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Hike to Highland’s Rock Mountain
 

Hike to Highland’s Rock Mountain

A guided hike to the summit of Rock Mountain in the Highlands area will be held from 9 a.m. until…
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Grants to help farmers put out new roots
 

Grants to help farmers put out new roots

Farmers in Western North Carolina can tap $3,000 to $6,000 grants from the N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission to help…
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Survey shows outdoorsmen are environmentalists
 

Survey shows outdoorsmen are environmentalists

A new national poll released last month shows sportsmen prioritize protecting public lands above energy production. The poll conducted for…
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Pick up winter gardening tips from leading WNC botanist
 

Pick up winter gardening tips from leading WNC botanist

An organic winter gardening workshop be held from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6, at the Cullowhee home…
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Hikers needed for Mountain-to-Sea Trail routes
 

Hikers needed for Mountain-to-Sea Trail routes

Hikers are needed to hike proposed Mountain-to-Sea Trail routes in Jackson and Swain counties in and give feedback about the…
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Learn about the how and why of fall colors
 

Learn about the how and why of fall colors

The Highlands Nature Center will host a program on fall colors from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct.…
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Catch fall colors with Parkway hike
 

Catch fall colors with Parkway hike

Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will lead an easy to moderate 2.5 mile roundtrip hike to the summit of Sam Knob…
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Hikes with Land Trust for the Little Tennessee
 

Hikes with Land Trust for the Little Tennessee

The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee will host a guided hike to Yellow Creek Falls in Graham County on…
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What to bee-lieve
 

What to bee-lieve

Apparently what was apparent to many scientists and researchers back in 2008 is becoming more apparent — or not. Honeybee…
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Up-and-coming: Gorges State Park unveils new visitor center
 

Up-and-coming: Gorges State Park unveils new visitor center

Gorges State Park born just more than 10 years ago is now finally on its way to becoming one of…
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Rooted in the Mountains symposium comes to WCU
 

Rooted in the Mountains symposium comes to WCU

The third annual Rooted in the Mountains symposium at Western Carolina University will be held from 10 a.m. to 6:30…
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Help sought in mapping historic settlements
 

Help sought in mapping historic settlements

When the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created in the 1930s and 1940s, hundreds of families were forced to…
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Take a volunteer vacation along the A.T.
 

Take a volunteer vacation along the A.T.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Rocky Top Trail Crew is looking for volunteers to help reconstruct a remote section of the…
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Haywood Master Gardeners to give grants
 

Haywood Master Gardeners to give grants

The Haywood County Master Gardener Volunteer Association is accepting applications for grants for horticultural projects in Haywood County. The deadline…
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Help bring back the Cullowhee lily by planting bulbs
 

Help bring back the Cullowhee lily by planting bulbs

An effort to re-establish the Cullowhee lily on the Western Carolina University campus gets under way this fall with a…
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First whitewater releases hit the Upper Nantahala
 

First whitewater releases hit the Upper Nantahala

Paddlers hungry to sample the newest whitewater run to hit WNC’s rivers will flock to the upper reaches of the…
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NOC serves up guest appreciation festival
 

NOC serves up guest appreciation festival

Nantahala Outdoor Center will host its end-of-season Guest Appreciation Festival Sept. 28-30. A cornerstone of the annual event is the…
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Competition and culture at Forest Festival Day
 

Competition and culture at Forest Festival Day

Grab your axes. The 17th Annual John G. Palmer Woodmen’s Meet at The Cradle of Forestry in the Pisgah National…
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Dry Falls reopens after extensive rehab
 

Dry Falls reopens after extensive rehab

The U.S. Forest Service reopened Dry Falls in the Nantahala National Forest Saturday, Sept. 22. The site has been closed…
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Introduce kids to the joys of mountain biking
 

Introduce kids to the joys of mountain biking

Grab the kids and the bikes and head to the trails of Deep Creek outside Bryson City to celebrate ‘Take…
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Learn how to forage for edibles
 

Learn how to forage for edibles

Wild foods expert Alan Muskat of Asheville will lead a foraging workshop from 1 to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday,…
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Birds of prey to swoop into farmers market
 

Birds of prey to swoop into farmers market

Owls, falcons and other birds of prey will make an appearance at the Haywood Historic Farmers Market in Waynesville from…
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Birds and butterflies and flowers, oh my
 

Birds and butterflies and flowers, oh my

I had the pleasure of leading nine women from the Great Smoky Mountains Audubon Chapter on an outing along the…
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Galax takes a beating from blackmarket trade
 

Galax takes a beating from blackmarket trade

They operate in groups, or sometimes alone, packing duffle bags of the illicit product by foot through the Western North…
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Pour Le Pink 5K to raise money for breast cancer services
 

Pour Le Pink 5K to raise money for breast cancer services

The Highlands-Cashiers Hospital Foundation will hold a breast cancer benefit 5K run/walk at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 6, in Highlands.…
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Streak along the Tuck for a good cause
 

