The U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Forest Service violated the Endangered Species Act by relying on a faulty analysis during the creation of the controversial Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan. The court’s decision effectively prohibits the Forest Service from relying on the plan. 

The National Forest Service, housed under the United States Department of Agriculture, plans to rescind the 2001 Roadless Rule instated by President Bill Clinton to protect national forests’ roadless acres. 

Drawing opposition from 99% of public commenters, this recission is part of a series of opaque federal actions and policies instituted in the face of significant public outcry. 

The N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program and state and local law enforcement are launching a statewide enforcement campaign to remind drivers of the importance of the Move Over Law. 

In response to a public records request made by The Smoky Mountain News, Jackson County Manager Kevin King revealed that commissioners not only failed to discuss in any official meeting removing plaques placed on the controversial “Sylva Sam” Confederate statue at the old courthouse in 2020, they also failed to document any deliberations — likely violating state sunshine laws.  

Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill in Canton has been hit with its fifth-straight notice of an environmental violation following the failure of a quarterly discharge toxicity test. 

Evergreen Packaging is no longer making paper in Canton, but it’s still receiving environmental violations. A new notice issued Thursday, Oct. 26, brings the mill to 17 since May 2021.