Duke, county at odds over permits
Duke Energy, which sued Jackson County two weeks ago for failing to issue county permits to tear down the Dillsboro…
Read More
Broken bridge ignites debate with Park over North Shore cemeteries
Swain County residents with family buried in cemeteries in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park claim the park service is…
Read More
Graves in the park
When Fontana Lake was constructed during WWII, some communities were submerged by the rising lake while others were merely rendered…
Read More
Woodsmen’s coach Jimmy Lawrence is devoted to the sport
Jimmy Lawrence, the coach for Haywood Community College’s Woodsmen’s Team and president of the South Atlantic Woodsmen’s Association (SAWA), loves…
Read More
Plants that are easy to grow from seeds
We’ve talked about saving money by growing plants from seeds, and that many more plant varieties are available as seeds…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner: Winter miracle
It’s late January and it’s 15 degrees outside, snow is flying, the Alberta Clipper has the huge yellow buckeye swaying…
Read More
Growing plants from seeds — the basics
Editor’s note: (This is the second of a 3-part series on growing plants from seeds.) Growing plants from seeds can…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
Happy new ivory-billed search in 2009 May old woodpeckers be forgot and never photoshopped. A $50,000 reward has been offered…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner: In the midnight hour
Like ships that collide in the middle of the night, “midnight rules” and their undoing perpetuate and reinforce philosophical and…
Read More
All in the design: NOC experts lend ideas on kayaks
When the new line of 2009 kayaks hits the outfitters’ stores in coming weeks, the mark of paddling guru Wayner…
Read More
Paddling industry pins hope on new designs to stoke interest
The new lines of kayaks and canoes this year have one mission in common: to lure new converts. “Most of…
Read More
Haywood Waterways lauds water quality heroes
The Haywood Waterways Association announced its water quality heroes for the year at its annual banquet in December. Here’s who…
Read More
Public lands feel the pressure: a recurring theme
Conflicts over public land continued to heat up in 2009 as more people turn to outdoor recreation in WNC. More…
Read More
Boars and otters among Wildlife Commission changes
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is now taking public comment on several proposed changes to hunting and fishing regulations. The…
Read More
A look back at the year’s top environmental stories
The past year has been marked by some good and not so good news for the environment in Western North…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
Snowbirds are here No, I’m not talking about your Uncle Bernie and Aunt Esther from New York City. I’m talking…
Read More
Save the planet by changing your diet
By Rudy Beharrysingh • Professor, Southwestern Community College Editor’s note: This series of green living tips is provided by Sustainable…
Read More
Dressing right for winter weather
By Doug Scarborough • Contributing writer With the winter season here, dressing appropriately to prevent cold injuries is often overlooked.…
Read More
A stellar year for Cataloochee’s elk
When the first batch of 25 elk were released in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park seven years ago, it…
Read More
Was the night really that silent?
According to old Appalachian tradition, you don’t have to be named Doolittle to hear the animals. You just have to…
Read More
College students squeeze value out of trash
It took a team of Western Carolina University students just 10 days and dozens of discarded plastic bottles to design…
Read More
Life in Hazel Creek: Mountain Discovery Charter School 8th-graders experience life as pre-national park settlers
Editor’s note: The following is series of student-written excerpts from a five-day camping trip taken to the Hazel Creek area…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
Gun-toting tourist deters smarter than average bear Setting: A campground in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, nightfall, Jan. 13,…
Read More
HCC serves up student-grown produce
This spring, the greens served in Haywood Community College’s cafeteria couldn’t have been more local — they were grown just…
Read More
National parks to lift ban on gun-packing visitors
Visitors could soon be toting loaded, concealed guns in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. A long-standing ban on loaded…
Read More
Smokies plate helps Friends help the park
The new specialty license plate for Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, sporting a black bear against a mountain…
Read More
Gear crazy: Outfitters brainstorm on holiday gift solutions
With only a couple weeks left for holiday shopping, local outfitters are stocked with solutions for the outdoor aficionados on…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
Bees do it and die Honeybees are not native to the States. But these prolific pollinators arrived with the earliest…
Read More
Here come the seed catalogs
By Jim Janke Editor’s note: This is a regular feature on gardening by the Haywood County master gardeners. Look for…
Read More
Biodiverse: WNC’s unique environment a major topic at multi-state economic development conference
The idea of using the region’s readily accessible natural resources in daily life is nothing new in the mountains, a…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner: Bad moon ‘risin
When we headed for the car after a glorious Thanksgiving dinner, the skies above Jonathan Creek were dark and clear,…
Read More
Finding homes for wind towers: Balancing green energy with green forests
The National Forest Service is trying to hash out a new policy for building wind towers on public lands. The…
Read More
Unexpected guest
There are almost as many reasons for watching birds as there are birders. Whether you are a backyard birder content…
Read More
Campaign for Needmore campground goes public
Mountain Neighbors for Needmore Preservation hope to raise about $250,000 to make a family campground on the Needmore tract a…
Read More
Camping to return at Needmore
When some 4,400 acres along the Little Tennessee River known as the Needmore Tract was taken over by the N.C.…
Read More
The seach goes on
For the past four years — five years total, if you count the magical, muddy, mystery tour in Louisiana back…
Read More
Grand plans in store for Cherokee trout hatchery
The Cherokee Tribal Trout Hatchery is embarking on $500,000 renovation project that will more than double its already impressive capacity…
Read More
State forest users protests proposed bear hunt
A handful of lucky hunting parties were about to embark on a special bear hunt in DuPont State Forest last…
Read More
Birdapalooza results
My brother and I conducted our annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in…
Read More
Endangered bat numbers rise, but mysterious illness poses threat
The endangered Indiana bat saw a 9 percent population increase between 2005 and 2007, continuing a 12-year rise in bat…
Read More
A long time coming
The public is two-and-a-half years late learning that a popular area for swimming, rafting and fishing in Jackson County isn’t…
Read More
My bags are packed
And I’m Loosiana bound — you do know it was named after Louis, not Louise?
Read More
Mountain waters aren’t what they appear; Scotts Creek tests ‘scary high’ for contaminates
Unsafe levels of fecal coliform in the Tuckasegee River and two tributaries around Dillsboro have Jackson County public health officials…
Read More
Final countdown to the Chattooga decision
There are nine scenarios on the table in the debate over whether paddling should be allowed on the Upper Chattooga.…
Read More
Garden questions
By Jim Janke • Special to the Smoky Mountain News Editor’s note: This is the first of what will become…
Read More
Wings of winter
Winter birding is often slow going. There is no chorus of rowdy and randy males singing lustily, and weather conditions…
Read More
The Chattooga compromise: With solitude at stake, Chattooga recreation to be reined in
A long-awaited decision over paddling on the Upper Chattooga is expected within weeks by the National Forest Service.
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
There she was when I got up around 6:30 this morning, the buttons from her blue jeans shining radiantly just…
Read More
Reward offered in Parkway bear killing
A driver on the Blue Ridge Parkway last November witnessed a group of hunters and their dogs corner a black…
Read More
Anticipation
It’s nine o’clock and my 6-year-old is snug in her bed and sound asleep even though she’s been told it…
Read More
