School partners with land trust for wetland conservation
 

School partners with land trust for wetland conservation

Though the wetland bordering U.S. 441 on the North Carolina-Georgia line isn’t that noteworthy on first glance, it’s an ecological…
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Foundation pledges $600,000 for Parkway projects
 

Foundation pledges $600,000 for Parkway projects

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will spend $600,000 in 2015 on projects to benefit the Parkway and the plant and…
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When the bats leave the belfry: Fungus cuts down bat population, sparks speculation on species, ecosystem future
 

When the bats leave the belfry: Fungus cuts down bat population, sparks speculation on species, ecosystem future

Sarah Davis loves bats. They’ve been the wintertime residents of Linville Caverns for as long as she can remember, a…
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Solarize WNC forums demystify solar energy for the masses
 

Solarize WNC forums demystify solar energy for the masses

A forum on how to transition to solar energy will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, at the…
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Locals take gold and silver in Assault on BlackRock
 

Locals take gold and silver in Assault on BlackRock

The fifth annual Assault on BlackRock trail race is now in the rearview mirror, with 82 brave souls battling freezing…
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Bike rodeo comes to Jackson County
 

Bike rodeo comes to Jackson County

The Jackson County Bike Rodeo is calling all kids to come out 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 11,…
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Clingmans Dome Road opens for the year
 

Clingmans Dome Road opens for the year

Clingmans Dome Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park opened last week, six days ahead of its scheduled April…
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Bear encounter causes camping restrictions
 

Bear encounter causes camping restrictions

Graveyard Fields is closed to overnight camping following a bear break-in to a tent in the popular recreation area, and…
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Winter ends for Cataloochee
 

Winter ends for Cataloochee

Cataloochee Ski Area closed for the season Sunday, ending 141 days of open slopes for 2014-15. The season outstripped the…
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Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding
 

Richland Creek restoration expands with new funding

A recently awarded $200,000 grant will pay for two years of work to improve water quality and raise public awareness…
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Brookies get a boost in the Smokies
 

Brookies get a boost in the Smokies

Following a seven-year brook trout restoration project, Lynn Camp Prong in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now open…
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Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid
 

Grants awarded to fight hemlock adelgid

The battle against the hemlock wooly adelgid in North Carolina will continue with help from a bevy of grants from…
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Spiffed-up shelter hits the Macon County AT
 

Spiffed-up shelter hits the Macon County AT

With a higher-than-normal volume of thru-hikers expected next season, the Nantahala Hiking Club is getting prepared with upgrades to the…
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Commission calls on turkey hunters
 

Commission calls on turkey hunters

A study of lymphoproliferative disease virus, a malady affecting wild turkeys, is calling in help from hunters.
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Tribe granted authority over water standards
 

Tribe granted authority over water standards

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians is now able to administer its own water quality certifications, becoming the 49th tribe…
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Cherokee to weigh in on fish conservation
 

Cherokee to weigh in on fish conservation

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River will hold its annual meeting celebrating Earth Month at 6 p.m. Monday, April…
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WCU students win bass angling title
 

WCU students win bass angling title

A pair of Western Carolina University students took first this spring, in the Carhartt Bassmaster College Series Eastern Regional, presented…
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Bat protection prompts Smokies caving restrictions
 

Bat protection prompts Smokies caving restrictions

After closing the area in September to protect wintering bats, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will reopen Whiteoak Sink…
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Life in bear country: Bear encounter sparks camping closure, bear canister requirement
 

Life in bear country: Bear encounter sparks camping closure, bear canister requirement

A pair of hikers camped near the Lower Falls in Graveyard Fields got a rude awakening March 16 when a…
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Put the forest first!
 

Put the forest first!

I was commiserating with a friend who works for the Forest Service just after it was announced that they were…
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WNC air quality to be unpacked
 

WNC air quality to be unpacked

The Annual Ozone Season Kickoff will unveil the state of Western North Carolina’s air quality in 2014 with a program…
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Nature for the whole family
 

Nature for the whole family

By Danny Bernstein • Guest columnist When I first thought about taking my granddaughter, Hannah, on an outdoor experience, I looked…
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Nation’s best paddlers to compete at NOC
 

Nation’s best paddlers to compete at NOC

The Nantahala Racing Club’s Whitewater U.S. Open will keep the river churning at Nantahala Outdoor Center March 27-29.
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Logging, prescribed burning aims to bolster wildlife habitat
 

Logging, prescribed burning aims to bolster wildlife habitat

A U.S. Forest Service project aiming to improve wildlife habitat and forest health will allow logging, fire, thinning and other…
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Learn to tread lightly at Wilderness Skills Institute
 

Learn to tread lightly at Wilderness Skills Institute

Registration is now open for the fifth Wilderness Skills Institute, a training program for Wilderness stewardship and management, held at…
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Grit and wonder: 2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills
 

Grit and wonder: 2015’s thru-hikers reflect on trail hardships and thrills

If the stack of boxes piling up on the counter of the outfitter store at Nantahala Outdoor Center is any…
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Hail, hail the gang’s still here
 