Streak along the Tuck for a good cause

The annual Smoky Streak run will be held Saturday, Oct. 6, along the Tuckasegee River in Sylva to raise money…
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Library to host local herbalist
 

Library to host local herbalist

Discover the world of herbs, from cooking to healing to the best ways to grow them, at 7 p.m. Tuesday,…
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Discover where Civil War history intersects with hiking trails
 

Discover where Civil War history intersects with hiking trails

The Macon County Public Library will present “Hiking Through History” with Leanna Joyner at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 27, in…
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‘Beauty Beneath the Dirt’ to be screened at REI
 

‘Beauty Beneath the Dirt’ to be screened at REI

A film about three Appalachian Trail thru-hikers will be shown 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 26, at the REI in Asheville.…
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Celebrating 35 years of the Bartram Trail
 

Celebrating 35 years of the Bartram Trail

The North Carolina Bartram Trail Society will celebrate its 35th anniversary on Saturday, Sept. 29, in Franklin with a program…
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Spotlight hunting of coyotes challenged
 

Spotlight hunting of coyotes challenged

State wildlife officials have gone too far in their goal of putting a dent in the coyote population, particularly when…
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Nantahala Hiking Club hosts family hiking day
 

Nantahala Hiking Club hosts family hiking day

The Nantahala Hiking Club, along with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, is holding a free “Family Hiking Day” on Saturday, Sept.…
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Wildlife group can’t find a hero in state legislative
 

Wildlife group can’t find a hero in state legislative

In an unprecedented move, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation has declined to honor a Legislator of the Year for the…
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Foliage forecaster predicts good, but spotty, colors
 

Foliage forecaster predicts good, but spotty, colors

Visitors to Western North Carolina’s mountains can look forward to a good display of color this autumn, although some areas…
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Monarchs migrate through WNC
 

Monarchs migrate through WNC

A program called “Bring Back the Monarchs” will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, at the Cradle of…
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Hummingbird expert to give talk
 

Hummingbird expert to give talk

A free program titled “Hummingbirds: Delicate Gems or Sky Kings?” will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, at…
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A clear path
 

A clear path

Last Saturday, Sept. 15, was surely a gorgeous day to be ridge running high in the Plott Balsams — clear…
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Forest service ignites  firestorm over proposed burn
 

Forest service ignites firestorm over proposed burn

The U.S. Forest Service is proposing a controlled burn in Panthertown Valley, a popular recreation area in Jackson County dissected…
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Land Trust offers unique glimpse at unique Whiteside Cove property
 

Land Trust offers unique glimpse at unique Whiteside Cove property

The Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust and John Warren will lead an Eco Tour to Timber Ridge, part of the Warren Estate…
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Kids in the Creek invites community to take part
 

Kids in the Creek invites community to take part

The 15th annual Kids in the Creek program for Haywood County eighth-graders will be held Sept.17-19 at the Canton Recreation…
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Trout Unlimited brings conference to WNC
 

Trout Unlimited brings conference to WNC

Trout fishermen from across the country will convene in Asheville this weekend for the Trout Unlimited annual conference Sept. 14-16.…
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Blaze a farm trail through the mountains
 

Blaze a farm trail through the mountains

Farms across Western North Carolina will welcome the public to traipse through their fields, barns and greenhouses during the annual…
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Pitch in for the Big Sweep along your local waterways
 

Pitch in for the Big Sweep along your local waterways

Volunteers will rescue creeks and rivers from a tangle of accumulated trash that builds up along the banks and in…
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Get a taste of fishing, archery and shooting
 

Get a taste of fishing, archery and shooting

National Hunting and Fishing Day will be celebrated with family-oriented outdoor events at the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education from…
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Potentially fatal disease could pose risk to deer
 

Potentially fatal disease could pose risk to deer

An outbreak of a disease spread by biting gnats has turned up deer populations in several foothill counties.
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Local adventurers share their stories at Jackson Library
 

Local adventurers share their stories at Jackson Library

The adventure stories of several Jackson County residents is the subject of a new collection of exhibits and a program…
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Inaugural Tuck River Festival set for Sept. 16
 

Inaugural Tuck River Festival set for Sept. 16

The inaugural Tuckasegee River Festival — “Fiddler on the River” — is sponsored by the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee…
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Restaurants take part in Parkway fundraiser
 

Restaurants take part in Parkway fundraiser

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation will hold the first annual Plates for the Parkway event on Sept. 18 in which…
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Celebrate Friends’ Day with Friends of the Smokies on Sept. 15
 

Celebrate Friends’ Day with Friends of the Smokies on Sept. 15

10 percent of Mast General Store sales in Waynesville on Sept. 15 will go to the Friends of the Smokies…
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Learn about growing organic broccoli
 

Learn about growing organic broccoli

North Carolina State University is hosting a workshop on organic broccoli production from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sept. 19 at…
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