“Operation Something Bruin:” Dozens of rogue hunters busted in illegal mountain poaching ring
Last week, state and federal wildlife officers began rounding up dozens of suspected poachers in Western North Carolina, bringing to…
Read More
Honest hunters have little tolerance for renegade tactics
Shock waves rippled through the mountain hunting community last week as word spread of a sweeping undercover investigation targeting dozens…
Read More
WCU trail system now open to the public
Western Carolina University’s new trail system is open and ready for bikers, hikers and runners. About 100 people turned out…
Read More
Loosiana part deaux
What better place to start part deaux than Breaux Bridge along Bayou Teche? Firmin Breaux originally purchased the area that…
Read More
Taking the polar plunge
Around 30 daring souls splashed and jumped into Lake Junaluska last Saturday for the first annual “Polar Plunge” to raise…
Read More
Climbing event at Chimney Rock
An event called “Climbin’ the Chimney” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 2 is an opportunity to for…
Read More
Duke grants to aid education, environment
Duke Energy is helping to fund new educational and environmental projects as part of its hydropower relicensing agreement in the…
Read More
Land Trust for Little Tennessee helps gain protection for another town watershed
The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee recently helped the town of Andrews protect and conserve its 930-acre watershed in…
Read More
Smokies Association pushes for membership
The Great Smoky Mountains Association is launching a membership drive in honor of its 60th anniversary this year.
Read More
GBBC at BBLNWR
Translation — Great Backyard Bird Count at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge; the tradition continues. Since a spur-of-the-moment GBBC…
Read More
Last call for Polar Plunge
Wade, dash, splash or take the full plunge into Lake Junaluska from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 23…
Read More
Bear Creek Lake on upper Tuck gets boat ramp, dock and pier
A boat ramp on Bear Creek Lake in the Tuckasegee area of Jackson County has been renovated by the N.C.…
Read More
Float, boat or fish the Tuck
This spring, rolling down the Tuckasegee River will be, for the most part, as it has been in years past…
Read More
Wild game on the grill at wildlife club dinner
The Wildlife Club at Haywood Community College is hosting a wild game dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 22, at…
Read More
Parkway chief to retire
Parkway Superintendent Phil Francis has announced that he will retire on April 1 after 41 years in the National Park…
Read More
Cataloochee road closed due to wash out
The gravel road leading into Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was washed out by recent heavy…
Read More
Vandals hit park with paint and profanity
Vandals hit an area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park known as “the Sinks” — a popular roadside waterfall…
Read More
Great count in your backyard
Of course, you’re no longer confined to your backyard like you were back in 1997 when the Great Backyard Bird…
Read More
More trail talk…
A regional trails map showing hiking trails, greenways, public lands, rivers and other outdoor recreation landmarks in the seven western…
Read More
Trail triage? Tough choices ahead as forest service weighs 1,600 miles in trail plan
For the past year, the National Forest Service has been taking inventory, collecting public input and meeting with outdoor interest…
Read More
Dark skies — and the stars that go with them — slowly disappearing
Although the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a protected expanse of land, all types of contamination — from air…
Read More
Local fisherman lands silver at championships
Angler and Sylva native Josh Stephens recently earned a silver medal in team competition during the National Fly Fishing Championship…
Read More
Donation will go to Smokies priorities
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park was recently awarded $2,000 from Sustainability for Generations to Come, a Western North…
Read More
Farmers get a helping hand with diversification grants
28 Western North Carolina farmers received nearly $150,000 total in grants to help diversify their farm businesses. The money was…
Read More
Fees proposed for forest service recreation sites
The U.S. Forest Service may increase, or begin charging, fees at seven recreation sites within the national forests in North…
Read More
Hops finds a home in WNC soil and economy
A free program on “The Business of Growing Hops” will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb.…
Read More
The Rainbow to Nowhere?
What happens when you finally get to the end of the rainbow and there’s no gold in the pot? Perusing…
Read More
Chattooga at the crossroads
A recurring debate between camps in the Chattooga River controversy is how many paddlers would actually come to the river.…
Read More
The hype on hybrids
Editor’s note: Naturalist Don Hendershot is writing a series of columns exploring the use of alternative energy and fuels. …
Read More
Hiking club rolls out two new trail challenges
To celebrate its 90th anniversary, the Carolina Mountain Club Challenge committee has added two new hiking challenges this year to…
Read More
Sign-up for behind-the-scenes look at the Smokies
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is beginning a new program that allows nearby residents, business people, teachers and community…
Read More
Outdoors news briefs
Rains cause wastewater spills in Haywood Beginning Jan. 14, and due to the heavy rains, Waynesville had several wastewater overflows.…
Read More
Conservancy adds on to protected Roan Mountain lands
A 601-acre tract in Avery County near Roan Mountain has been purchased and conserved by the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy.…
Read More
Arrrggghh – a wintry mix
Limeade, tequila and cointreau is not a wintry mix — that is a margarita; something you may resort to when…
Read More
National A.T. gathering making the trek to Cullowhee this summer
A large Appalachian Trail gathering is coming to Western Carolina University this summer, and local trail clubs hosting the week-long…
Read More
150 and counting: WCU grad student research helps get a handle on impacts of mounting numbers of elk
By Jill Ingram • Guest writer, WCU public affairs office Covering long distances in and around Cataloochee Valley, a Western…
Read More
Weather or not: Local Yokel Weather fine tunes forecasts for your neck of the woods
Have you ever been told by the evening news to expect three inches of snow overnight, but after stocking up…
Read More
Big investment made in local bio-fuels
A consortium of Western North Carolina public agencies and private organizations will receive a grant of $766,000 from the N.C.…
Read More
Working farmland protection plan being crafted in Swain
Swain County farmers, landowners, and other interested individuals are invited to share their thoughts and idea on a new farmland…
Read More
I feel the earth move…
It may not have shaken the Richter scale like the stampede of Republican lawmakers and their realtor and developer lobbyists…
Read More
Saving Shuckstack: Age, weather and vandalism take their toll on Smokies’ firetower
Its bolts are rusting, floor planks are rotting, and its windowpanes shattered. The roof is pocked with holes that let…
Read More
Up in flames?
I sit this morning being bathed in luxurious rain. The kind of life-affirming, life-giving rain the Smokies are noted for.…
Read More
Devil’s Courthouse logging proposal criticized by environmental groups
Proposed logging below Devil’s Courthouse in the Pisgah National Forest is being widely decried among outdoor recreation groups and environmental…
Read More
Freeze your icicle off at winter bike race
Riders are invited to compete and spectators are invited to watch at the Icycle Mountain Bike Race at Fontana Village…
Read More
Deputy superintendent retires from GSMNP
Kevin FitzGerald, deputy superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 2006, retired this month after 34 years with…
Read More
Haywood Waterways to launch endowment fundraising campaign
The Haywood Waterways Association has named their endowment fund the “Joetta Rinehart Endowment Fund” in honor of one of the…
Read More
Lake Junaluska a top spot for winter birding
The Highlands Plateau chapter of the Audubon Society will go birding at Lake Junaluska on Monday, Jan. 21, to mark…
Read More
Global warming series aims to inspire change
A six-week discussion course on climate change called “Global Warming: Changing Course” is being put on by the Western North…
Read More
A closer look
Only you can apply the brakes to slow down the Courthouse Timber Sale and get everyone to take a closer…
Read More
Food cables help backpackers ward off bears
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has provided $800 from its specialty license plate funds to help secure backpackers’ food from bears…
Read More
