Rising country music group Eden’s Edge will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 25, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

A six-week discussion course on climate change called “Global Warming: Changing Course” is being put on by the Western North Carolina Alliance Thursday evenings starting Jan. 24.

Learn about the history and science of global warming, personal values and habits as they relate to climate change, and individual actions that can curb the effects of global warming. The course will also cover issues related to energy use and what individuals and communities interested in promoting energy sustainability can do.

Held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Battery Park Book Exchange and Champagne Bar in Asheville. $35 for WNCA members and $40 for non-members. Register by Jan. 18.

828.258.8737 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Highlands Plateau chapter of the Audubon Society will go birding at Lake Junaluska on Monday, Jan. 21, to mark the first watching excursion of the New Year. The lake is ideal for attracting winter birds and waterfowl. The group will circle the lake by car, with stops to scan and spot such specialties as ruddy ducks, gadwalls, american widgeon, osprey and others.

Participants should bring binoculars, scopes and cameras. Call for meeting time and place, or to carpool with other birders coming from Jackson and Macon counties. 828.526.1939 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The Haywood Waterways Association has named their endowment fund the “Joetta Rinehart Endowment Fund” in honor of one of the organization’s supporters.

Rinehart was actively involved in Haywood Waterways, serving on its board of directors and as treasurer. 

The Endowment Fund was established in 2007 to provide financial security and sustainability for the nonprofit, its programs, and the long-term protection of Haywood County waterways. The organization has been primarily dependent on grants, comprising nearly 80 percent of its budget, but would like to raise $2 million for its endowment. It will begin a fundraising campaign this year.

877.700.7373 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kevin FitzGerald, deputy superintendent of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since 2006, retired this month after 34 years with the National Park Service.

While stationed at park headquarters on the Tennessee side of the park, he and his wife plan to eventually live in Western North Carolina now that he has retired.

FitzGerald began his career with the National Park Service as a seasonal fee collector on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Then he worked for the Park service in the Everglades, Maryland, Cape Cod, and Colorado before returning to the Great Smoky Mountains.

While at the Smokies FitzGerald played a key role in guiding the largest infrastructure improvement program in the park since the days of the Civilian Conservation Corps, overseeing $80 million in stimulus projects.

Riders are invited to compete and spectators are invited to watch at the Icycle Mountain Bike Race at Fontana Village on Jan. 26. The seven-mile course consists of varied terrain with rocks, roots, creeks and open passing lanes that make up some of the most notable Western North Carolina singletrack.

Proposed logging below Devil’s Courthouse in the Pisgah National Forest is being widely decried among outdoor recreation groups and environmental advocates.

Western Carolina University will be hosting a week of events from Jan. 21 to 26 celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr.

The comedy “21A” will be hitting the stage at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 18-19 and 3 p.m. Jan. 20 in the Feichter Studio Theater at the Haywood Arts Regional Theatre in Waynesville.

Bryson City husband/wife singer-songwriters Liz and AJ Nance will be performing at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, and Friday, Feb. 22, at City Lights Café in Sylva. Both shows are free and open to the public. www.citylightscafe.com or 828.587.2233.

To the Editor:

I am adamantly opposed to the rescinding or changing of the current steep slope and mountain-top ordinances in Jackson County. It is all is based on greed and amounts to the selling out of our county representatives to the real estate industry.

Most of the houses built at high elevations are second or third homes occupied only a few weeks out of the year. The 2007 ordinances were forward thinking and helped preserve our environment, rivers and water supply — the main reason we all live here!

I want to address the mountain-top comments made in the newspaper. The mere suggestion of having a house color control to allow mountain top construction is ludicrous. Why not paint trees on the sides of the houses and put fake treetops on the roof so you won’t see the big swath cut out of the ridgeline.

The bigger issue is the roads that it takes to get up to these houses for three weeks a year, roads that create more erosion than the actual building site, affecting waterways and our water supply.

Regarding density laws how about only allowing 20 to 30 real estate agents in the county? That’s one of the main problems.

I have lived here for 41 years. We have done a fair job of controlling growth, but you are trying to open things to massive growth. The tax revenue some envision from this growth won’t make up for having to add more services and the destruction of our lifestyle.  Please reconsider your actions and the forces that are behind them.

PS: All you need to do is take a look at Eagles Nest in Waynesville to see million-dollar houses that sit empty most of the year to see what a mess Haywood County allowed.

