WCU professor leads Elwha project
Thanks to a National Science Foundation grant-funded project led by a Western Carolina University professor, 25 young people from Washington’s…
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Elk population on the rise
The elk herd in Cataloochee Valley added at least eight babies to its ranks this summer, giving the herd a…
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Land trusts launch 50,000-acre conservation campaign
The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina recently awarded $25,000 to a group of 13 land conservation organizations working collectively…
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USDA rabies vaccination targets raccoons
Tasty, fish flavored morsels will be dropped from overhead aircraft along the North Carolina-Tennessee line in Haywood and Swain counties…
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My Chattooga?
Controversy over a paddling ban on the upper Chattooga River attracted more than 125 people to a public meeting in…
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Hot summer songsters
No, it’s not another reality TV series, and there’s no need to call in and vote for your favorite. But…
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Watching for what’s in the water
By Michael Beadle It’s mid-morning at Cartoogechaye Creek just below the Macon County Recreation Park’s tennis courts in Franklin. Bill…
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The specter of litigation
A federal judge in Arkansas halted on Thursday, July 20, an ambitious Army Corps of Engineers plan to pump water…
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Franklin athlete chosen for US Team
Dave Linn, a triathlete from Franklin, has been chosen for the United States triathlon team going to the World Championships…
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Water, water... everywhere?
A rafting and tubing outfitter on the upper Tuckasegee River in Jackson County claims he is being slighted in a…
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Meet the stars
About a million years ago, through a wormhole, while I was still in college and Grumman aluminum was state of…
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Groups take stand against logging
The Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project and WNC Alliance are opposing a logging proposal in the vicinity of Looking Glass Rock,…
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Chaos is upon us!
Remember the chaos theory — how the flapping of a single butterfly’s wings could produce unknown and unpredictable atmospheric change?…
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Park expands Junior Ranger program
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is inviting kids and their families to participate in a selection of summer programs…
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A Walk In The Wild: Encounters of the wildlife kind
By Ed Kelley If you spend much time in the outdoors, you will eventually have an encounter with wildlife. I…
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Velvet Leaf Blueberry marks 5,000 species new to Smokies
The All Taxa Biological Inventory hit the 5,000 species milestone this summer in an ongoing effort to document every species…
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The race is on
By Michael Beadle You’ll have to excuse Greg Duff if he greets you out of breath. If he’s not in…
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Avian nomads
I have just finished by bird point survey for the Forest Service, which takes me to Mt. Mitchell and Roan…
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EPA sued for failing to protect citizens from other states’ pollution
The North Carolina Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center have filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency for…
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Can you say inevitable?
I recently saw some previews for the documentary “Grizzly Man.” You may remember the story. Back in 2003, after 13…
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Feds may reinstate roadless areas in Carolinas, Virginia
A ban on logging and road building in roadless areas of the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests is on track…
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Bryson City conserves 750 acres bordering Smokies
The town of Bryson City finalized a conservation easement this month that will protect a 750-acre tract known as Lands…
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Let’s get buggy with it
“Daddy, Daddy come see!” called Izzy, my four-year-old daughter, running down the sidewalk to catch me as I was leaving…
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Demand leads to expansion at the Purchase Knob
The growing demand from researchers wanting access to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park prompted recent renovations to the Appalachian…
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The battle for the Chattooga rages on
The Sumter National Forest has fired back at American Whitewater, a paddling organization that is challenging a ban on paddling…
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First Tour de Tuck to challenge cyclists
A new cycling tradition begins this summer with the debut of the Tour de Tuck Bike Challenge on Saturday, Aug.…
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All together now – flash
Around 2 a.m. the other morning I was walking Maddie, my seven-month-old, around the house trying to convince her that…
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Mitigation demand holds in Supreme Court
In a 9-0 vote last week, the Supreme Court upheld the right of states to demand mitigation from hydropower companies…
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The Little River watershed
Nestled in the northern center of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Elkmont was once a thriving logging community that…
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Things that go blink in the night
By Michael Beadle As springtime visitors flock to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to see the phenomenon of synchronous fireflies,…
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Only a couple of chances to challange the Cheoah in '06
Rafting fans have only two more shots this year at a trip down the Cheoah River, a rugged river in…
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History and wildflowers
By Ed Kelley The burning sensation on the back of my heels made me wish I had packed some moleskin.…
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When paddle comes to shove
The only thing rippling more than the water through the rocky headwaters of the Chattooga is the controversy regarding the…
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Mythbusters: Tree hunters scout Wildes Knob for hidden old-growth forest
Josh Kelly looked up from his topo map, took a step back and eyed the steep bank in front of…
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The Naturalist's Corner — Thunderstorm
The other evening with toddler and infant asleep, my wife and I found ourselves alone as a thunderstorm rolled over…
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Trout Unlimited: Brook trout need help
A report by Trout Unlimited documenting the continued decline of brook trout has given rise to concerns over water quality…
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Recycling gets a boost in the Smokies
Thanks to a new recycling trailer, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is closer to its goal of diverting half…
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The phoenix has crashed
In 2005 the ivory-billed woodpecker rose from the ashes of extinction on the merits of an announcement from the Cornell…
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Remembering the Mother Town
By Michael Beadle Kituhwa. To the Cherokee, it represents one of the most sacred sites in the world, the first…
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Of valleys and lilies
I was leading a program for the Theosophical Society at Lake Junaluska on May 6. We were touring the Corneille…
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Horse outfitters apply for Panthertown permits
The U.S. Forest Service has been working on a master recreation plan for Panthertown Valley for more than two years…
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Finding the forest less logged
For three years, Josh Kelly has been stalking forests in the Southern Appalachians in search of unmapped old-growth forests and…
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Have you seen this fish? Researchers probe new species called the sicklefin redhorse
When Dr. Robert Jenkins proclaimed in 1992 that he had discovered a new fish species in the Hiwasee and Little…
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Half a big day
What some masochistic birders do for fun is called a “Big Day.” It’s when birders set out to spend the…
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Tennessee Valley Authority recognizes clean marinas
Five marinas on Fontana Lake have been certified as Clean Marinas in recognition of their efforts to preserve and protect…
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Don’t touch that fawn
White-tail deer will soon start scouting the fields and forests for hiding places to give birth to their fawns this…
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Rotten to the core
According to recent stories by Knight Ridder news services, the Bush Administration thinks our national parks are too fat. A…
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Moldies but goodies: Smokies’ slime molds climb the charts in groundbreaking research
When a heavy rain washed into Paul Super’s garage last month, soaking a couple of bags of freshly-purchased mulch in…
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The healing power of slime molds
New research on slime molds at the University of Georgia has generated hope for the millions of Americans affected by…
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