Hail, hail the gang’s still here

I’ve recently been seeing lots of posts like these on Carolina Birders’ FaceBook page: “… My pine siskins have departed,…
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Mark your calendar for Spring
 

Mark your calendar for Spring

The weather is wintry, but spring is just around the corner. Mark your calendar for some of these upcoming springtime…
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Fees increase at Glenville campground
 

Fees increase at Glenville campground

For the first time in more than 18 years, fees at the Ralph J. Andrews Campground on Lake Glenville, which…
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Report spottings of the latest invasive plant: the fig buttercup
 

Report spottings of the latest invasive plant: the fig buttercup

A new invasive plant species is springing up in moist, nutrient-rich soils across eastern North America and has been spotted…
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Waynesville pursues bike-friendly roads
 

Waynesville pursues bike-friendly roads

Big white stencils of helmeted bikers now adorn a growing number of streets throughout Waynesville.
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WNC gear builders to show their stuff
 

WNC gear builders to show their stuff

Outdoor lovers will get a chance to see some of the best locally made gear during Outdoor Gear Builders of…
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Public greenhouse space up for grabs in Haywood
 

Public greenhouse space up for grabs in Haywood

Gardeners can get a head start on the growing season by renting greenhouse space for their seed trays at the…
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Prescribed burn planned for Cataloochee
 

Prescribed burn planned for Cataloochee

A 550-acre prescribed burn will start soon near Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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Sales strong for Smokies plates
 

Sales strong for Smokies plates

Friends of the Smokies got its largest-ever fourth-quarter check from sales of the Smokies bear license plate, accruing $105,080 for…
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WNC teens strut environmental know-how
 

WNC teens strut environmental know-how

Teams of middle and high school students from across Western North Carolina went head-to-head over their knowledge of environmental science…
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Paddling for Gold: NRC’s world-class whitewater stars are paddling hard this winter to secure a place on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team
 

Paddling for Gold: NRC’s world-class whitewater stars are paddling hard this winter to secure a place on the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team

By Michael Beadle It’s 26 degrees on a November morning, and Jamie Tidmore has just finished another whitewater kayaking run…
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Eureka! Dilemma dissolved
 

Eureka! Dilemma dissolved

I can’t understand how imminent ornithologists, in particular, and biologists, scientists and researchers in general have overlooked the obvious truth…
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Blazing a trail: Work starts on first Bartram Trail addition since the 1990s
 

Blazing a trail: Work starts on first Bartram Trail addition since the 1990s

It’s been nearly 20 years since Burt Kornegay first started looking into land along Hickory Knoll Road in Macon County,…
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Brevard company recognized in international competition
 

Brevard company recognized in international competition

Brevard-based SylvanSport has been named a finalist in the internationally renowned Edison Awards for its product GO, a lightweight pull-behind…
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Celebrate the diversity of the Smokies
 

Celebrate the diversity of the Smokies

The public is invited to mingle with researchers from around the world March 19-21 during the annual conference of Discover…
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Jump on the solar train with Solarize WNC
 

Jump on the solar train with Solarize WNC

A campaign to introduce homeowners and businesses to the option of solar energy is underway in Jackson, Haywood, Macon and…
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Renowned nature photographer to talk in Sylva
 

Renowned nature photographer to talk in Sylva

Les Saucier, a professional nature photographer, will speak at the Sylva Photo Club at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at…
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AT lay-over, Fontana Dam knighted as official trail town
 

AT lay-over, Fontana Dam knighted as official trail town

Hiker Haze Weekend will welcome the season’s first Appalachian Trail thru-hikers at Fontana Village Resort March 25-26, along with a…
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Bring on the bikes: Mountains to coast bike ride to kick off from Waynesville
 

Bring on the bikes: Mountains to coast bike ride to kick off from Waynesville

The plans are set: Waynesville’s getting invaded this fall, and the army will be 1,000 strong.  Semi trucks will haul…
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Volunteers sought to adopt tree plot
 

Volunteers sought to adopt tree plot

Smokies rangers are looking for tree-lovers who want to try their hand at science to adopt a tree monitoring plot…
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Buy Haywood guide seeks new listings
 

Buy Haywood guide seeks new listings

An agritourism guide for Haywood County is looking for new listings to help visitors and locals alike explore everything from…
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Weigh in on Cold Mountain Game Land management plans
 

Weigh in on Cold Mountain Game Land management plans

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is working on a plan to guide management at the Cold Mountain Game Land in…
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WNC farmers expand business through grants
 

WNC farmers expand business through grants

Farmers in Western North Carolina will branch out with new crops and alternative growing methods, thanks to 31 grants totaling…
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Life on LeConte: Winter on the top demonstrates the harshness and beauty of nature
 

Life on LeConte: Winter on the top demonstrates the harshness and beauty of nature

Sipping hot tea while swaddled beside a propane heater, warmth beaming as wind whips snowflakes around the mountaintop outside. A…
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