Fish and Wildlife Service reviews status for 37 species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now conducting five-year status reviews for 37 species, two of which can be…
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Smooth coneflower recovery spurs downlisting proposal
Due to continually strengthening populations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to downlist the smooth coneflower from an endangered…
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N.C. logs record bear harvest in 2020
Hunters harvested a record 3,748 black bears in North Carolina last year, an 8% increase over the previous season.
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Mountain turkey harvest flags amid high statewide numbers
This year’s North Carolina turkey hunting season yielded the second-highest harvest on record, second only to the record-breaking 2020 harvest…
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Outdoor Industry program offers new study track
A third track is now available within Western Carolina University’s Professional Outdoor Industry Certificate.
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Ginseng populations now too small for sustainable harvest
There are now too few ginseng plants in the Nantahala and Pisgah National Forests to allow for sustainable harvesting, leading…
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Launchpad to space: Camp builds enthusiasm for middle grades
At 10 a.m. Friday, June 25, the parking lot above the Jackson County Early College was nothing but a mundane…
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Bring Special Olympics to Cherokee
Volunteers are needed to help with the upcoming Special Olympics season on the Qualla Boundary.
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Summer is here at Lake Junaluska
The pool at Lake Junaluska is now open for the season, and 2021 passes offering pool admission and special discounts…
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Report highlights toxic waste risk in hurricane paths
A recently released report from the Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center and the N.C. PIRG Education Fund highlights…
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Parkway motorcycle crash leaves two dead
Two people are dead following a June 22 collision between a motorcycle and a passenger van in the Balsam area…
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Shoot clays for the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies will host the third annual Smokies Cup Tournament at the Biltmore Sporting Clays Club Sept. 16-17…
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Bear activity causes A.T. camping closure
A portion of the Appalachian Trail in the Pisgah National Forest is closed to camping due to bear activity.
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Bear activity prompts continued camping restrictions
A temporary ban on tents and soft-sided campers at Mount Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway has been extended…
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Sylva discusses Pinnacle’s future
In February, Sylva’s town board gave its enthusiastic support to a plan that would bring 35 miles of multi-use trail…
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Tent ban extended at Mount Pisgah
A temporary ban on tents and soft-sided campers at Mount Pisgah Campground on the Blue Ridge Parkway has been extended…
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July 4 marks grand opening for Equinox Ranch
Celebrate Independence Day along with the grand opening of Equinox Ranch in Cullowhee with a celebration starting at 1 p.m.…
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Parkway motorcycle crash results in fatality
A June 5 motorcycle crash on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Laurel Springs left a 65-year-old North Carolina man dead.
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FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge picks new director
FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge has named Julie Whalen as its new executive director.
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Smokies paving project moves to nighttime work
Nighttime work has begun on an 8-mile section of Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Garden club gets musical treat
The Mountain View Garden Club of Waynesville held its monthly meeting at the Jonathan Creek Biodome Art Studio of Nina…
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Bear euthanized following unprovoked attack
A bear has been euthanized and a backcountry site closed in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park after a 16-year-old…
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Spend an evening in the garden
ArborEvenings is back at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, offering opportunity to spend Thursday and Friday evenings strolling through the…
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Fund established to support the MST
Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail received its largest individual gift ever when an anonymous donor gave $100,000 to…
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Forest service seeks to re-engage regarding Macon County projects
The Nantahala Ranger District is resuming work on two projects in Macon County whose timelines were affected by position turnover…
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Summer reading program celebrates animal life
The 2021 Summer Learning Program at Marianna Black Library in Bryson City will celebrate all things related to books and…
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Black Mountain Trail section closed for maintenance
A portion of the Black Mountain Trail on the Pisgah Ranger District will be closed through approximately Aug. 15 for…
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Friends of DuPont asks users to share the trails
Friends of DuPont Forest’s new Share the Trails Campaign aims to help visitors share and care for the forest’s 80-plus…
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Bear activity reported in Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock
Visitors to the Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness on the Nantahala National Forest should take extra precautions after recent reports of bear…
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Severe drought hits southeastern N.C.
Of North Carolina’s 100 counties, 84 are currently abnormally dry or experiencing drought — but the far western region is…
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The 100-year trail: A century after Benton MacKaye proposed it, millions enjoy the A.T. each year
A wall of wind hurtles through the asphalt-covered mountain gap as I exit my car, popping open the trunk to…
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Smokies car crash results in fatality
A teenager is dead and two other people injured following a car crash on Monday, June 7, in the Great…
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Cashiers StoryWalk to make its debut
The first book of the new StoryWalk at the Cashiers Village Green, Cashiers, Come Play With Me!, will soon be…
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Smokies, Parkway spared drop in park visitor spending
Visitor spending in national park communities during 2020 was just over two-thirds the amount spent in 2019, but parks in…
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N.C. poised to set litter collection record
The N.C. Department of Transportation’s crews, contractors and volunteers have collected more than 6 million pounds of litter from roadsides,…
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Regional outdoors brand celebrates debut
Learn more about Made X Mtns, a new regional brand for Western North Carolina, at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 15,…
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Mainspring adds staff
Mainspring Conservation Trust has hired two new positions, expanding the regional nonprofit’s staff to 12 people.
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Forestry student awarded for academic excellence
Brandon Light, a student in Haywood Community College’s Forest Management Technology Program, has been named the college’s Academic Excellence Award…
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Partial solar eclipse coming
A partial solar eclipse will be visible across the northern hemisphere on Thursday, June 10, hitting Western North Carolina around…
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The Bluffs reopens on the Parkway
The Bluffs Restaurant at Doughton Park on the Blue Ridge Parkway will reopen under new management on Thursday, May 27.
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Smokies superintendent wins leadership award
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash was named the winner of the 2021 Agency Leadership Award from the…
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Pigeon River Fund fuels WNC water quality work
The most recent round of Pigeon River Fund Grant Awards distributed through the Community Foundation for Western North Carolina will…
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National grant will fund outdoor field trips in the Smokies
A National Park Foundation grant will fund outdoor field trips for kids in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Trail race proceeds help SCC students
The 2021 Assault on Blackrock trail race raised $4,100 for the Southwestern Community College Student Emergency Fund.
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Opening the back(country) door: Beginner backpacking trip highlights OMC’s new mission
The morning fog is barely lifting at 8 a.m. when a group of five women meet outside Kathy Odvody’s home…
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Build community outdoors
Outdoor Mission Community, formerly known as Outdoor Mission Camp, has a stockpile of outdoor gear available at its resource center…
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Base Camp on the Go returns
Base Camp on the Go is back at Waynesville Parks and Recreation.
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Work begins on Abrams Falls
Rehabilitation of the Abrams Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now underway after kicking off May…
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Guide rates swim spot safety
MountainTrue has launched a new service that offers up-to-date water quality results for more than 65 popular recreation areas in…
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NOC celebrates its 50th season
Nantahala Outdoor Center is open for its 50th season, with new venues, courses and events in 2021.
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