Folkmoot 5K race results
 

Folkmoot 5K race results

Folkmoot 5K overall results Folkmoot 5K age group results
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Goats who stare at trees
 

Goats who stare at trees

They not only stare at them, they eat them. Well, maybe not all trees, but woody browse in general. Hopefully,…
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America’s Great Outdoors Initiative
 

America’s Great Outdoors Initiative

Not even the looming shadow of the nation’s worst environmental disaster in two decades could spoil the mood at the…
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WATR hosts walk ‘n talk
 

WATR hosts walk ‘n talk

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River will host a “Walk ‘n Talk” in the Deep Creek area of the…
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Imperiled fish returns to the Cheoah River
 

Imperiled fish returns to the Cheoah River

Stocking a river with one of the nation’s rarest fish is a slow and gentle process. On a recent summer…
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Elk Foundation banquet to celebrate milestones
 

Elk Foundation banquet to celebrate milestones

The Great Smoky Mountains Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation will throw its annual banquet at 5 p.m. Saturday,…
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Trail volunteers needed in Smokies
 

Trail volunteers needed in Smokies

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is recruiting for volunteers for the Adopt-a-Trail program. A mandatory training program will be…
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Yellowroot, kingfishers and waterstriders
 

Yellowroot, kingfishers and waterstriders

The upland waterways of the southern highlands provide one of the region’s most interesting natural areas. Unlike most upland habitats…
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Outdoor Mission Camp englightens and empowers city youth through wilderness adventure
 

Outdoor Mission Camp englightens and empowers city youth through wilderness adventure

Ruffin Shackelford led a group of boys, referred to his program by a juvenile court judge, deep into the Shining…
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Missing section of Mountains to Sea Trail gets shorter
 

Missing section of Mountains to Sea Trail gets shorter

Volunteers continue knocking out a new section of the Mountains to Sea Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Waterrock…
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Park ranger programs offer window on Smokies
 

Park ranger programs offer window on Smokies

Before summer slips by, take in one of the many ranger guided programs in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,…
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Lake Logan offers cool venue for hot race
 

Lake Logan offers cool venue for hot race

Triathletes from across the country will descend on Lake Logan in Haywood County Aug. 7 and 8. The weekend line-up…
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Talk to highlight convergence of art and nature
 

Talk to highlight convergence of art and nature

George and Elizabeth Ellison, the artist and naturalist husband-wife team from Bryson City, will give a talk called “Blue Ridge…
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Program to ponder the mystery of Masa
 

Program to ponder the mystery of Masa

George Masa was one of the greatest landscape photographers of Western North Carolina, but where he came from and what…
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Bird’s the word
 

Bird’s the word

Are you a fledgling birder? Would you like to learn more about the feathered flocks that visit your feeder and…
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Ornithologist unravels mysteries behind song sparrow personalities
 

Ornithologist unravels mysteries behind song sparrow personalities

Last Thursday morning was atypical for song sparrow IR-IF. While defending his territory from the song of an intruding male,…
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State leaders fund land conservation despite tight budget
 

State leaders fund land conservation despite tight budget

After a tenuous state budget debate, The Farmland Preservation Trust Fund emerged with $2 million in funding for the upcoming…
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Green spaces — good places
 

Green spaces — good places

We were in Rock Hill, S.C., this past weekend enjoying our annual Fourth of July ritual of visiting my little…
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Smokies gala a success
 

Smokies gala a success

Smokies gala a successFriends of the Smokies raised $20,000 to support special projects in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park…
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Bear country tutorial uses new medium to reach hikers
 

Bear country tutorial uses new medium to reach hikers

A new video podcast called “Day Hiking and Wildlife” has been created to educate hikers in the Great Smoky Mountains…
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Into the wild at Mountain Wildlife Days
 

Into the wild at Mountain Wildlife Days

Mountain Wildlife Days will bring a line-up of nature talks, wildlife programs and guided hikes to the Cashiers area on…
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Kick up your heels for Folkmoot 5K
 

Kick up your heels for Folkmoot 5K

A race with an international flare, the annual Folkmoot 5K, will be held on Saturday, July 31, in Waynesville. The…
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Parkway’s glories honored by Congress
 

Parkway’s glories honored by Congress

A resolution commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Blue Ridge Parkway is slated for passage by Congress. “The Blue Ridge…
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Jackson farmers roll out the welcome mat
 

