The right choices for healthier air
Roughly 45 percent of people (more than 2.9 million) in North Carolina lives in an area with unhealthful short-term levels…
Read More
Wilderness Society comes to WNC: National environmental organization opens office in Franklin
The Wilderness Society has signaled a strong interest in the future of the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests with the…
Read More
Artisans Bread Bakers Festival is community at its best
By Kathleen Lamont It was Saturday, March 24, and I was walking through the Greenlife Grocery parking lot in Asheville…
Read More
They’re baaaaccckkk!
In late March there was a lot of talk on the Carolina birders’ listserv about early migration as Neotropical migrants…
Read More
Bog bet succeeds
When Gary Wein came on board as the executive director of the Highlands Cashiers Land Trust a year ago, he…
Read More
Spring wonders: Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont makes nature hands-on
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer Cameron Farlow, an intern at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s Oconaluftee Visitors Center,…
Read More
Navy’s top 10 reasons for choosing Site C
The Navy has decided that a site in Washington and Beaufort counties in eastern North Carolina, about three to five…
Read More
Man of Stihl: HCC student to compete at national collegiate timber sports championship in July
By Michael Beadle Jay Blackburn never figured he’d be competing against the best axe-chopping, saw-cutting athletes in the country when…
Read More
Nature Center unveiled: Balsam Mountain Preserve opens Southern Appalachian exhibit to the public
Walking into the new nature center at the Balsam Mountain Preserve in Jackson County is like walking into a replica…
Read More
Navy still at war with NC
You have to admire the tenacity of America’s armed forces. We can all take pride in the heroism, courage and…
Read More
Franklin trail network to offer new rides for bikers
For years, Jack Lansford and his mountain biking buddies in Franklin would have to load up their bikes and hit…
Read More
Judge strikes blow for property rights advocates
A federal judge in San Francisco told the Bush administration on March 30 that it didn’t have the right to…
Read More
Hiking to build a better world
By Michael Beadle Jon Brown and Scott Cochran want to help a small town in Bosnia and Herzegovina rebuild after…
Read More
May the North Shore Road rest in peace
Swain County native Heath Shuler is doing his home county a favor by putting together a powerful congressional coalition to…
Read More
The Northshore Road: What they say
Rep. Heath Shuler, D-Waynesville “As a Swain County native, I have a deep, personal understanding of the issues and emotions…
Read More
Road to Nowhere: Getting dimmer by the day
Those opposed to building a $600 million, 30-mile road through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park got welcome news last…
Read More
Beetles being raised to save hemlocks
A new lab has opened at the University of Georgia to raise predator beetles aimed at countering the deadly hemlock…
Read More
Honeybees and hemp: Where did we go wrong?
By Kathleen Lamont I’ve got two cents to add to the honeybee dilemma. There are approximately 20,000 species of bees…
Read More
Pristine shmistine says the curmudgeon-naturalist
First let me get this disclaimer out of the way. I am thrilled to hear that Congressman Heath Shuler has…
Read More
Move over harbingers
George Ellison talked about the harbingers of spring in his Feb. 28 column in The Smoky Mountain News. Well those…
Read More
Antlers born anew
By Joe Yarkovich Spring is upon us and with the days beginning to lengthen, signs of the season can be…
Read More
The great salamander adventure
Twelve of the world’s foremost salamander authorities converged on Balsam Mountain Preserve Sunday March 11 for an informal survey. The…
Read More
Ice age relics
Chris Kelly didn’t seem fazed by the frigid February temperatures as she rock-hopped an icy stream and plunged down a…
Read More
Importance of N.C. Wildlife Federation Endangered funding
Chris North might not wile away his work week scaling trees in search of endangered Carolina Northern Flying Squirrels, but…
Read More
Why the Easter bunny brings eggs
Did you ever wonder why this big, furry, long-eared mammal was hoping around with eggs in its basket?
