Turning away the invaders: Natural stream banks key to healthy waterways
Take a walk in mid-May, and you probably won’t get far before finding somebody bent over a garden bed, weeding.…
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Smokies home to rare synchronized lightning bugs
Spots are going fast to view the unique synchronous firefly display in the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains…
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Regional counties to form Mountain United Classic soccer teams
Soccer players ages 11 to 18 looking for a challenge beyond their local leagues will have a chance to try out…
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Birds of prey program swoops into Cherokee
A Birds of Prey program planned for 1 p.m., May 9, at the Oconaluftee Visitor Center will give visitors an…
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Smokies to offer glimpse of park careers
Anyone who’s wondered what a day in the life of a National Park Service employee looks like will get a…
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Springtime, garden time
Unearth the secret of square-foot gardening A free introduction to square-foot gardening at 5:30 p.m. May 13 at the Canton…
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Growing Season: New farmers markets to bring local focus to Cowee, Maggie Valley
The grassy field is empty and the playground vacant as the sun sheds evening beams across the grounds of Cowee…
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Mastercast: The perfect cast is an elusive catch
When I finally roll up Pavilion Road for my casting lesson, I’m nearly half an hour late. A wrong turn…
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Fishing festival to take over
A deluge of fly fishermen will soon descend on Western Carolina University. It’s the annual Southeastern Fly Fishing Festival, and…
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Opportunity for Highlands birders
Free, weekly bird-watching trips from the Highlands Plateau Audubon Society will start up in Highlands beginning May 3. Walks leave…
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Hike to take in rare pink shell azalea blooms
A hike to see the rare pink shell azalea on the slopes of Black Rock Mountain near Panthertown, scheduled for…
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Déjà vu in the woods
I was invited to help lead a bird walk focusing on wood warblers at this year’s 64th annual Spring Wildflower…
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Hike to wildflowers and waterfalls
Wildflower blaze expected on Highlands hike A wildflower hike will step off from the Jones Gap parking area near Highlands at…
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Plant sale, plant clinic
Plant sale planned for Franklin The 12th annual plant sale of the Macon County Master Gardener Association will be held 9…
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Cherokee language exhibit tours region
Cherokee language and culture is the focus of a touring exhibit slated to visit ten sites in the region throughout…
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Rule would limit dog hunting on some game land
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting comments on a proposed temporary rule change that would prohibit using dogs to…
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Working for play: Trail groups pass forest stewardship to the next generation
The woods are quiet on a cool Saturday morning in late March. There’s no wind swaying the still-bare trees or…
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Spring celebration planned for Parkway
Live raptors, green building and spring flowers will all be part of the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Greening of the Parkway…
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Wildflower Whimsy kicks off in Highlands
The Wildflower Whimsy event, May 2-3, at the Highlands Biological Foundation, will feature guided garden tours, a live plant auction…
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Farmers market kicks off in Waynesville
Another season is underway for Haywood’s Historic Farmers Market, which starts up again at 8 a.m. Saturday, April 26. The…
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Rain barrels available in Haywood County
Rain barrels made from recycled food-grade containers are available for purchase at the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce and the…
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A boon for bears
Bear management will get a boost in the Smokies with $4,000 in Appalachian Trail license plate sales to go toward…
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Volunteers to naturalize Richland Creek banks
Volunteers are needed to help Haywood Waterways root the invasive plants out of Richland Creek’s banks at Vance Street Park…
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Skatepark closed for repairs
The Waynesville Skate Park will be closed from April 28 to May 2 for repairs. The park will reopen May…
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Smokies celebrate Junior Ranger Day
National Junior Ranger Day will spur festivities in Great Smoky Mountains National Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., April…
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Growing season yields new farmers market
The Franklin area will be getting a new farmer’s market this year, held on Tuesdays from 3:30 to 7 p.m.…
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Disc golfers to descend on Cullowhee
Disc golfers will have a chance to show their stuff at the Inaugural Disc Golf Tournament at 5:30 p.m., Friday,…
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WNC home to most popular National Park
Western North Carolina can lay claim to two of 2013’s top three most visited places in the National Park System.…
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History and watershed hike in the Smokies
A guided hike along Big Creek in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be held at noon April 26…
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Anonymous donation rocks the national park
An anonymous donor gifted $2.2 million to Great Smoky Mountains Association last week, one of the largest cash donations ever…
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Haywood agritourism guide available
From farmers markets to roadside stands to U Pick farms to plant nurseries to historic preservation sites, Haywood County’s agricultural…
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Graveyard Fields closing for upgrades
One the Blue Ridge Parkway’s most popular recreation areas will soon be closing for construction. The Graveyard Fields parking area…
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Bring in the army: Initiative will link allies in fight against hemlock wooly adelgid
As stand after stand of towering hemlocks falls to the appetite of an insect smaller than a grain of rice,…
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Blood moon grand slam
Somewhere beyond the rain and clouds, in the wee hours yesterday morning (April 15), there was a striking blood moon…
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Hundreds of free garden kits passed out in Cherokee
Tribal families got some help jumpstarting their summer gardens when Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Principal Chief Michell Hicks handed…
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Carolinas to experience total lunar eclipse
Astronomy lovers and night owls in the Carolinas will get the chance to witness a total eclipse of the moon…
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Roadside bottles: a death trap for shrews
Learn how bottles tossed out along the roadside are killing small mammals in the mountains during a talk held on…
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Turkey season open
Turkey hunting season will open April 12 and run through May 10. A youth-only turkey season is already underway.
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Monarchs declining as habitat and food source shrinks
A multi-media program, Make Way for Monarchs, will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. April 19 at the Cradle…
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Help clean up a stream to honor Earth Day
Haywood Waterways Association is heading up several Earth Day themed activities this month, including a series of stream clean-ups.
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Forest users negotiate need for wilderness in new management plan
Western North Carolina is covered with more than 1,500 square miles of national forest, and residents often measure their assets…
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Believe it or not, spring is around the corner
Despite last week’s chill and blustery snow, we are in the throes of spring migration. Actually, migration never stops. There…
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Cradle of Forestry to debut old-time skills and new ecology exhibits
Cultural heritage demonstrations will kick-off the new season for The Cradle of Forestry in America on Saturday, April 12, along…
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Sea-level rise documentary features WCU prof
Learn how communities are dealing with coastal erosion, storms and rising sea levels with a screening of the critically acclaimed…
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Athletes to converge in Cullowhee for Valley of the Lilies races
The fourth annual Valley of the Lilies Half Marathon and 5K race are expected to draw an estimated 300 runners…
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Women’s flyfishing weekend
Women of all skill levels are invited to a women-only weekend of flyfishing from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, offered…
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Engage in a day-long celebration of science and nature
The Mountain Science Expo will feature science programs and exhibits designed to interest kids and adults from 10 a.m. to…
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Appalachian Trail volunteers needed
Learn the basics of trail construction and environmental stewardships by volunteering with an Appalachian Trail Conservancy trail crew.
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Reap the fruits of the backyard
Learn how to grow fruit trees successfully at a fruit tree workshop coming up in Jackson and Swain counties through…
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Lookin’ good up there: Ozone outlook positive for North Carolina
Warmer weather is on its way, but along with the sunny afternoons comes the return of ozone season. A bad…
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