Proceeds grow from Smokies plates
 

Proceeds grow from Smokies plates

Sales of Friends of the Smokies license plates brought in $230,000 over the first half of 2017, a 6 percent…
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Grant funds to protect farmland

Three Western North Carolina properties are among those to be protected through $3.28 million in grants recently awarded by the…
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Dam removal to boost native species
 

Dam removal to boost native species

A recent dam removal on Santeetlah Creek in the Nantahala National Forest is allowing native fish to return to high-quality…
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Scouts bring in the apple harvest

More than 600 pounds of apples wound up in the pantries of people in need thanks to the efforts of…
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Wildlife through a lens: Highlands couple explores the outdoors one photograph at a time

The years since retirement have been anything but dull for Highlands residents Ed and Cindy Boos. From Ecuador to Kenya…
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A wall can’t stop these migrants

Regrettably a wall through desert and riparian lowlands along the Mexico-U.S. border will have terrible effects on terrestrial fauna whose…
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Jackson gives toward trail maintenance
 

Jackson gives toward trail maintenance

The Pinnacle Park Foundation and Friends of Panthertown Valley got some help with trail maintenance this month, thanks to a…
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Learning by growing: Veggie garden a teaching tool for Swain students

A summer of hard work is paying tasty dividends for some kids in Swain County 4-H — dividends paid in…
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Colorful fall predicted for Western North Carolina

This year’s autumn display is likely to be a colorful one, according to Western Carolina University fall foliage forecaster Beverly…
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Probing for pollinators: Miniature world of pollinators comes to life in Highlands

In the lull between summer’s peak and fall’s color arrival, things are on the quiet side at the Highlands Biological…
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Deer tests positive for rabies
 

Deer tests positive for rabies

A rare case of rabies in a deceased deer has been confirmed in Cherokee County.
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Enrollment agreement with local schools and Job Corps reached

A new agreement will allow students from three area schools to co-enroll at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center,…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Pardon me Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes

Number one daughter had a big camping weekend planned with friends and their families at Lake Chatuge over Labor Day.…
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Team Ruebel hits the trail: Hiking is a bonding force for father-daughter duo

Once Jay Ruebel started seeing the billboard, which advertised the 28.3-mile Trailblaze Challenge hike, it seemed like he couldn’t stop…
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Forest Service offers free camping for flood victims
 

Forest Service offers free camping for flood victims

People displaced by flooding in Texas and neighboring states will be able to stay in U.S. Forest Service campgrounds for…
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Telethon raises $200K for the Smokies
 

Telethon raises $200K for the Smokies

Friends of the Smokies’ 23rd annual telethon Aug. 23 raised $208,321 in donations to support the Great Smoky Mountains National…
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Help rebuild a Smokies trail

Volunteers are needed to help with efforts to overhaul the Rainbow Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,…
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Bear canisters recommended in the Nantahala
 

Bear canisters recommended in the Nantahala

An increase in bear encounters in Panthertown and along the Appalachian Trail through the Nantahala National Forest has resulted in…
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A total eclipse of science

Two independent natural phenomena have occurred over the past few days that will be etched in the memories, minds and…
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‘We never gave up hope’: After 11 days missing, Tennessee teen walks himself out of the Smokies

Austin Bohanan, 18, had been lost in the wilderness for 11 days when he woke up the morning of Aug.…
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Better signage comes to Shining Rock

A group of 13 emergency responders made a 15-mile hike this month to place new wayfinding signs at trail intersections…
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Man dead following waterfall climb
 

Man dead following waterfall climb

A 50-75-foot fall from Moore Cove Falls in the Pisgah National Forest left a man dead Wednesday, Aug. 23. According…
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Protecting mountain gold: Balsam uses dye to thwart ginseng poachers

Brian McMahan and Johnny Nicholson can both remember boyhood days spent in the mountains, hunting the elusive ginseng plant. Coveted…
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Fontana algal bloom keeps growing
 

Fontana algal bloom keeps growing

A potentially harmful algal bloom continues to grow in parts of Fontana Lake, and state officials are warning people to…
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Conservation easement created in Weaverville

