Messages to the future: Park Service, outdoor camp work to mold diverse new generation of outdoor enthusiasts
The air on the Cataloochee Divide Trail is heavy with humidity and the promise of an afternoon storm, but the…
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Pursuing the Pinnacle: Mountain bikers push to create new trail system in Sylva
For the past decade, Sylva’s Pinnacle Park has had Sae Smyrl envisioning a lofty future for the hiking area. A…
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Wildlife education offered in schools
Mountain Wildlife Days, a weekend of wildlife-oriented fun, raised $2,600 this summer to go toward wildlife education programs in Western…
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National Trails Day breaks records
The numbers are in, and this year’s National Trails Day, organized at locations across the country by the American Hiking…
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Kids get out for a day on the farm
Kids spent a day learning about gardening and raising animals — while also enjoying swimming, fishing and hay rides — with a…
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Local naturalist releases hiking guide
Naturalist Ken Czarnomski — in partnership with the the Haywood County Tourism Development Authority — has released the third installment…
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High schoolers conquer the Rockies
After biking more than 300 miles through the Rocky Mountains, the group of five high schoolers involved in Western Carolina…
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Fatalities prompt caution when visiting waterfalls
Two fatalities related to waterfalls occurred in the Pisgah National Forest last week.
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Conservation groups plead for red wolf program to stay
Petitions bearing nearly half a million signatures urging protection of the endangered red wolf made their way to the U.S.…
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LEGO masterpieces celebrate the natural world
Nature-inspired LEGO creations will add an extra incentive to hit up the N.C. Arboretum the next few months, with the…
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Winged wonder: Bird study gets up close with WNC’s avian residents
Cloud cover keeps the summer morning cool as Mark Hopey makes the rounds below Cowee Mound. By 8:30 a.m., he…
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Planning begins for logging project in Haywood
Round tables and large, neon sticky notes characterized last week’s kickoff of a planning process to cut timber and create…
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Wading through nostalgia
Give a Loosiana boy a reason to don his hip boots and strap on a headlight and you’ve got a…
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Program turns high school students and teachers into park rangers
Students and teachers from communities around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are starting six weeks of hands-on learning and…
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WNC angling to take over television
Jackson County will be displayed on national television this week with the airing of Anglers & Appetites, a show that…
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Rule will allow tribal members to gather plants on park land
Native Americans will soon be allowed to gather plants on national park land for traditional purposes following the National Park…
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Ginseng lottery open
The lottery is open for permits to harvest one of Western North Carolina’s most valuable plants.
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Voting contest yields funds for Smokies tower restoration
Clingmans Dome Observation Tower will get a makeover thanks to a $250,000 grant that supporters of the Great Smoky Mountains…
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Sylva teen to compete in national angling competition
A Sylva teen is preparing to prove himself on the national stage of fly-fishing after qualifying for the U.S. Youth…
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Tackling the Beast: Prepping for a 60-mile mountain bike challenge isn’t easy
By Jamie Arnold • Contributing writer It’s a 95-degree Sunday afternoon. Most folks are at the lake, or lounging on the…
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Combination science lab and amusement park
Weightless for two seconds is not a moonwalk but at the top of the Space Shot at Huntsville, Alabama’s (Rocket…
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Comments sought on A.T. campsite construction
Fifteen new tent sites could go in along the Appalachian Trail on its route through the Standing Indian Basin in…
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Croquet group starts in Waynesville
A croquet group has formed in Waynesville, meeting 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays at Vance Street Park.
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Insect affecting WNC white pines
A tiny insect is being blamed for declining health in eastern white pine trees in six North Carolina counties including…
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Severe drought comes to WNC
For the first time since September, severe drought is affecting North Carolina — including portions of Haywood, Jackson, Macon and…
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Greenway bridge open in Jackson
A new bridge allowing access to the Jackson County greenway’s terminus at Locust Creek is now open to pedestrians, marking…
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Land conserved on Cold Mountain
The Cold Mountain Game Lands in Haywood County will likely get larger following a 162-acre purchase by the Southern Appalachian…
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Zahner lecture series kicks off
The Zahner Conservation Lecture Series at the Highlands Nature Center kicks off its initial program on July 7
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Remembering the removal: Wayside markers trace the Trail of Tears in WNC
A growing collection of roadside signs has been popping up along rural drives and main thoroughfares in Western North Carolina…
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Arboretum works on pollinator hospitality
The nation holds only seven Bee Campus USA gardens, and now the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville is one of them.
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New water slide is higher, faster
A new slide has been installed at the water park at the Waynesville Recreation Center.
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Beyond the river: Fly fishing camp builds confident, conservation-minded kids
Rods, reels, and wader-clad teenagers dotted Big East Fork’s meander to Lake Logan through the warm summer mornings last week,…
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Adopt a stream
Volunteers are wanted to help keep Haywood’s streams free of trash by adopting a section to clean once per year.
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Man finishes lap of the Blue Ridge Parkway
Ray Russell recently finished nearly a month of running with his arrival at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s end in Cherokee.…
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Go all-out with Lake Logan races
The Lake Logan Multisport Festival will bring in athletes galore for the 11th year running with its lineup of events…
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Nonprofit forms to teach survival skills during summer camp
The wilderness is where one can find peace and clarity while also finding inner strength and determination. That is the…
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Jackson declared Premier Trout Fishing Destination
Jackson County won’t officially become the North Carolina Trout Capital this year, but legislators expressed their support of the county’s…
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HCC qualifies for national championship
Haywood Community College’s Bass Fishing Team recently competed in the 2016 Carhartt College Eastern Regional Bassmaster Tournament where teammates Ryan…
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Sylva earns national recognition as a green town
Sylva earned recognition for its efforts to be clean and sustainable when the travel site Expedia.com named it the fourth…
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Peregrines once again at Devil’s Courthouse
A couple of Saturday’s ago Bob Olthoff and I made a quick trip up the Blue Ridge Parkway. We were…
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Pollinate, propagate, cultivate: 2016 garden tour to show off the best beds in Haywood
When Sarah Scott first started work at Haywood County Cooperative Extension in February 2015, planning for the 2016 Haywood County…
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Keep your salamander away from my newt
I often remind everyone who reads “The Naturalist’s Corner” to remember to look up. But each spring while surveying birds…
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Stories, salad and wildflowers: Plants a passion for Bigelow
Adam Bigelow bears down on the gas pedal of his biodiesel-fueled Jetta, urging it up the steep contours of the…
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Get outside on National Trails Day
Every year, America’s hiking trails get their moment to shine with the American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day. This year’s…
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Cashiers gets second farmer market
A new farmers market will launch in Cashiers this week, providing a weekly supply of local foods from 3 to…
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Trout waters open
Delayed-harvest trout waters will open for the summer on Saturday, June 4, giving anglers the chance to catch a dinner…
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WCU tops ‘best-of’ list for outdoors colleges
Western Carolina University came in on top in an online magazine poll looking for the region’s premiere outdoor adventure college.
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Get the cheat sheet to buy local
Growing season has arrived in Western North Carolina, and the new Local Food Guide from the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project…
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Glad to be alive: Bear bite victim tells his story
The sun had not quite set when Bradley Veeder fell asleep in his tent May 10, feeling “tired but happy”…
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Kids get creative with waterways
Haywood County’s young artists got some recognition for the T-shirt designs they dreamed up to celebrate Kids in the Creek,…
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