Venture abroad with NOC
In celebration of its 50th anniversary year in 2022, the Nantahala Outdoor Center has announced a schedule of international travel…
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Moderate fall color season predicted
A “reasonably colorful” fall leaf season with a less pronounced peak than usual is predicted for Western North Carolina, according…
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Two injured in bear encounter: Parkway logs first bear attack in at least 25 years
Trail closures and food prohibitions are expected to remain in place on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville through the…
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Outdoor Economy Conference postponed
Due to the Delta variant’s continued impact on public health, the Outdoor Economy Conference originally scheduled for Oct. 12-15 has…
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Transformation on trail: Volunteers converge to secure Max Patch’s future
On a sunny Saturday in September, tall grasses wave a fringe atop Max Patch, framing mountain layers fading from ripened…
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Cleanup efforts remove tons of litter
This year’s Big Sweep event in Haywood County removed a whopping 3,100 pounds of trash from county streams with the…
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Bear attack injures two on the Blue Ridge Parkway
A black bear injured two people near the Folk Art Center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Asheville when it…
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WNC water treatment plants honored
Two Haywood County water treatment plants were among the 13 North Carolina facilities recognized with the Gold Star honor for…
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Improved disc golf course opening at HCC
Help celebrate the grand re-opening of the Haywood Community College disc golf course with a two-round tournament starting at 9…
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‘Black Folks Camp Too’ wins national award
The Brevard-based business Black Folks Camp Too was recently given The President’s Award from America’s State Parks during the organization’s…
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Jackson Chamber tees off annual golf tourney
The 30th annual Jackson County Chamber of Commerce Chamber Challenge Golf Tournament drew 92 golfers to participate in 23 four-person…
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Grant award to spur WNC’s outdoor economy
Nearly $3 million in newly announced funding will support further development of the outdoor-driven community and economy in Western North…
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Judaculla property protected
Mainspring Conservation Trust recently closed on an in-holding of the Nantahala National Forest Service in the Caney Fork Valley of…
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Highlands educator given statewide honor
Patrick Brannon, outreach specialist at the Highlands Biological Station, has received the 2021 award for exceptional environmental education programs from…
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Winner announced for Kids in the Creek shirt design
Waynesville Middle School student Kate Clark is the winner of this year’s Haywood Waterways Association Kids in the Creek T-shirt…
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Get in gear for adventure
UPDATE: Due to rising COVID-19 cases, the Sept. 25 event has been postponed until next spring. A full weekend of…
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Songbird outbreak is subsiding
A mysterious outbreak that has been affecting songbirds since May 2020 appears to be subsiding, and thanks to diligent reporting…
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Country miles: Federal designation sought for Benton MacKaye Trail
This year marked both the 16th birthday of the Benton MacKaye Trail and the 100th anniversary of its namesake’s flagship…
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Fishing after the flood: Flood took two-thirds of state hatchery’s trout
When the Davidson River first hit flood stage on at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, it was a normal — albeit…
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Below the waterline: Fred’s impact on aquatic life remains to be seen
Eric Romaniszyn had been Haywood Waterways Association’s project manager for less than six months when the legendary floods of September…
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Weigh in on Haywood’s recreation planning
An update to the 2007 Haywood County Recreation Master Plan is underway, with a survey now available to take public…
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Smokies sees two fatal accidents in one weekend
Two men died while visiting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last weekend, one due to drowning and another resulting…
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HCC student wins national timbersports title
A Haywood Community College student earned the 2021 U.S. Rookie Champion title at the recent STIHL Timbersports U.S. Championships in…
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Dispose of chemicals safely
As floodwaters recede and cleanup continues, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services urges farmers and homeowners to evaluate…
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Second fatal bear attack in Smokies history confirmed
A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died…
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Fred's impact on public lands
In addition to claiming lives, homes and livelihoods, Tropical Storm Fred has had a significant impact on many beloved sites…
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Lasting damage: Recreation impacts from Fred could linger for years
A week before Tropical Storm Fred unleashed historically high floodwaters on Western North Carolina, Greg Philipp was in Washington fighting…
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Planning for adventure: Sylva, Cherokee to partner on trails plan
The highest-elevation mountain bike trail on the East Coast is on the path from concept to reality after the Cherokee…
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Wildlife Commission elects new leadership
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has elected Richmond County resident Monty R. Crump as its new chairman, replacing Dallas resident…
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NPS institutes mask mandate
A national mask mandate is now in place across the National Park Service.
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Closures at Waynesville pool
Lack of staffing has prompted the Waynesville Recreation Center to close its water park and constrain hours for the lap…
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Daytime closures resume on Newfound Gap Road
Daytime closures associated with an 8-mile paving project on Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will…
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‘Year of the Trail’ planned for 2023
The N.C. General Assembly has declared 2023 to be “Year of the Trail” in North Carolina, marking it as a…
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Bear caused 2020 Smokies death, autopsy shows
A man found dead in the Hazel Creek area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last September likely died…
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Parkway motorcycle crash causes fatality
A 74-year-old Georgia man is dead following an Aug. 8 accident on the Blue Ridge Parkway north of Old Fort.
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Effort begins to clean up Fontana campsites
On Tuesday, Aug. 10, 14 volunteers converged on Fontana Lake to clean up dispersed campsites that had been trashed by…
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Living high with the hogs: Mountain hog farm revives historic breed
Morning cool still hangs over the grassy fields at Smoky Mountain Mangalitsa Farm as Catherine Topel approaches a pair of…
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Grant to increase diversity in Smokies programs
A $10,000 grant from REI Co-op in Pigeon Forge will support community science programs in the Great Smoky Mountains National…
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Harrah’s donates to N.C. Beautiful
Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos recently donated $30,000 to N.C. Beautiful, a nonprofit organization that has for 54 years supported environmental awareness,…
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Join the Bucket Brigade
The Bucket Brigade is looking for people who are tired of passing by the same trash each day and want…
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Century Farm applicants wanted
A reunion for families who have continuously operated a farm for 100 years or more is coming up this fall…
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‘Let’s protect it’: For retiring Mountain Wildlife Days director, wildlife outreach is a calling
With his 90th birthday now approaching, John Edwards is retiring from his two-decade-long role organizing one of the region’s largest…
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Clay couple donates land for conservation
A Clay County couple has conserved their 50-plus-acre property and will donate it as a life estate to Mainspring Conservation…
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Crashes cause deaths in the Smokies, Parkway
A trio of collisions in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway over the past week have…
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Swain students win softball title
Two Swain Middle School eighth graders helped their softball team win a tournament title during the Native American Youth Organization…
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Tree seedlings for sale
Seedlings are available for sale from the N.C. Forest Service Nursery Program, with specimens offering superior growth, form and disease…
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Friend your farmer
Empowering Mountain Food Systems will be highlighting the stories, personalities and passions of Western North Carolina farmers through its new…
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Ticket, please: Smokies to explore paid parking, shuttle service as crowd control tools
As visitor use in the already-crowded Great Smoky Mountains National Park continues to climb, for the first time ever the…
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Dive into folklore this Friday
Blue Ridge Parkway rangers will host a new outdoor interpretive series dubbed “Fridays at the Folk Art Center” at 7:30…
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Bills aim to fund wildlife conservation
Bipartisan legislation aiming to fund local efforts to support struggling wildlife is now under consideration in both houses of Congress…
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