Read More
At the starting line: New running group gathers momentum in Haywood County
By Michael Beadle Running can be a lonely sport. It’s hard finding someone who has a similar pace, someone who…
Read More
Simple living: Up from grassroots
By Kathleen Lamont There are lots of examples today of what a few determined and focused people can do.…
Read More
Getting jiggy at the vernal pool
It’s March 1, the night is black and soggy. It’s around 50 degrees and “pourin the rain” as natives say.
Read More
Fire on the mountain
By Sarah Kucharski • Staff Writer A forest fire burned nearly 40 acres in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park…
Read More
Smokies National Park conducts 530-acre prescribed burn
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park conducted a prescribed burn on a 530-acre tract of forest in the Cataloochee Valley…
Read More
One acre at a time: Paul Carlson helps set the standard among WNC land trusts
By Michael Beadle Paul Carlson has plenty of maps to show you. There are maps with stars. Color-coded maps of…
Read More
Allons au Bayou Noire
I guess the real Bayou Noire would be in Houma or Sulphur or somewhere else across Acadiana, where the slow…
Read More
LTLT preserves 850 acres in Cherokee County
A cattle farm in Cherokee County known as Ridgefield Farm has been preserved for future generations thanks to a conservation…
Read More
N.C. side of Smokies goes biodiesel
About two dozen diesel vehicles used by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina side of the…
Read More
On the mark: Cullowhee base-camp raises profile in wilderness emergency training
Landmark Learning, a Cullowhee-based wilderness training center for the outdoor industry, has forged a new partnership with the National Outdoor…
Read More
The realities of being green
The Western Carolina Forest Sustainability Initiative (WCFSI) under the direction of Pete Bates, associate professor of Natural Resources Management at…
Read More
American Whitwater withdraws lawsuit on Chattooga paddling
American Whitewater has withdrawn its lawsuit challenging a paddling ban on the upper Chattooga River outside Cashiers.
Read More
No excuses
Now here’s a way to bird from your kitchen table, in your pajamas and slippers, with a steaming hot cup…
Read More
Ivey wins conservation award
George Ivey, a well-known leader in conservation efforts in Haywood County, received the Pigeon River Award for 2006 from Haywood…
Read More
Catamount Conservation: Eco-CATS challenge WCU community to take on more environmental responsibility
By Michael Beadle The cost of college can get pretty expensive, especially when it comes to paying the monthly electric…
Read More
What Price Sweetness
By Kathleen Lamont In the late 1970’s, Dr. Robert Atkins had a clinic in Santa Monica, Calif., where people went…
Read More
Stairway to heaven
In 1885 Jerome B. Freeman built a stairway to the top of a 535-million-year-old granite monolith overlooking Hickory Nut Gorge.
Read More
Bear your support
When George Ivey broached the idea of a new specialty license plate design for Friends of the Smokies, feedback on…
Read More
Finding the essence of the Smokies
Micah McClure, a graphic designer in Waynesville, faced a daunting task when asked to redesign the Friends of the Smokies…
Read More
Peanut butter log is the bomb
This past summer I stopped feeding birds, except for the hummers. The squirrels had become too brazen and were chewing…
Read More
Bold & Cold: Icycle Mountain Bike Race at Fontana Village promises thrills and chills
By Michael Beadle If you’re a mountain biker looking for a challenging course that’s as cold as it is fun,…
Read More
A.T. license plates raise dollars for conservancy
Drivers with Appalachian Trail license plates raised $55,000 last year to support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in North Carolina.
Read More
Deer dilemma
This week’s column is a follow-up to last week’s piece about urban archery seasons and deer/human conflicts within municipalities. Most…
Read More
Forest on fire: How much should we tamper with Mother Nature?
By Michael Beadle For the longest time, forest fires were viewed as hazardous events to avoid at all costs. Remember…
Read More
Canary Coalition reaches membership milestone in 2006
Canary Coalition, a regional air quality advocacy group based in Sylva, recently reached the 1,000 mark in members, showing a…
Read More