A 310-acre conservation easement has been established at the watershed feeding the Town of Weaverville in Buncombe County, protecting the…
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New trail established at Grandfather Mountain
 

New trail established at Grandfather Mountain

There is now a new way to access the Profile Trail at Grandfather Mountain State Park in Avery County following…
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Record-breaking hiker embarks on the MST — with kids in tow

Having already claimed the record for the fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, Jennifer Pharr Davis, of Asheville, is now…
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Roller coaster in the sky: Solar eclipses inspire awe and enchantment for WCU professor

Enrique Gomez was 16 years old the first time he experienced the shadow of the moon. Gomez, now an associate…
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Monarchs get a home at Shelton House
 

Monarchs get a home at Shelton House

The gardens at the Historic Shelton House in Waynesville are now attracting monarch butterflies, thanks to the efforts of the…
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Pisgah students go big at Resource Conservation Workshop
 

Pisgah students go big at Resource Conservation Workshop

Two Pisgah High School students will end their summer in possession of newfound natural resources-related knowledge following the Resource Conservation…
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WNC gets new Wildlife Commission members
 

WNC gets new Wildlife Commission members

Western North Carolina will have two representatives on the 19-member N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission following a round of appointments by…
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Sunday hunting laws loosen
 

Sunday hunting laws loosen

A new state law will expand hunters’ ability to pursue their sport on Sundays.
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New Smokies science program to target schools

A new science education program will soon launch in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park thanks to a $1 million…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Beach bump

Friends and followers of “The Naturalist’s Corner” know I’m keeping a year-list of birds I see/hear this year. As I…
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To try a tri: Race day is a whirlwind for a first-time triathlete

As I stood freezing on the dock above 67.3-degree Lake Logan, the main thought running through my head was a…
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Emerald ash borer confirmed in Haywood County

The emerald ash borer has been discovered in Haywood County, making it the 32nd confirmed county to which the invasive…
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The solar eclipse is coming

News of the upcoming solar eclipse has been hard for Western North Carolinians to avoid this season, and the big…
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Plotting Cullowhee Dam’s future: Organizations weigh environmental and financial costs of repair and removal

Nearly a century old, the aging Cullowhee Dam is at a crossroads — with risk of failure increasing, Western Carolina…
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Become part of the garden tour
 

Become part of the garden tour

While Western North Carolina is still in the thick of summer 2017, the Haywood County Master Gardeners are already looking…
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Smokies volunteers honored
 

Smokies volunteers honored

The team of skilled volunteers that organized the mission to connect with the next generation of park users during the…
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Gleaners needed
 

Gleaners needed

The harvest is rolling in, and Haywood Gleaners is looking for volunteers to help get the leftovers from the field…
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NPS re-establishes partnership with Oconaluftee Job Corps Center
 

NPS re-establishes partnership with Oconaluftee Job Corps Center

For the first time in 10 years, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is operating a career development center aimed…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Rock Hill on the river

My family and I were in the Rock Hill, S.C.-Charlotte area a few weeks back to visit my sister and…
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Fontana algal bloom persists
 

Fontana algal bloom persists

An algal bloom observed in the Tuckasegee arm of Fontana Lake during late June continues to develop, prompting the N.C.…
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Duke Energy work proposed in national forest
 

Duke Energy work proposed in national forest

The Nantahala National Forest is reviewing a proposal from Duke Energy that would allow the company to upgrade its electrical…
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High schoolers become eclipse experts
 

High schoolers become eclipse experts

A Solar Eclipse Education Program at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont will turn high school students into experts…
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Haywood gets a honey extractor

The number of Haywood County beekeepers is on the rise, and a new honey extraction facility is now available for…
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WNC’s deadliest waterfalls

The attraction between people and waterfalls is nothing new, with a couple waterfall deaths per year typical between the Great…
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North Carolina creates outdoor rec recruitment position
 

North Carolina creates outdoor rec recruitment position

North Carolina now has a position for a dedicated outdoor recreation recruitment director tasked with developing the state’s outdoor recreation…
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Winged wonders: Butterfly house is a living exhibit at the N.C. Arboretum

It’s one of those summer days that’s so hot and humid it’s impossible to walk even two steps without sweating,…
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