Fire damage closes Whitewater Falls
 

Fire damage closes Whitewater Falls

The Whitewater Falls area of the Nantahala National Forest, near Cashiers, will remain closed indefinitely due to severe wildfire damage. 
Read More

Comment

 

To save a life: Global village rallies for high-altitude rescue in the mountains of Nepal

Judy Seago almost left the United States without packing a stethoscope.  Seago, a pediatrician, was headed to Nepal on a…
Read More

Comment

Forest fire updates
 

Forest fire updates

Arboretum collecting firefighting donations  Due to heightened fire danger throughout the region, the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville will not have…
Read More

Comment

New species named for Fontana
 

New species named for Fontana

A new-to-science lichen species discovered in March 2016 has been named after Fontana Dam due to its discovery in the…
Read More

Comment

 

Bird the holidays away

As December unfolds, birders across the globe will embark on a quest to tally as many birds and species as…
Read More

Comment

 

State burn ban lifted

Steady rains over the past week have caused the N.C. Forest Service to lift burning bans for 32 counties, including…
Read More

Comment

 

Drought diminishes due to rain

Last week’s rains caused a downgrading of drought designations across the board in Western North Carolina.
Read More

Comment

Duke Energy donates toward firefighting
 

Duke Energy donates toward firefighting

The Duke Energy Foundation gave a hand toward supporting firefighters battling wildfires this fall with a $100,000 donation.
Read More

Comment

Environmental camps and competitions benefit from funding
 

Environmental camps and competitions benefit from funding

Summer camps and Envirothon programs in Haywood, Buncombe and Madison counties will benefit from a $25,000 grant awarded to the…
Read More

Comment

 

‘No change in your pockets’: Farmers grapple with effects of historic drought year

Dowdy Bradley is 68 years old, and for nearly all of those years he’s been involved in some kind of…
Read More

Comment

 

Hemp could be grown in N.C. by 2017

North Carolina is working to establish rules for a pilot program allowing industrial hemp production, with the newly formed N.C.…
Read More

Comment

 

Elk volunteers snag support

The elk viewing experience in the Cataloochee Valley area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will get a boost…
Read More

Comment

 

Going forward by looking backward: Tradition and science meet in Cherokee forest plan

Over the course of thousands of years lived in the Southern Appalachian mountains, the Cherokee people had pretty well developed…
Read More

Comment

Drought disaster declared in Haywood
 

Drought disaster declared in Haywood

Haywood County has been declared a primary disaster area due to drought, making family farms eligible for federal assistance such…
Read More

Comment

Waynesville Judo Club wins big
 

Waynesville Judo Club wins big

Each of the Waynesville Judo Club’s six members came home with a medal from their Oct. 29 competition at University…
Read More

Comment

 

Dicks Creek Fire could become outdoor classroom for WCU

When the wildfires burning across Western North Carolina are extinguished, Western Carolina University faculty will likely be eying their footprints…
Read More

Comment

 

Donation will restore HCC dahlia garden

After disease wiped out Haywood Community College’s famed dahlia garden this year, the Carolinas Dahlia Society stepped up with a…
Read More

Comment

Drought disaster declared in Swain and Jackson
 

Drought disaster declared in Swain and Jackson

Swain and Jackson counties have been designated as primary natural disaster areas due to losses from the ongoing drought.
Read More

Comment

Drought increases disease risk in cattle
 

Drought increases disease risk in cattle

Drought conditions are taking their toll on livestock operations in the area, according to Jackson County Cooperative Extension, causing a…
Read More

Comment

 

Parkway conservation projects celebrated in new website

A new website highlighting land protection projects along the North Carolina section of the Blue Ridge Parkway is up and…
Read More

Comment

 

Sustainable forestry an award-winner for EBCI

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was honored for its use of positive-impact forestry on the Qualla Boundary when the…
Read More

Comment

Annual soil and water poster contest open
 

Annual soil and water poster contest open

Jackson County students in third through ninth grade will get a chance to share their messages on the importance of…
Read More

Comment

Widespread burn bans now in effect
 

Widespread burn bans now in effect

The North Carolina Forest Service has issued a burn ban for 25 Western North Carolina Counties, effective immediately and until…
Read More

Comment

Campfire restrictions enacted in the Smokies
 

Campfire restrictions enacted in the Smokies

Campfires in the backcountry of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are a no-go following the park’s decision to issue…
Read More

Comment

 

Granddaddy of ‘em all

This year will mark the 117th annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC.) The CBC is the longest-lived and largest citizen-science…
Read More

Comment

 

