Second deer tests positive for chronic wasting disease
A second deer has tested positive for chronic wasting disease after North Carolina’s first CWD-positive deer was found in December…
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‘It can’t be like that all the time’: Farmers recover from Fred amid inflation, weather worries
When Gary Griffith woke up a rainy Tuesday on Aug. 17, 2021, he never imagined that by the next morning,…
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Southside story: Bid awarded in contentious timber project
Five years after it first proposed the controversial Southside Timber Project, the U.S. Forest Service has awarded a timber bid…
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Notes from a plant nerd: There’s goldenrod on them there hills
Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) are among the most widespread, beautiful and important wildflowers in all of Southern Appalachia. There is almost…
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Barn dance raises $85K for the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies raised $85,000 to support the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at its Smokies Stomp event held…
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N.C. declared free of bird flu
North Carolina is now officially free of High Path Avian Influenza, meaning that the state can resume export and international…
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Notes from a plant nerd: Aster Family Plants, the Stars of Summer!
Often, when I am giving my introductory talk on the guided wildflower walks I lead, I invite people to play…
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Recent waterfall deaths spur safety warning
Last weekend, one man died and another was seriously injured following incidents at waterfalls in the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest, leading…
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Plant more trees
The N.C. Forest Service is now accepting tree seedling orders for its annual sale.
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Sylva man graduates wildlife law enforcement training
Sylva resident Cole Burch is among the 15 new wildlife law enforcement officers sworn in during the 58th Basic School…
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Asheville man to be first N.C. chair for National Wildlife Federation
The first North Carolinian to ever be elected as leader of the National Wildlife Federation’s Board of Directors hails from…
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Conservation awards honor WNC achievements
The N.C. Wildlife Federation has announced the winners of its 58th annual Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards, and Western North Carolina…
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Far western lakes pass E. coli tests
All seven lake sites on the Hiwassee, Nottely and Chatuge rivers, as well as Fires Creek, have passed MountainTrue’s weekly…
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Missing person found dead in park
The body of a Knoxville man who went missing while traveling to Charlotte was found Friday, Aug. 5, in the…
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Fanning the flames: Cherokee plans Fire Mountain Trails expansion
Cherokee’s Fire Mountain family of outdoor experiences is set to add a new member after the tribe announced its intention…
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Notes from a plant nerd: Rhododendron, showman of the Southern Apps
Throughout Southern Appalachia, rhododendrons can be found growing and blooming. And what a show they put on. With flower colors…
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Economic development program launches in WNC
The WNC: MADE X MTNS Partnership is launching a new outdoor-driven community economic development initiative, Building Outdoor Communities, spanning 25 Western…
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Up Moses Creek: Thrashers make a home on Berry Island
The sight of a fox standing in the yard would not have made my eyes open any wider that morning…
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Young girl dies after tree falls on tent
A 7-year-old Georgia girl is dead after a tree fell on the tent where she was sleeping at Elkmont Campground…
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Ocoee River warning system restored
The high-water warning system at the Ocoee Whitewater Center in Tennessee is working once more after incurring damage in the…
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Cherokee National Forest ends ginseng permits
Declining ginseng populations have prompted the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee to halt harvesting permits for the prized plant, following…
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Cooper appoints new clean energy director
Peter Holderness Ledford has been appointed as North Carolina’s new clean energy director, Gov. Roy Cooper announced July 27.
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Mayfield stepping down as MountainTrue director
Julie Mayfield is stepping down as co-director of MountainTrue after serving alongside co-director Bob Wagner since 2013. Prior to that,…
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Fish and Wildlife Service seeks evidence of ivory-billed woodpeckers
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is reopening the public comment period and extending the decision deadline on its proposal…
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Become a Master Gardener
The 2022 Master Gardener class is now forming in Haywood County, with applications accepted for a 13-week course starting Thursday,…
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Splash into reading at Bryson City library
It’s “Oceans of Possibilities” this summer at the Marianna Black Library in Bryson City, with a marine-themed summer reading program…
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Updated Greenbrier temporary closures
Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have closed the Greenbrier area to all use due to additional road damage caused…
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Duke carbon plan headed for public hearing
The North Carolina Utilities Commission is hosting a series of hearings this summer to take public input on the draft…
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The birders… they are a’changing: A new generation of birders rises up
I’ve been birding in Western North Carolina since I got here in the late 1980s, in my mid-thirties (yes, I’m…
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Notes from a plant nerd: A little beauty on an early spring day
One of my favorite things in the world to do is walk people into a field of wildflowers that they…
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Up the creek: Where the heck is Moses Creek? Up Caney Fork!
On Friday, May 27, the day after a big storm dumped inches of rain on Western North Carolina, the air…
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Occupational therapy students visit Full Spectrum Farms
In June, Southwestern Community College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program teamed up with Full Spectrum Farms to allow SCC students…
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Big Creek Trail reopens
Great Smoky Mountains National Park reopened Big Creek Trail following an eight-week closure for a trail rehabilitation project. The park…
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Learn about hellbenders
The series “Where We Live: History, Nature, and Culture” will present a program on the Hellbender, a giant salamander found…
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Plans for safe passage: Research yields recommendations to stem wildlife deaths on I-40
After more than three years of research and analysis, a group focused on ending wildlife-vehicle collisions in the Pigeon River…
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Spotted lanternfly arrives in N.C.
The first established presence of the invasive spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) has been confirmed in North Carolina.
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Dry conditions expand in N.C.
The most recent drought map, released Thursday, June 30, showed dry conditions blanketing the state as North Carolina’s second-driest June…
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Notes from a Plant Nerd: How a love for plants took root
Hi, my name is Adam Bigelow, and I am a Plant Nerd.
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New EV charging ports coming to WNC
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has awarded funds for 59 new Level 2 electric vehicle charging points across 23…
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Counting cars: Smokies updates decades-old visitation estimator
Anybody who’s been to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the last few years has seen it — overflowing…
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Spend an evening in the garden
ArborEvenings is back at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville, offering opportunity to spend Thursday and Friday evenings strolling the gardens…
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Godfrey hired as Outdoor Gear Builders director
Outdoor Gear Builders, an outdoor industry association in Western North Carolina with more than 75 members, has hired Matt Godfrey…
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Waynesville Waterpark reopens
The Waynesville Recreation Center Waterpark will reopen for the summer Friday, June 24.
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Smokies seeks info on old homesites
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is looking for help in identifying and documenting former homesites in the park.
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Roadside parking banned at Laurel Falls
With more than 100 cars typically parked outside the parking lot at Laurel Falls in the Great Smoky Mountains National…
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Writer takes residence in the Smokies
Bakersville, North Carolina, resident Sue Wasserman is taking her place as this year’s Steve Kemp Writer in Residence at the…
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Fishy field guide hits bookstores
A new field guide dedicated to the aquatic residents of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now on bookshelves.
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Wild Vision: George Masa book pairs famed images with modern experiences
The 1900s were just a few years along when a young man named Masahara Iizuka stepped on American soil for…
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N.C. announces strategy for PFAS chemicals
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has announced an action strategy for PFAS, a class of widely used, long-lasting chemicals…
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Environmental program aims for community engagement
Western Carolina University has named its Environmental Health Program in the College of Health and Human Sciences as its first…
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