Randall Lanier

Jackson County

Waynesville native John Ottinger has been named District Conservationist for the Haywood and Madison counties Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has provided $800 from its specialty license plate funds to help secure backpackers’ food from bears along the Appalachian Trail within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A half-price book sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 19 and from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, at the Friends of the Jackson County Library used bookstore in Sylva.

Before the sale opens to the public, members of Friends of the Library will get first dibs on good deals during the “Members Only Half-Price Sale” from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18.

The bookstore will be closed to non-members, but anyone may join or renew at the door to get in to the pre-sale. Members get a great deal and first choice on the books in stock.

The Friends of the Library make a $10,000 quarterly donation to the library from proceeds at their used bookstore.

“Each donation, each sale and each volunteer help make this possible,” said Friends of the Library President Patricia Cowen.

828.586.1221.

To the Editor:

Since the mid 1990s, Mexican criminals have been growing marijuana in our national forests. In recent years these operations have spread to at least 20 states and 67 national forests as well as on private land. We are still a sovereign nation, are we not? If that’s correct it begs the question: why have our national parks been surrendered by our government to Mexican drug traffickers?

An area of 3,500 acres in southern Arizona has been closed to U.S. citizens because of the dangers posed by drug smugglers. We can conclude from this that it is no longer safe for Americans to visit any national park less they inadvertently wander into a pot-growing operation guarded by well-armed drug traffickers who won’t hesitate to kill to protect their merchandise.

Wisconsin has just one national forest (the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest) where the first site in that state was discovered in 2008. Most people arrested there have been illegal immigrants from Mexico with connections in California (a shocker there) where traffickers were discovered in 1995.

Numerous arrests have been made of course, and tens of thousands of plants worth more than a billion dollars have been eradicated over the years. Many cases of arrests are “pending.”  

The relaxation of marijuana laws and now its legalization in some states significantly adds to the problem and sends critically mixed messages to law enforcement agencies.   Considering the experience of the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agency and our sheriff in Jackson County recently, perhaps our inability to end (permanently) the desecration of our national forests is tied to our governments failure to obtain ACLU approval before making arrests.

In the end our government’s inability or unwillingness to reclaim our national forests and protect private property from drug traffickers (who are in this country illegally) demands this issue be an essential part of the debate about gun control. This is precisely why the 2nd Amendment was added to The Constitution of the United States. If our government refuses to act decisively, than we must.

David L. Snell

Dillsboro

To the Editor:

Almost everyone has an opinion about how to combat violent, mass killing. My hope is that we will not be distracted by all the static and go for quick solutions that may make us feel safer but will, most likely, be ineffective. We need to keep our eye on the cause here: mental illness. Would that we could pass a law against mental illness!

In the last 10 to 20 years, we have made great progress in our understanding and approach to brain disorders and now recognize that these are treatable illnesses. We are now on the verge of some significant breakthroughs. I hope we will put our money and our minds where it will have the most benefit: early identification and adequate treatment of mental illness, and hopefully, at some point, prevention. Look what we have done with cancer, heart disease, and polio. Let’s not do the typical “knee-jerk” reaction and think we can pass a few laws and see this problem in the rear view mirror. Let’s do the hard work. Let’s fund research and treatment of mental illness.

Ann Nandrea

Franklin

Those vying to be the next sheriff of Haywood County have until 2 p.m. Jan. 17 to get their applications turned in.

Haywood Sheriff Bobby Suttles is stepping down with two years left to go on his term. Because Suttles is a Democrat, the Democratic Party gets to appoint a successor to serve out the remaining two years. Suttles’ last day is Feb. 8.

So far, Chief Deputy Larry Bryson, second in command at the sheriff’s office currently, has publicly said he will seek the appointment. N.C. Highway Patrol Trooper Lt. Greg Christopher is expected to announce soon whether he will submit his name also.

An interesting twist is the announcement last week by a Republican contender for the seat. Bill Wilke, a sergeant with the Asheville Police Department who ran for sheriff against Suttles in 2010, will formally seek the appointment.

It could be a long shot, especially given the language in a press release issued by the Haywood Democrats calling for applications stated “Democratic candidates for the office of Haywood County Sheriff” may now pick up an ‘Intent to Run’ form … , a testament to the low probability a Republican would win the Democratic Party’s nod.

The Haywood County Democratic Executive Committee will hold a meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 14, at the Democratic headquarters to discuss the process for naming a replacement. Those seeking the office can call 828.456.4942 or 828.734.9056 for details on how to apply.

Western Carolina University has agreed to a $600,000 out-of-court settlment in a civil suit brought by the family of Ja’Quayvin Smalls, a junior defensive back from Mount Pleasant, S.C. who died during an off-season football practice in July 2009.

