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
Park’s brookie population withstands drought well
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer The Southern Appalachian brook trout population is surviving through the drought that has been…
Read More
Watershed represents diverse ecosystems
Norm Christensen told the Waynesville Watershed Advisory Board (WAB), representatives from the town and a few interested onlookers that despite…
Read More
Day hikes along the Mountains-to-Sea Trail
Balsam Gap Segment This portion of the trail runs for approximately 35 miles from Blue Ridge Parkway (BRP) Balsam Gap…
Read More
Parkway rangers work to save hemlocks
With a massive die-off of hemlock trees all but imminent in the mountains, Ranger Chris Ulrey is putting faith in…
Read More
At the helm: New director aims to complete the Mountains to Sea Trail
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer The Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail hope its first-ever executive director will be able…
Read More
Hits and misses
The Carolina Field Birders (CFB) conducted their sixth annual Christmas Bird Count this past Saturday (12/29.) The annual CBC count…
Read More
Parkway views from Waynesville overlook protected
A ridgeline tract adjacent to the Blue Ridge Parkway overlooking Waynesville has been saved from development, thanks to the acquisition…
Read More
A Christmas gift
Citizens of Washington County, hundreds of thousands of migrating waterfowl and Navy pilots who would have been put in harm’s…
Read More
Hike to Pinnacle Peak
There are two ways to hike to Pinnacle Peak, which is renowned for its 360-degree views from the Plott Balsams.
Read More
Pinnacle Park's future
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Sylva Town Board members are brainstorming for ways to manage Pinnacle Park, 1,100 acres…
Read More
Gifts that keep giving
Looking for a Christmas present? Western North Carolina is home to many outdoors organizations, conservation groups, outing clubs, nature societies…
Read More
The new year begins
I know, I know, it’s not Jan. 1 yet. But that’s just a date on a calendar. This year, Dec.…
Read More
A year from the Naturalist’s Corner
“ATBI identifies 5,000-plus species — 1/10/07 I have written several columns regarding this ambitious program to document all species within…
Read More
Preserving the giant’s rock
By Jennifer Garlesky • Staff Writer Up in the mountains along Caney Fork Road in Jackson County lies an important…
Read More
Ingles’ “go bagless” campaign a success in Bryson
A group of eco-conscious citizens and Ingles grocery store in Bryson City teamed up last month to encourage shoppers to…
Read More
Haywood water quality a mixed bag
Haywood County consistently has some of the best water quality in North Carolina, according to stream samples collected by volunteers…
Read More
Christmas Past
By Kathleen Lamont I loved Christmastime when I was growing up. I came from a blue-collar family where my father…
Read More
The winter song of the great horned owl
As cool dark nights descend upon us to signal the onset of winter, the great horned owls have commenced their…
Read More
Local author pens best hikes with dogs
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Dogs are popular hiking companions on the trails of Western North Carolina. Now, Fido…
Read More
Winging it
It’s that time of year again when passing fronts will mean passing visitors at Lake Junaluska. Waterfowl were riding the…
Read More
Smokies plates lead to annual sales record
Friends of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park appear to have hit a home run with a new license plate…
Read More
Pardon the irruption
Common redpolls have been reported in Chatham County and evening grosbeaks in Catawba County here in North Carolina. Bohemian waxwings…
Read More
The last syrup of makers
By Brent Martin • Contributing Writer I recently met with Merritt Fouts, a multi-generational resident of Macon County, to talk…
Read More
Snow blows at Cataloochee: Resort is once again among the first in the East to open
By Julia Merchant • Staff Writer Snow is once again blowing at the Cataloochee Ski Area in Maggie Valley, marking…
Read More
Avian rescue at Central Elementary
It’s a little unsettling to hear your kindergartner’s voice when you answer the phone at midday. But I could tell…
Read More
Saving rain makes sense
By Kathleen Lamont This month’s column was a tossup. I was encouraged by a recent article on the Haywood County…
Read More
A life in the rapids
By Jennifer Garlesky •Staff Writer The raging Class II rapids of the Cacapon River, which flows along the eastern panhandle…
Read More
Watershed to be clearcut – planted in tobacco
OK, now that I’ve got your attention — there has been a recent flurry of hyperbole, rhetoric and misinformation regarding…
Read More
Spookables
It’s Halloween and goblins, ghouls, witches and vampires are wreaking havoc — and that’s before they get all that sugar…
Read More
What to do when you meet a bear
In his younger, more naïve hiking days, Joel Zachary found himself watching in slow motion as a bear charged toward…
Read More
Bear frenzy over acorns attracts a crowd
Sometimes Bill Stiver, a wildlife biologist in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, feels more like a social scientist than…
Read More
Land trust branches out, helps preserve community store
The Land Trust for the Little Tennessee has taken the protection of the historic landscape one step further with the…
Read More
The Naturalist's Corner
I’m so dizzy I tripped over the equinox and fell backwards away from the sun, and now I’m spinning so…
Read More
Recovering a ghost
NBC News did a segment of their “Fleecing of America” on the $27.8 million proposed by the recovery plan, which…
Read More
Wildland etiquette: The right and wrong way to view wildlife
By Kathryn Sherrard • Contributing Writer Do you like to visit a state or national park? Why? For thousands of…
Read More
The wilderness around the corner
For the more intrepid sojourner, the word “wilderness” may conjure up visions of Death Valley, the Alaska Peninsula or the…
Read More
Angling for attention: New fly-fishing shop hopes to fill void in Waynesville
When Matt Rosenthal opened the doors of a new fly-fishing shop in Waynesville last week, word spread quickly among the…
Read More
Verdict out on the North Shore Road
The National Park Service announced its long-awaited but much expected decision last week over the North Shore Road: don’t build…
Read More
Sandy Mush land owners receive conservation grant
More than 400 acres on a mountain in Sandy Mush have been protected thanks to a special conservation fund created…
Read More
Taking stock of our local treasures
By Kathleen Lamont There has been a lot of planning, talking and meeting lately regarding the buzzword of the decade:…
Read More
NC birding trail wings its way to the mountains
Site nominations for the mountain region of the North Carolina Birding Trail kicked off Oct. 1. Sites for the coastal…
Read More
