Gardeners get a bargain
By Jane Young Haywood County Master Gardeners had you in mind when they wrote The Gardener’s Guide to Growing in…
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Another piece of farmland saved
Hickory Nut Gap Farm, a historic and scenic farm in Buncombe County, has been permanently protected through a conservation agreement…
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The Naturalist's Corner: When not to feed the birds
Last week I wrote about the spiraling cost of birdseed and about experimenting with different seed and protocol for those…
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How to decide?
A new rule could make it easier to open up trails in national parks to mountain biking. Mountain biking isn’t…
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Haywood gets serious about tapping landfill methane
Haywood County officials want to tap the pent up methane in the county’s landfill to help the environment and hopefully…
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Can mountain bikes find a home in the Smokies?
Mountain bikers face a long, steep climb in their fight to see more trails opened to tires in the Great…
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The Naturalist's Corner: To feed or not to feed?
Anyone who reads this column regularly knows I am a fan of backyard bird feeding. The constant feathered activity just…
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Wildlife could be affected by hunting laws
It’s not too late to weigh in on a few controversial changes to the state’s hunting laws under study by…
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Long-awaited Panthertown maps, trail signs move forward
The Friends of Panthertown has received a $7,500 grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area to develop a trail…
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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…
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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…
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Graves in the park
When Fontana Lake was constructed during WWII, some communities were submerged by the rising lake while others were merely rendered…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Dressing right for winter weather
By Doug Scarborough • Contributing writer With the winter season here, dressing appropriately to prevent cold injuries is often overlooked.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Bees do it and die Honeybees are not native to the States. But these prolific pollinators arrived with the earliest…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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Unexpected guest
There are almost as many reasons for watching birds as there are birders. Whether you are a backyard birder content…
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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…
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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.…
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The seach goes on
For the past four years — five years total, if you count the magical, muddy, mystery tour in Louisiana back…
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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…
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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…
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Birdapalooza results
My brother and I conducted our annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) at Black Bayou Lake National Wildlife Refuge in…
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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…
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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…
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