To the bluffs: Two-year Alum Cave Trail project culminates

It’s a miraculously warm, blue-skied November day, the iconic Alum Cave Trail stretching smoothly from the trailhead.  The trail invites,…
Read More

Comment

 

Bringing in the harvest: Despite drought, students and farmers join forces to feed Haywood’s hungry

Armed with five-gallon buckets and a groundswell of energy, 14 teens from Balsam-based SOAR Camp descended on Eugene Christopher’s Waynesville…
Read More

Comment

Drought disaster declared in WNC
 

Drought disaster declared in WNC

 Jackson County has joined five other Western North Carolina counties in receiving designation as a primary natural disaster area due…
Read More

Comment

New region-wide map focuses on recreation
 

New region-wide map focuses on recreation

A new map is available detailing more than 2 million acres of public forests, parks and scenic byways throughout Western…
Read More

Comment

WCU nabs green school listing
 

WCU nabs green school listing

For the sixth year running, Western North Carolina has been recognized as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges in…
Read More

Comment

 

Island of green: Exhibit commemorates 50 years of community-driven landscape at HCC

It’s a sunny day at Haywood Community College, light sparkling from the campus’s landmark mill pond and shining through the…
Read More

Comment

 

Creep on

It’s been about a month since my family and I enjoyed our assault on Whitetop. OK, so in reality, it’s…
Read More

Comment

N.C. ozone levels measuring up against new federal standard
 

N.C. ozone levels measuring up against new federal standard

With a new, more stringent ozone standard now in effect, North Carolina’s numbers are looking good.
Read More

Comment

 

Welcome home

The lake sturgeon, Acipenser fulvescens, once ranged across North America from the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay drainages down the…
Read More

Comment

 

Conservation easement finalized near Marion

One of the largest conservation easements to ever be donated by an individual in North Carolina history has been finalized…
Read More

Comment

Fly-fishing museum gets statewide recognition
 

Fly-fishing museum gets statewide recognition

The Fly Fishing Museum of the Southern Appalachians is just over a year old, but it’s already being recognized as…
Read More

Comment

 

Low water levels cut the season short

Fontana Lake looks more like a narrow river running through a canyon right now as drought conditions persist across the…
Read More

Comment

 

New district ranger named for Pisgah

The Pisgah Ranger District of the Pisgah National Forest has a new district ranger following the arrival of Dave Casey,…
Read More

Comment

Competition raises $220,000 to support military members
 

Competition raises $220,000 to support military members

A weekend of outdoor competition raised $220,000 in support of military members and their families at Mountain Falls Luxury Motorcoach…
Read More

Comment

 

Volunteers remove a ton of garbage from Haywood creeks

More than a ton of trash vanished from Richland and Allens creeks following a volunteer cleanup effort this fall.
Read More

Comment

Wildlife students recognized with scholarship
 

Wildlife students recognized with scholarship

Two Haywood Community College students have been recognized for their leadership, scholarship and dedication to the wildlife management profession with…
Read More

Comment

 

Data-driven analysis drives modern weather forecasting

Some things change, and some things stay the same.  Thousands of years ago, humans developed visual and spoken languages to…
Read More

Comment

 

Wildlife rides out the drought

From his vantage point on the banks of the Tuckasegee River, it’s not that hard for fly fishing guide Alex…
Read More

Comment

 

Forest fires ignite the Nantahala as drought worsens

Nantahala District Ranger Mike Wilkins was headed to church Sunday morning, Oct. 23, when he got the call. A forest…
Read More

Comment

 

Drought becomes extreme in far western N.C.

Even as Eastern North Carolina is reeling from flooding caused by Hurricane Matthew, Western North Carolina is plunging deeper into…
Read More

Comment

 

Five fires burn the Nantahala

Fire season is just beginning, but already five fires are lighting up the Nantahala National Forest. About 130 people are…
Read More

Comment

Paddlesports club gets national recognition
 

Paddlesports club gets national recognition

Nantahala Racing Club’s “superior performance and program development” earned it recognition as the American Canoe Association’s 2016 Stroke of Achievement…
Read More

Comment

HCC lumberjacks take second at competition
 

HCC lumberjacks take second at competition

The Haywood Community College Woodsmen’s Team took second place at the 2016 John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet this month,…
Read More

Comment

High fire danger prompts burning caution in Western N.C.
 

High fire danger prompts burning caution in Western N.C.

Fire danger is increasing throughout the forests of Western North Carolina, necessitating caution for any kind of outdoor burning. 
Read More

Comment

Livestock producers prepare for hay shortage
 

Livestock producers prepare for hay shortage

Drought is continuing and frost has ended the growing season in much of Western North Carolina, so hay could be…
Read More

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.