SMN staff

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Drake Fowler, deputy executive director at The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, has been named president of the N.C. Chapter of the American Association of Landscape Architect. He will serve a one-year term leading the organization.

Fowler joined the Arboretum during 2015 as chief operations officer and chief financial officer and assumed his current post in 2019. He has been instrumental in the recent $2 million renovation and expansion of parking; overseeing the design and implementation of the $1.2 Willow Pond project that is a stormwater management, education and conservation initiative that protects the rare mole salamander; and programming of future improvements at the Arboretum’s Parkway entrance.  

Comment

Family farms across the region are eligible for emergency loan assistance from the Farm Service Agency due to damage or losses from drought occurring this fall. 

Comment

Western North Carolina is well represented in the more than $15 million recently awarded to protect working farms and forests, support county farmland preservation efforts and promote agricultural enterprises. 

Comment

Mountain BizWorks has named eight outdoor businesses that have been selected for the fifth cohort of its annual Waypoint Accelerator Program, which offers targeted support and resources for promising early-stage outdoor businesses. 

Comment

More than 500,000 North Carolinians stand to gain free health coverage in the coming months. 

Comment

Western Carolina University is delighted to announce its recent exhibition “Spark of the Eagle Dancer: The Collecting Legacy of Lambert Wilson” will now be extended through June 28 in the Fine Art Museum at WCU in Cullowhee. 

Comment

 The Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation announced that Charlotte Muir has been appointed as its new executive director. The announcement comes following an extensive nationwide search conducted by the Succession Planning Committee and approval from the Board of Directors. 

Comment

A new hiking trail is now open in Old Fort, offering an opportunity for people with disabilities to get outside. 

Comment

Held Sunday, Nov. 12, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cades Cove Loop Lope raised more than $110,000 to support the park. 

Comment

Winter Gary has been appointed interim executive director of the Highlands Biological Foundation as the organization works through a leadership transition after Charlotte Muir left for an executive director position with the Highlands Cashiers Health Foundation. 

Comment

Check out Winter Lights at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville with a group leaving from the Waynesville Recreation Department at 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 12. 

Comment

Newly released economic data measuring the outdoor recreation industry’s impact on the U.S. economy shows that, despite ongoing economic challenges, the industry continues to be a powerful driver in North Carolina. 

Comment

Registration opens Dec. 1 for a program offering discounted rates to ski and snowboard Cataloochee Ski Area on Friday nights this season. 

Comment

A visual exploration of the Blue Ridge Bartram Trail will be on display through Jan. 6, 2024, at The Bascom in Highlands. 

Comment

Work has started on a new 3-mile trail near Old Fort. 

Comment

Ride the trails with an experienced mountain bike instructor at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at Chestnut Mountain Nature Park in Canton. 

Comment

After canvassing, the vote count is official, with Brad Waldrop, Mark Jones and Blitz Estridge winning seats on the Sylva Town Council, in addition to incoming Mayor Johnny Phillips. 

Comment

Lakeview Drive in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near Bryson City is now open, but rehabilitation work on the road is still ongoing. 

Comment

Old Saint Nick will visit Chimney Rock State Park in Rutherford County Saturdays, Dec. 2 and 9, for the 26th year running to practice his chimney-climbing game on the iconic rock as Christmas festivities abound. 

Comment

The No Man’s Land Film Festival, the premier all-woman adventure film festival, will screen at New Belgium Brewing’s Liquid Center in Asheville at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 28, and it will also stream online. 

Comment

More than 67,000 pounds of trout will be stocked in the mountain and piedmont regions of North Carolina between Nov. 29 and Dec. 21, including locations in Jackson, Macon, Buncombe and Transylvania counties. 

Comment

North Carolinians continue to breathe the cleanest air in decades as emissions of harmful air pollutants like nitrogen oxides and particulate matter reach historic lows, according to the latest update of the “Air Quality Trends in North Carolina” report published by the N.C. Division of Air Quality. 

Comment

Celebrate the Pigeon River Watershed during Haywood Waterways Association’s annual membership meeting and holiday dinner 6-8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6, at the Lambuth Inn at Lake Junaluska. 

Comment

The committee responsible for advising on U.S. Forest Service recreation fees is looking for new members. 

Comment

Through Nov. 28 agricultural employers can apply for grants through a pilot program designed to improve the resilience of the food and agricultural supply chain by addressing workforce challenges farmers and ranchers face.