Jackson farmers roll out the welcome mat

A staggering 15 farms and gardens will open their fields and greenhouses to the public during the Jackson County Farm…
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Blue Ridge Breakaway to bring cyclists to Haywood County
 

Blue Ridge Breakaway to bring cyclists to Haywood County

The mountains of Western North Carolina are rapidly becoming the top destination for serious cyclists east of the Mississippi. The…
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New toilets in Cataloochee Valley
 

New toilets in Cataloochee Valley

Cataloochee Valley, a popular section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Haywood County, finally has restrooms. Cataloochee Valley…
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Bee balm
 

Bee balm

The girls love to surprise Mom with bouquets of wildflowers. The other day they came in with a handful of…
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Grants encourage creative use of forest resources
 

Grants encourage creative use of forest resources

From bark shingles to edible mushrooms, entrepreneurs across Western North Carolina are being encouraged to tap the resources of the…
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WATR holds meeting and annual Walk ‘n Talk
 

WATR holds meeting and annual Walk ‘n Talk

The Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River members and all who are interested in clean mountain streams are invited to…
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“America’s Great Outdoors” comes to WNC
 

“America’s Great Outdoors” comes to WNC

Whether you’re a birder or mountain biker, paddler or hiker, photographer or hunter, now is your chance to bend the…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

A sure bet I’m sure that if you belong to any environmental/conservation organization or if you have donated to causes…
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Nantahala Gorge ready for the world
 

Nantahala Gorge ready for the world

“The Nantahala River has been many things to many people, but it’s never been a World Championship destination,” said Joe…
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New Bartram Trail map offers all the details
 

New Bartram Trail map offers all the details

Hikers and map geeks will revel in poring over a new map of the Bartram Trail being released this week.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Still soaring after all these years Eagle Lady Doris Mager enjoyed a “rock star” reception last Friday (6/18) at the…
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Coastal Crusaders
 

Coastal Crusaders

When asked how he felt about the catastrophic BP oil spill, Robert Young paused for the first time during the…
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Exploring Sylva’s secret garden
 

Exploring Sylva’s secret garden

Jay Coward is no stranger to Pinnacle Park. When the work day ends, Coward often trades in his attorney’s suit…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Skulker of the tangles The other morning at 6 o’clock at Hickey Fork in the Pisgah National Forest’s Shelton Laurel…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

uddling – a kaleidoscope adventure Maddy (my 4-year-old) and I had been in the woods at Harmons Den checking on…
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 The answer’s still blowin; but the times may be a’changin’
 

The answer’s still blowin; but the times may be a’changin’

I was heartened recently by two op-eds I read in area newspapers regarding industrial-sized wind turbines in the mountains of…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Bird Lag Last weekend (5/21-5/23) was a blur of birds, bears and blooms — a combination of work, friends, fellowship…
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Weekend fish kill on Jonathan Creek a mystery
 

Weekend fish kill on Jonathan Creek a mystery

The cause of a fish kill on an isolated stretch of Jonathan Creek in Maggie Valley last Saturday is eluding…
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Cataloochee Ranch plants seed for mighty tree to thrive once more
 

Cataloochee Ranch plants seed for mighty tree to thrive once more

A collaborative effort between The American Chestnut Foundation and the Coker family has put Cataloochee Ranch in Maggie Valley on…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Perks of Adult ADD The other morning I was in the wilds of the Cheoah Ranger District below the Cherohala…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Murky waters – Louisiana in limbo The giant oil slick (reported to be the size of Puerto Rico) sliding around…
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Flying saucers hit the links
 

Flying saucers hit the links

On a sunny Friday afternoon, I shanked my flick Hyzer into Copperhead Row in the company of the Doctor, Yoda,…
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Farm preservation tour a lesson in community conservation
 

Farm preservation tour a lesson in community conservation

North Carolina’s farmland is rapidly disappearing. The state has lost more than a million acres of it since 2007, and…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

Why we do it “You’re getting up when?” “You’re going out in this weather?” People who have a passion for…
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Alcohol banned at recreation sites
 

Alcohol banned at recreation sites

The US. Forest Service has banned alcohol use at 11 recreation sites in the Nantahala National Forest. The sites include:…
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A hub for all things outdoors
 

A hub for all things outdoors

For the outdoors lover, stepping into NOC’s Great Outpost in Gatlinburg is like being a kid in a candy shop.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
 

The Naturalist's Corner

A little spring cleaning It was a busy weekend and there’s a busy weekend coming up, so I’m going to…
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