Former Folkmoot director takes on Nature Center
Karen Babcock, former director of Folkmoot USA in Waynesville, has been hired as the WNC Nature Center’s new executive director.
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Brannon named Environmental Educator of the Year
The Highlands Biological Station and Nature Center’s Patrick Brannon was recently named 2018 Environmental Educator of the Year by the…
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Symbol of connection: A decade of collaboration yields 300-mile MST trail section
From towering mountains to shimmering seas, North Carolina has a little bit of everything — and for the trail that…
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Mandatory bear canisters proposed for A.T. campers
Increased bear activity is prompting the U.S. Forest Service to consider broadening the list of places in Western North Carolina…
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Woman injured in bear encounter
A Swannanoa woman sustained serious, though non-life-threatening, injuries Tuesday, Sept. 18, after an encounter with a black bear.
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Golf tourney a win for charity
The Maggie Valley Lions Club raised more than $10,000 for local charities with its 10th annual Golf Tournament and Silent…
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National park volunteers receive regional recognition
Great Smoky Mountains National Park volunteers received regional recognition through the George and Helen Hartzog Awards Program for Outstanding Volunteers…
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Kayak donated to SCC
Phil and Connie Haire have donated a kayak to Southwestern Community College’s Outdoor Leadership Program.
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New signs tell Cowee story
The ancient Cowee mound in Macon County, once home to a thriving Cherokee town, now has interpretive signs to pay…
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Search underway for missing woman near Clingmans Dome
A full week after Ohio resident Mitzie Sue “Susan” Clements, 53, went missing in the Clingmans Dome area of the…
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Agriculture losses from Florence top $1 billion
Initial estimates for crop damage and livestock losses in North Carolina due to Hurricane Florence are expected to top $1.1…
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River access restored at Beechertown Road
Repairs have been completed to Beechertown Road and the Nantahala River access there in the Nantahala National Forest near Franklin.
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Oil Nut, that most curious fruit
For Elizabeth and me, the fall season is one of the most invigorating times to get out in the woods…
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Mountains at a running pace
Andrew Shepherd has only been a runner for about two years. But when he took up the hobby, he was…
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Poor acorn crop leads to increased bear encounters
A nighttime breath of fresh air turned traumatic for 75-year-old Swannanoa resident Toni Rhegness when she spotted three bear cubs…
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Chimney Rock reopens
Chimney Rock State Park is now reopen, complete with a working elevator, after a tough year that included extensive damage…
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MST birthday weekend logs 2,700 miles
An initial tally shows that 434 hikers cumulatively covered 2,756 miles of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail during its birthday weekend Sept.…
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Celebration crashers
My bride and I celebrated our anniversary by ditching the kids and renting a cabin near Blue Ridge, Ga., for…
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Tremont plans monarch tagging
The Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont is inviting volunteers to take part in monarch tagging in the Cades Coves…
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Bones from coast to coast: Black Mountain runner completes 1,175-mile run while battling cancer
Most people would not see a diagnosis of incurable cancer as an invitation to run 1,175 miles. But Kenny Capps…
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Chimney Rock hike-in only
Chimney Rock State Park is now hike-in only following the start of work to stabilize its upper parking lot Sept.…
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Man found dead in Smokies after two-day search
A man and a bear are dead following an ill-fated ginseng hunt in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
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A mile-high view: State-level squabble stalls Jackson County conservation project
To call the view stretching out below the 5,462-foot bald “spectacular,” “impressive” or even “jaw-dropping” would be an understatement. It…
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Nine years yields new state forest: Headwaters State Forest will offer landowner education and primitive recreation
North Carolina got a new slice of public land last week when Headwaters State Forest was opened to the public…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Hearts are a-bursting
I started out the front door, in the early morning light the other day, to check on the whereabouts of…
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Tremont gets new CEO
Catharine Terry has been hired as the new president and CEO of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont near…
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The Naturalist's Corner: The skies are beginning to fill
Around 70 percent of the birds that nest in the Eastern U.S. are neotropical migrants — they nest here (U.S.…
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Telethon raises $210,000 for Smokies
Friends of the Smokies collected $210,525 in donations during its 24th annual Friends Across the Mountains Telethon from hundreds of…
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150 acres protected in Jackson County
An additional 150 acres of land in Jackson County has been conserved with Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust.
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Like an old friend: Two decades of rock climbing getaways build friendship, identity for Sylva woman
Twenty years ago, Erin McManus and her friend Amy Miller were 22-year-olds fresh out of college, with no jobs, no…
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The Naturalist's Corner: It’s getting pinker
Our annual beach and marsh R&R at Wild Dunes on Isle of Palms, South Carolina, is history. Thanks to the…
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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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Boating access improvements coming to the Chattooga
Restoration and recreation work has begun on the Chattooga River in the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest thanks to funding from the…
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MST now complete in the mountains
The longest continuous section of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail is now complete in Western North Carolina thanks to Carolina Mountain Club…
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Grants awarded for farmland preservation
Farmland in several Western North Carolina counties will now be protected thanks to funding from the Agricultural Development and Farmland…
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Water Management Trust Fund awards $26 million
The N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund is closing out the 2017 grant year after having given nearly $26 million…
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MST sees fundraising success
Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail surpassed its fundraising goal of $200,000 to bring in $274,838 through its 40th anniversary campaign.
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Harrah’s employee recognized for environmental commitment
Harrah’s Cherokee Casinos’ housekeeping supervisor Arena Hall-Miller was one of three people chosen from across the Caesars brand for the…
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Report ranks N.C. high on solar growth
A new report from the Environment North Carolina Research and Policy Center ranks North Carolina third for solar energy production…
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Fly Fishing Hall of Famers announced
Inductees for the 2018 Fly Fishing Hall of Fame have been announced, with an induction ceremony set for Saturday, Sept.…
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Purchase to boost Bartram access: Mainspring conserves 71 acres of Little Tennessee River bottomland
A recent land purchase by Mainspring Conservation Trust could spell a new era for the Bartram Trail in Macon County. …
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Become a junior ranger
Kids wanting to earn their badge will have plenty of chances with a full slate of junior ranger programs offered…
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Champions crowned in Haywood
The 2018 Haywood County Recreation and Parks Summer Soccer Tournament concluded Monday, July 30, with a victory for the team…
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Counting the bears: UTK conducts largest-ever black bear survey
Barbed wire and hundreds of pounds of donuts are the key ingredients in a University of Tennessee Knoxville effort to…
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Key land tract conserved in Macon
Two adjoining properties that Mainspring Conservation Trust bought in July now link previously unconnected pieces of national forest and state…
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Dance raises $60K for the Smokies
The inaugural Smokies Stomp Barn Party hosted by Friends of the Smokies raised more than $60,000 to support the Great…
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Shooting range gets upgrades
The Dirty John Shooting Range in the Nantahala National Forest near Franklin will be closed for upgrades Thursday, Aug. 2,…
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Sunburst Trout celebrates 70 years
Sunburst Trout Farms in Waynesville will celebrate its 70th anniversary on Thursday, Aug. 2, coinciding with the first-ever National Rainbow…
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Students explore natural resources fields in Raleigh
A trio of local high school students recently represented Haywood County at a weeklong environmental workshop, the Resource Conservation Workshop,…
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No sight required: Summer camp spurs blind youth to outdoor adventure
When Sam Chandler heard that the summer camp he’d been attending for years planned to launch an adventure camp, he…
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