Comment

Meet Santa at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Swain County at one of three events coming up next month. 

Comment

During the month of November, military members and veterans can receive a discount on tree seedling orders from the N.C. Forest Service. 

Comment

The Nantahala Hiking Club will recognize outstanding volunteers during its annual awards banquet 5-8 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, at First Presbyterian Church in Franklin. 

Comment

A turkey shoot will be held 9 a.m. Saturdays at the American Legion in Waynesville, continuing weekly through mid-April 2024. 

Comment

Incumbent Alderman Dann Jesse will return to the Town of Clyde Board of Aldermen, along with a new face, Amy Russell. 

Comment

Work will start soon to add an acceleration lane from Interstate 40 East to U.S. 74A for $1.3 million. 

Comment

Environmental groups working to improve water quality in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties recently received 10 grants totaling $285,190 from The Pigeon River Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. 

Comment

The Sandy Mush Game Lands in Buncombe and Madison counties are now 67 acres larger after the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy helped the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission acquire the property.

Comment

After closing it four years ago, the U.S. Forest Service has decided to decommission and remove the Overmountain Shelter, located on the Appalachian Trail near Roan Mountain. 

Comment

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is looking for volunteers to expand its Elk Volunteer-in-Park Program in 2024. 

Comment

A recently completed study on microplastics in Western North Carolina has revealed that even remote headwater streams are impacted, as a large percentage of microplastics in waters tested came from atmospheric deposition. 

Comment

A newly released book from the Great Smoky Mountains Association compiles written accounts from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s archives spanning more than 230 years. 

Comment

The Maggie Valley Sanitary District again earned top marks for water quality from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, one of 15 facilities to be recognized with the “Gold Star” honor for systems that have received an award for exceeding drinking water standards for 10 or more consecutive years. 

Comment

Dubbed ‘Asheville’s brightest holiday tradition,’ Winter Lights opens Friday, Nov. 17, with the brilliant display open daily 6-10 p.m. through Sunday, Dec. 31, at the N.C. Arboretum. 

Comment

The growing season is winding down, but Haywood County Master Gardeners are still available to answer questions about all manner of plant-related issues. 

Comment

Earn your place as a cornhole champion during a tournament at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at the Cullowhee Recreation Center in Cullowhee. 

Comment

Haywood County is home to a slew of state medalists in this year’s North Carolina Senior Games. 

Comment

A Haywood County jury found a former jailer-turned-security guard guilty of strangling, raping and assaulting his then-wife. 

Comment

A bartender has been criminally charged following a single-vehicle collision in Macon County. 

Comment

The campground at Gorges State Park in Transylvania County is closed through Nov. 16 after a bear attacked an RV last week. 

Comment

Prescribed burns on about 1,200 acres of fields in Cades Cove are taking place this fall. 

Comment

A burn ban has been issued for 14 Western North Carolina counties in the face of expanding drought following the state’s 10th-driest October since records began in 1895. 

Comment

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is moving ahead with significant changes to the Laurel Falls Trail intended to improve visitor experience at the popular site, with an 18-month closure to start next year.

Comment

Mainspring Conservation Trust has received $175,000 to clean up and restore a brownfield site near Nikwasi Mound in Franklin. The money will help Mainspring remediate petroleum-contaminated soils on a vacant gravel lot in downtown Franklin.

Comment

Residents in the furthest west counties may see smoke over the coming months as the Cherokee National Forest carries out prescribed burns on an estimated 18,500 acres in Monroe and Polk counties, Tennessee, which abut Graham and Cherokee counties in North Carolina.

Comment

Smokey Mountain News Logo
SUPPORT THE SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS AND
INDEPENDENT, AWARD-WINNING JOURNALISM
Go to top
Payment Information

/

At our inception 20 years ago, we chose to be different. Unlike other news organizations, we made the decision to provide in-depth, regional reporting free to anyone who wanted access to it. We don’t plan to change that model. Support from our readers will help us maintain and strengthen the editorial independence that is crucial to our mission to help make Western North Carolina a better place to call home. If you are able, please support The Smoky Mountain News.

The Smoky Mountain News is a wholly private corporation. Reader contributions support the journalistic mission of SMN to remain independent. Your support of SMN does not constitute a charitable donation. If you have a question about contributing to SMN, please contact us.