growers discover benefits of mob farming
 

Growers discover benefits of mob farming

Farmers, want-to-be farmers and anyone willing to pitch in at local farms are forming “mobs” to help farmers. These mobs…
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Get involved with Tuckasegee watershed group
 

Get involved with Tuckasegee watershed group

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River will hold a public planning meeting from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Jan.…
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Learn, talk about the Clean Water Act
 

Learn, talk about the Clean Water Act

A discussion about the Clean Water Act, which environmentalists assert is under assault as industries attempt to rollback federal protections,…
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By land and by water: Conservation merger will have positive ripple effect on Little Tennessee
 

By land and by water: Conservation merger will have positive ripple effect on Little Tennessee

Two of Western North Carolina’s most storied conservation groups, both based in Macon County, merged this month into a single…
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Northern Pintail
 

Northern Pintail

Thanks to a head’s up from Tim Carstens last Sunday morning (1/15), I saw a drake northern pintail, Anas acuta,…
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WNC Alliance director appointed to MRC
 

WNC Alliance director appointed to MRC

The executive director of the Western North Carolina Alliance has been appointed to the state’s influential Mountain Resources Commission (MRC).…
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Pittillo to speak at Franklin meeting
 

Pittillo to speak at Franklin meeting

Retired Western Carolina University professor and well-known regional fall color prognosticator Dan Pittillo will be the speaker at 2 p.m.…
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Grants available for renewable energy
 

Grants available for renewable energy

Mountain Valleys Resource Conservation and Development is accepting applications from Western North Carolina farmers interested in generating renewable energy on…
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Why pitch in? One trail volunteer shares her story
 

Why pitch in? One trail volunteer shares her story

Trail maintenance has an obvious benefit: it’s darn good exercise. But for Becky Smucker, a volunteer trail crew leader in…
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Friends of the Smokies receives $10K from REI
 

Friends of the Smokies receives $10K from REI

Moving mountains is no easy task, but volunteers and trail crews hauling boulders, digging waterbars and otherwise rehabilitating trails in…
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NOC wins prestigious outdoor award
 

NOC wins prestigious outdoor award

The Nantahala Outdoor Center has been bestowed with the 2012 Outdoor Industry Association Outdoor Inspiration Award. It is the outdoor…
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Work continues on the French Broad River Paddle Trail
 

Work continues on the French Broad River Paddle Trail

A volunteer work day to work on campsites for the French Broad River Paddle Trail will take place from 10…
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Watershed plan subject of Jan. 12 meeting
 

Watershed plan subject of Jan. 12 meeting

The Macon County League of Women Voters of Macon County will host a program on a newly completed study on…
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Whoopers and hoodeds
 

Whoopers and hoodeds

Cranes are cool. These big beautiful graceful birds jolt the souls of non-birders and birders alike. At five feet tall,…
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Hikers voices wanted: National forests ask trail users to step up and join the conversation
 

Hikers voices wanted: National forests ask trail users to step up and join the conversation

More than 5 million people hit the trails in the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests last year — a number…
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Volunteer crews troll the forests to keep trails clear
 

Volunteer crews troll the forests to keep trails clear

Next time you hike a trail, pause a minute and give silent thanks to the legion of trail volunteers who…
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Garden seed ordering set for this month
 

Garden seed ordering set for this month

The fourth-annual Group Seed Order will take place at St. John’s Episcopal Church on Jackson Street in Sylva on Saturday,…
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Calling volunteers for trail work at Gorges Park
 

Calling volunteers for trail work at Gorges Park

Volunteers are needed at Gorges State Park in Sapphire to help build and maintain trails, with work parties scheduled weekly…
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Smokies’ partners renovate their final trail shelter in park
 

Smokies’ partners renovate their final trail shelter in park

Volunteer organizations have donated labor and money to improve cooking and sleeping quarters for campers, while also reducing potential problems…
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Night hunting now legal for wild hogs
 

Night hunting now legal for wild hogs

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission now allows hunting of feral swine and wild hogs at night — but hunters need…
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DVD of national fly-fishing competition available for sale
 

DVD of national fly-fishing competition available for sale

Learn topnotch, competitive-level fly-fishing techniques via a filmed fly-fishing competition that took place last year here in Western North Carolina.…
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AT Bald Trail permanently protected
 

AT Bald Trail permanently protected

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy transferred 35 acres to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the U.S. Forest Service to protect…
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WCU students help children with autism
 

