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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Winged migration of a different sort
After getting all the two-leggeds to bed last night I went out to the yard to wrangle the four-leggeds. Dusk…
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The ivory-billed swami predicts
For those not acquainted with the ivory-billed swami, I will give you a bit of history. This is from the…
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Happy trails: Franklin mountain biker sets his sights on a busy racing season
By Michael Beadle Some people bike for the fun of it. Some people bike to race. For Franklin’s Owen Simpson,…
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I wanna another peep outta ya!
Jeepers creepers, don’t ya here those peepers. Gram for gram, Pseudacris crucifer is one of the loudest amphibians out there.…
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Park: Don’t blame us for the ladybugs
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials say they have been erroneously blamed by some residents for introducing large, black and…
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Gus the gruffy grouse gets territorial
Jerry Smathers is public enemy number one for a ruffed grouse named Gus that lives on the forest bordering Smathers’…
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Deep into Gorges State Park
By Ed Kelley Tiptoeing quickly across the Toxaway River, my ankle gaiters did the job and kept the cold water…
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Alien vs. Predator in the GSMNP
A new breed of predator beetles that could help fight the hemlock wooly adelgid were released in the Great Smoky…
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Park lifts ban on brookies thanks to long-term trout recovery
For the first time in more than 30 years, fishermen in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park will be allowed…
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Burroughs Wellcome Fund welcome
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has renewed its commitment to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s inquiry-based, hands-on science education programs.…
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Filming on the fly
By Sarah Kucharski Standing in the shallows of the Tuckasegee River between Webster and Dillsboro, cold water flowing around the…
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Whose woods are these? N.C. governor battles Bush administration over road-building in national forests
North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley called last week for roadless areas to be protected in the Nantahala and Pisgah national…
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The need for speed: Waynesville elite cyclist Nancy Lux competes nationally with BMW-Bianchi women’s cycling team
By Michael Beadle By day, Nancy Lux crunches numbers as a certified public accountant in Waynesville. After work, you may…
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Spring is on the wing
Step out on the deck with your morning coffee or pause in the yard for a moment after you strap…
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Conservation groups file lawsuit to protect endangered warbler
Concerned by continuing decline of the cerulean warbler, five conservation groups, including some based in Western North Carolina, filed a…
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Burroughs Fund adds $138,600 for WNC science education
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund has announced a three-year, $138,600 grant to renew its support for science education programs for middle…
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A daffodil by any other name
Around 8 a.m. last Sunday (Feb. 26), my wife and I backed out of the driveway and headed to Clyde’s…
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Land for sale — yours
When Dick Morgan, a fisherman from Maggie Valley, heard that two acres on Hurricane Mountain was on the chopping block…
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Just the dregs
Those pitching the plan to sell off pieces of the national forest claim the parcels on the list are inconsequential.…
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Handouts by the numbers
Counties with national forest or park land in their borders get two types of money from the federal government: payment…
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A double crested whammy
We were leaving Monroe, La., just after dawn last Sunday, Feb. 19. We crossed over a small levee and dam…
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Logging plan for Kirby Knob forest upheld
A coalition of environmental groups and local residents lost their appeal against a logging operation in the Nantahala National Forest…
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A pickle of a Prong
I felt like I should have had crampons on my boots, like the spikes mountain climbers use on ice. The…
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The guns of winter
There was a blast from Vice President Dick Cheney’s 28-gauge shotgun — a gun, by the way, that one Web…
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Land trusts launch national vetting process
Land conservation trusts cropping up across Western North Carolina and the rest of the country will soon be able to…
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We’ll weather the weather, whatever it is
One of my daughter Izzy’s favorite videos is “Little Bear’s Winter Tales.” She likes the episode with the blizzard. The…
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The Bigfoot crew
The team of Bigfoot researchers who came to Cherokee last week to investigate reports of a mysterious creature encounter run…
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The hunt for Bigfoot comes to town
Stealth is not the preferred modus operandi of the Bigfoot team when they roll into town. Their black suburban, bound…
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Bigfoot: personal encounter?
For 12 years, Wanda Childers has brushed off encounters with a mysterious creature lurking around her trailer in the Whittier…
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