HCC offers green building certificate for construction students
A model home under construction on the Haywood Community College campus is giving construction majors hands-on training in green building…
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HCC trains tomorrow’s developers in sustainable methods
When Candace Stimson lost her job last winter due to the recession, she seized the opportunity to go back to…
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NOC expedition gains attention
An outdoor expedition to Bolivia that puts paddlers to work delivering medical supplies to remote villages organized by Nantahala Outdoor…
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A page from the past: Smokies’ artifacts tender rare glimpse into life before the park
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to one of the most intact and comprehensive collections of early Americana,…
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The Naturalist's Corner
The rush to be green is making me blue Let’s see, automakers can get CAFÉ (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) credits…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Slogging through the watershed It was dark, 39 degrees and a steady light drizzle when I walked from the house…
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Tales from the trail
Jennifer Pharr Davis, the female record-holder for the fastest thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail, spoke to a large crowd in…
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Fishermen to hear report on mercury and walleye
Fish biologists will discuss mercury contamination in fish in mountain lakes at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 31, at the…
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The need for speed AT record-setter enjoys simplicity of fast, solo hiking
Jennifer Pharr Davis says she never set out be a speed hiker. When she first hiked the entire Appalachian Trail…
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Woodsmen’s Team finishes in first place at meet
The Haywood Community College Woodsmen’s Team finished first in the 2009 John G. Palmer Intercollegiate Woodsmen’s Meet and Forest Festival…
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NOC to hold fly-fishing tournament with a twist
The Nantahala Outdoor Center will hold its first ever fly-fishing competition Oct. 17 and 18 on the Nantahala River in…
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Fly-fishing duo takes top spot in local tournament
By Julie Ball As a teenager, Josh Stephens worked summers as a rafting guide on the Nantahala River. He’d watch…
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The Naturalist's Corner
The leaves, they are a’ changing It seems like colors popped on the mountains almost overnight last Thursday or Friday.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Just leisure time in good company So much of our time in this soured economy is spent paying homage to…
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A sanctuary for scientists: Smokies’ slopes seen as frontier in global warming research
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the most studied national parks in the country. It consistently ranks…
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Working to bring back the American chestnut
By Julie Ball • Correspondent As a boy, Gene Gibson remembers his parents heading to some of Western North Carolina’s…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Dancin' on the dunes “Look at the butterflies!” I said. “I know, I’ve been counting them – 27, 28, 29,…
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Documentary tells captivating tale about the creation of GSMNP
When America tunes in to Ken Burns’ long-awaited documentary on the national parks next week, the hard-fought battle to save…
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Fly-fishing tournament offers hefty prize
A $10,000 cash prize is at stake for the second annual Rumble in the Rhododendron Fly Masters Tournament on Sept.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Act swiftly No, I don’t mean fly around in a circle above a chimney or smokestack before disappearing into it.…
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Rooting out landslide prone slopes
As much as mountain dwellers take pride in the gnarled and weathered Rhododendron thickets that characterize Appalachian mountainsides, the signature…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Surprises under fog I decided to take advantage of a few free hours last Friday morning to get a firsthand…
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WCU shoreline studies send out call to action
Western Carolina University professor Rob Young has co-authored a book titled The Rising Sea, which bears an “urgent message” for…
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Indigo mushrooms elicit eureka moment
When John Springstead went hiking through the forest behind his house outside Bryson City last week, he stumbled across a…
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Scholarship to fund WCU students at Highlands Biological Station
A scholarship fund to encourage biological research among students at Western Carolina University has been created as a tribute to…
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Quantifying solitude: Building a lockbox around the Chattooga River
The forest service has pledged to ensure a solitary wilderness experience on the upper Chattooga River, even if it means…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Taking a swim through the air On long narrow graceful wings, the common nighthawk seems lighter than air as it…
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Grouse habitat dedicated to outdoor lover
A project to create prime ruffed grouse habitat in the Cold Mountain Game Lands has been dedicated as the Jerry…
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Casada releases premier fly-fishing book of the Smokies
Award-winning outdoor writer Jim Casada has just published what he describes as “my book of a lifetime.” Fly Fishing in…
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Methane collection system at landfill in the works
Haywood County officials are racing against the clock to get a methane collection system built at two landfills before the…
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Paddlers get restricted access to Chattooga
A long-standing ban on paddling on the Upper Chattooga River will be lifted this winter, but not without a host…
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Panthertown trail plan designates use
A new trail management plan designed to rein in heavy use by competing forms of recreation in Panthertown Valley will…
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Hiker airlifted from remote region of Smokies
A five-day search for a lost hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had a happy ending last week.…
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The Naturalist's Corner
What’s good for the goose In his latest letter to the editor in Smoky Mountain News (8/19/09) the Canary Coalition’s…
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The Naturalist's Corner
More in the wind than megawatts The chorus of katydids clamoring in the night air announces the impending fall. And…
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Lawsuit filed to seize Dillsboro dam
Jackson County has formally filed a lawsuit against Duke Energy to seize the Dillsboro Dam and surrounding river shore, using…
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Conservation fund donates land to HCC
Haywood Community College recently acquired a 328-acre tract of land located at Balsam Gap through a generous gift from The…
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Duke lobbies for rate hike amidst protest
Swain County commissioners expressed their disapproval of an 18 percent hike in electric bills being sought by Duke Energy to…
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The Naturalist's Corner
They’re back Actually they’ve been back for a while and now their bags are packed and they’re ready to go.…
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New boating ramp opens on Cheoah Lake
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has opened a boating access Area and Public Fishing Area on the bank of the…
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Students recreate modern Lewis and Clark expedition
Western North Carolina high school students bicycled 300 miles to the nation’s capital on one trip and canoed along the…
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The Naturalist's Corner
Bats make good just in time to salvage outing “Oh lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood.” That refrain from…
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When the Park becomes a classroom: From real life science to a trip back in time, the Smokies provides fertile ground for learning
While most national parks serve as conduits for science, the Smokies is a window on history as well. Churches, schools,…
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Junior bids farewell to forest service
Harry “Junior” Ward, Jr. recently retired from the North Carolina Forest Service as the Haywood County Ranger. Ward was a…
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Facing unpleasant changes in aftermath of hemlock die off
As if the death of hemlock trees across the Southern Appalachians wasn’t bad enough already, forest researchers believe the loss…
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North Toe River freed of crumbling dam
A decrepit dam is being torn down along the North Toe River near Spruce Pine this week, clearing the way…
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Outfitters brace for early end to season
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Whitewater releases from the Nantahala Lake dam will be suspended in October, forcing rafting…
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The Naturalist's Corner
You say to-mah-to, I say to-ma-to At least Avram and I are talking. Want to join us? If we could…
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Conversation – what conversation?
Regular readers of this column probably already know that I’ve run afoul of many regional environmental groups by questioning the…
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Local authors proud of fishing trail map
Ask any fisherman what their favorite stretch of stream is and you may as well be asking for directions to…
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