WCU students help children with autism

A local fly-fishing guide and recreational therapy students at Western Carolina University teamed up recently to provide a fly-fishing outing…
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Rain for wind
 

Rain for wind

This year’s ninth annual Balsam Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held Friday Dec. 30. As I was driving home from…
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Slope bound: Snow, let alone skiing, proves a novel experience for some first-timers
 

Slope bound: Snow, let alone skiing, proves a novel experience for some first-timers

Living in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it is hard to imagine never seeing snow — but Elizabeth Comberg…
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The ethics of conservation in your own backyard
 

The ethics of conservation in your own backyard

A program called “Land Ethics: Reconnecting with the Natural World” will be held at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12 at…
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HCC a national model of sustainable practices
 

HCC a national model of sustainable practices

Haywood Community College’s hard work to build a sustainable campus is featured on a campus sustainability case study database. The…
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Farm and forest land eligible for tax breaks
 

Farm and forest land eligible for tax breaks

If you have 10 acres or more of agricultural land or five acres of horticultural land and make a gross…
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Help the environment farming, the feds might help you
 

Help the environment farming, the feds might help you

Farmers are eligible for grant money to help with projects to make their operations more environmentally-friendly through the USDA’s Natural…
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Group runs to inspire half-marathon hopefuls
 

Group runs to inspire half-marathon hopefuls

If the holidays resulted in a few extra inches to your waistline and you’re determined to get fit, a free…
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Mount Mitchell gets new superintendent
 

Mount Mitchell gets new superintendent

Bryan Wilder, a veteran state park ranger, has been promoted to superintendent of Mount Mitchell State Park. Wilder takes over…
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A Wild Week in the Wilderness
 

A Wild Week in the Wilderness

The 22nd Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week is scheduled for Jan. 7-14 in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. This year’s Wildlife Week boasts…
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Origin of WCU white squirrel a mystery
 

Origin of WCU white squirrel a mystery

A rare sighting of a white squirrel at Western Carolina University has workers there abuzz. The squirrel has been spotted…
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Gov. Purdue recognizes Save the Frogs Day
 

Gov. Purdue recognizes Save the Frogs Day

Gov. Beverly Purdue of North Carolina recently issued a proclamation officially declaring April 28 “Save the Frogs Day” in the…
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Group negotiates compromise to save old-growth stands
 

Group negotiates compromise to save old-growth stands

Conservation groups are hailing an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service that they say will protect an area of rare…
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Friends save tract bordering the park
 

Friends save tract bordering the park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park got an early Holiday gift on Dec. 14 when the Friends of the Smokies officially…
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National Park road updates hit Twitter
 

National Park road updates hit Twitter

If you want to know which roads are closed because of weather conditions in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,…
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New NC bird habitat map online via Audubon
 

New NC bird habitat map online via Audubon

Audubon North Carolina has put out a new edition of Important Bird Areas of North Carolina, a full-color publication with…
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Start the New Year with a hike at Gorges Park
 

Start the New Year with a hike at Gorges Park

Gorges State Park is sponsoring a free, guided hike on New Year’s Day. This is a part of First Day…
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Frosty Foot trail races coming to Tsali
 

Frosty Foot trail races coming to Tsali

Feeling sprightly in the New Year? Then hit the trails in the Tsali National Forest Recreation Area Jan. 7 with…
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Walking trail at Lake Junaluska lengthened
 

Walking trail at Lake Junaluska lengthened

The walking trail at Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center is getting longer thanks to a new one-half mile extension…
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Become a Master Gardener
 

Become a Master Gardener

If you are in Jackson and Swain counties, it’s time to sign up for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service’s Master…
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A wonderful Christmas gift
 

A wonderful Christmas gift

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Wild South, the Western North Carolina Alliance (WNCA) and the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition…
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Surf’s up on the Nanty: Paddler feedback integral to honing the new ‘Wave’
 

Surf’s up on the Nanty: Paddler feedback integral to honing the new ‘Wave’

The common phrase heard among kayakers daring the Nantahala’s new wave: “It’s getting there.” The Wave in the Nantahala Gorge…
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WCU program receives grant to study impact of rising sea-levels
 

WCU program receives grant to study impact of rising sea-levels

Western Carolina University’s Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines has received a $239,000 grant from the National Park Service…
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Celebrate the sun with solstice walk
 

Celebrate the sun with solstice walk

Celebrate the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, by participating in a nighttime walk at 7 p.m. Thursday,…
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