HCC students dominate at lumberjack meet
The Haywood Community College Lumberjack Team placed first out of 10 teams in this year’s John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s…
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Waynesville native to study lemurs
Waynesville native Christopher Lile is on his way to Madagascar for three months following his graduation from Gardner-Webb University this…
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Stay calm and creep on
Two years in a row — for this Hendershot family that’s like a tradition. We pedaled the Virginia Creeper Trail…
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Growing community: Church garden project brings neighbors together to grow healthy food
Two short years ago, the backyard of Waynesville’s Grace Church in the Mountains was basically just grass, save for a…
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Western Carolina gets green cred
Western Carolina University has been listed as one of the most environmentally responsible colleges on the continent — for the…
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Haywood grant to help fund elk volunteers
A $2,650 grant from the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority will help improve the experience of visitors journeying to Cataloochee…
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Stocking the Pigeon: Trout stocking a team effort in Haywood
It’s a sunny Friday morning on the Pigeon River when the bucket brigade assembles, five-gallon containers in hand. The stock…
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Panthertown seeks input through survey
Friends of Panthertown is hoping to learn more about the people who do — or may someday — serve as…
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Fires Creek conservation project still needs $25,000
A $500,000 pledge has brought Mainspring Conservation Trust within sight of the finish line to conserving 50 acres of private…
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Chimney Tops Trail reopens
For the first time in nearly a year, the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is…
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All’s well that ends with an elk
I had the pleasure of leading a birding trip for Alarka Expeditions on Friday September 29. I had been in…
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Pedaling toward Mitchell: Biking and biology go hand-in-hand for WCU professor
Darby Harris is going on a bike ride Saturday, Oct. 7, but how far he’ll pedal will be a mystery…
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Proceeds grow from Smokies plates
Sales of Friends of the Smokies license plates brought in $230,000 over the first half of 2017, a 6 percent…
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Grant funds to protect farmland
Three Western North Carolina properties are among those to be protected through $3.28 million in grants recently awarded by the…
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Dam removal to boost native species
A recent dam removal on Santeetlah Creek in the Nantahala National Forest is allowing native fish to return to high-quality…
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Scouts bring in the apple harvest
More than 600 pounds of apples wound up in the pantries of people in need thanks to the efforts of…
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Wildlife through a lens: Highlands couple explores the outdoors one photograph at a time
The years since retirement have been anything but dull for Highlands residents Ed and Cindy Boos. From Ecuador to Kenya…
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A wall can’t stop these migrants
Regrettably a wall through desert and riparian lowlands along the Mexico-U.S. border will have terrible effects on terrestrial fauna whose…
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Jackson gives toward trail maintenance
The Pinnacle Park Foundation and Friends of Panthertown Valley got some help with trail maintenance this month, thanks to a…
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Learning by growing: Veggie garden a teaching tool for Swain students
A summer of hard work is paying tasty dividends for some kids in Swain County 4-H — dividends paid in…
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Colorful fall predicted for Western North Carolina
This year’s autumn display is likely to be a colorful one, according to Western Carolina University fall foliage forecaster Beverly…
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Probing for pollinators: Miniature world of pollinators comes to life in Highlands
In the lull between summer’s peak and fall’s color arrival, things are on the quiet side at the Highlands Biological…
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Deer tests positive for rabies
A rare case of rabies in a deceased deer has been confirmed in Cherokee County.
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Enrollment agreement with local schools and Job Corps reached
A new agreement will allow students from three area schools to co-enroll at the Oconaluftee Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center,…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Pardon me Roy, is that the cat that chewed your new shoes
Number one daughter had a big camping weekend planned with friends and their families at Lake Chatuge over Labor Day.…
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Team Ruebel hits the trail: Hiking is a bonding force for father-daughter duo
Once Jay Ruebel started seeing the billboard, which advertised the 28.3-mile Trailblaze Challenge hike, it seemed like he couldn’t stop…
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Forest Service offers free camping for flood victims
People displaced by flooding in Texas and neighboring states will be able to stay in U.S. Forest Service campgrounds for…
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Telethon raises $200K for the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies’ 23rd annual telethon Aug. 23 raised $208,321 in donations to support the Great Smoky Mountains National…
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Help rebuild a Smokies trail
Volunteers are needed to help with efforts to overhaul the Rainbow Falls Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,…
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Bear canisters recommended in the Nantahala
An increase in bear encounters in Panthertown and along the Appalachian Trail through the Nantahala National Forest has resulted in…
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A total eclipse of science
Two independent natural phenomena have occurred over the past few days that will be etched in the memories, minds and…
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‘We never gave up hope’: After 11 days missing, Tennessee teen walks himself out of the Smokies
Austin Bohanan, 18, had been lost in the wilderness for 11 days when he woke up the morning of Aug.…
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Better signage comes to Shining Rock
A group of 13 emergency responders made a 15-mile hike this month to place new wayfinding signs at trail intersections…
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Man dead following waterfall climb
A 50-75-foot fall from Moore Cove Falls in the Pisgah National Forest left a man dead Wednesday, Aug. 23. According…
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Protecting mountain gold: Balsam uses dye to thwart ginseng poachers
Brian McMahan and Johnny Nicholson can both remember boyhood days spent in the mountains, hunting the elusive ginseng plant. Coveted…
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Fontana algal bloom keeps growing
A potentially harmful algal bloom continues to grow in parts of Fontana Lake, and state officials are warning people to…
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Conservation easement created in Weaverville
A 310-acre conservation easement has been established at the watershed feeding the Town of Weaverville in Buncombe County, protecting the…
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New trail established at Grandfather Mountain
There is now a new way to access the Profile Trail at Grandfather Mountain State Park in Avery County following…
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Record-breaking hiker embarks on the MST — with kids in tow
Having already claimed the record for the fastest thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail, Jennifer Pharr Davis, of Asheville, is now…
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Roller coaster in the sky: Solar eclipses inspire awe and enchantment for WCU professor
Enrique Gomez was 16 years old the first time he experienced the shadow of the moon. Gomez, now an associate…
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Monarchs get a home at Shelton House
The gardens at the Historic Shelton House in Waynesville are now attracting monarch butterflies, thanks to the efforts of the…
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Pisgah students go big at Resource Conservation Workshop
Two Pisgah High School students will end their summer in possession of newfound natural resources-related knowledge following the Resource Conservation…
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WNC gets new Wildlife Commission members
Western North Carolina will have two representatives on the 19-member N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission following a round of appointments by…
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Sunday hunting laws loosen
A new state law will expand hunters’ ability to pursue their sport on Sundays.
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New Smokies science program to target schools
A new science education program will soon launch in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park thanks to a $1 million…
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The Naturalist's Corner: Beach bump
Friends and followers of “The Naturalist’s Corner” know I’m keeping a year-list of birds I see/hear this year. As I…
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To try a tri: Race day is a whirlwind for a first-time triathlete
As I stood freezing on the dock above 67.3-degree Lake Logan, the main thought running through my head was a…
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Emerald ash borer confirmed in Haywood County
The emerald ash borer has been discovered in Haywood County, making it the 32nd confirmed county to which the invasive…
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The solar eclipse is coming
News of the upcoming solar eclipse has been hard for Western North Carolinians to avoid this season, and the big…
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Plotting Cullowhee Dam’s future: Organizations weigh environmental and financial costs of repair and removal
Nearly a century old, the aging Cullowhee Dam is at a crossroads — with risk of failure increasing, Western Carolina…
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