Singer/songwriter Ben Wilson will be featured at the Friday Night Live music series from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, at the Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

Renowned performer Tim Hawkins will be taking the stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts in Franklin.

Hawkins is best known for parodying popular songs and stand-up material on topics such as marriage, home schooling and parenting. His performances are vigorous, well timed and honed to perfection. The dad of four children has more than 100 million views on YouTube and more than 120 sold out shows each year.

Tickets $25 and VIP passes (which include a talk back session with the artist) are $40. www.GreatMountainMusic.com or 866.273.4615.

Legendary rock group STYX will be performing at 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center.

Tommy Shaw, James “JY” Young, Lawrence Gowan, Todd Sucherman and Ricky Phillips have had more live performances since 1999 than all of the combined previous years of STYX. With two Super Bowl appearances, Pollstar Box Office chart-topping tours with Def Leppard, Journey, Boston, REO Speedwagon and Bad Company (to name only a few) and two more studio albums, STYX continues to conquer the planet. Hits include “Lady,” “Come Sail Away,” and “Mr. Roboto,” among others.

www.ticketmaster.com or 800.745.3000.

Electropop trio Stereospread, based in Waynesville, is releasing their highly-anticipated first album, The Heart & the Thief, this month.

An opening reception for “Ball Mason Jar Art” by Brent Martin will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 11, at City Lights Café in Sylva.

Last year was a promising year for local food production and farm education in WNC, according to the Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project. ASAP provided some year-end figures to paint a picture of different milestones and achievements in 2012 and the preceding decade.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission has announced the winners of the eighth annual Wildlife in North Carolina magazine outdoor photo competition.

A comprehensive U.S. Forest Service report released last month examines how expanding populations, increased urbanization, and changing land-use patterns could impact natural resources, including water supplies, nationwide during the next 50 years.

To the Editor:

We are writing in response to the gun control controversy. I agree that the recent acts of violence are outrageous and totally reprehensible. We do feel, however, that that some people are reacting to these tragedies by blaming anyone and anything that they can in order to feel that they have power over the situation instead of examining all the facts and basing their conclusions on the evidence that is presented. Instead, they give a knee-jerk reaction and try to come up with solutions that truly will not solve the problems.

The violence at Columbine, the movie theater in Colorado, and now Sandy Hook as well as in other places around our country was perpetrated using firearm; this is true. However, the main weapon which was in use in all of these and so many other attacks were the actual perpetrators. These individuals, for whatever reasons that they may have had, were the true weapons, weapons of mass destruction. 

Some of the people in our country feel that all mass murders and attacks are done with guns, this is far from the truth. How many died in cult murder/suicides from poison? How many died in the fires at Waco, not to mention anthrax or the Unabomber? How many people in our country have been murdered in groups or individually by knives, baseball bats, machetes, axes, screwdrivers, ice picks, or everyday sticks or rocks? 

Yet the only thing that seems to be regulated or banned are firearms.

We feel that what is in need of regulating are people. Guns can only be legally purchased by people without criminal backgrounds and have no recorded mental disorders. All of the weapons used at Columbine and Sandy Hook were purchased legally by persons other than the shooters, thus they were stolen by these criminals. The Colorado theater shooter purchased his own weapons legally and then used them illegally. Why place more regulations on law-abiding citizens and deny them guns for hunting or personal protection when criminals will pay no heed to those laws and simply steal weapons or buy them on the black market? Doing so would be a criminals dream come true, a land where the everyday citizens are unarmed and ripe for the picking.

No one in their right mind would ever take a weapon into a theater and shoot total strangers, and it would take a total sociopath to enter a school and shoot innocent children. Why not take all the time, money, and energy that some are trying to put into taking away the constitutional right of every American citizen to own and bear arms and put it into recognizing, diagnosing, and treating the thousands of people who are suffering from a wide range of mental disorders? This would be a better solution.

Remember this — throughout the history of man, there have been those who have chose to commit murder. Prior to the invention of guns these murders were still committed. Also, throughout history one of the first acts of dictators upon taking over a country was to disarm the citizens so that they were easier to control. 

Taking away the right to own a firearm will not protect anyone, it will simply put us at the mercy of criminals who care nothing for those or any other laws.

Karl and Tina Marsh

Whittier

Swain County suffers from a serious lack of soccer fields, a plight soccer enthusiasts there hope to do something about.

A line-up of art classes will begin in January, offered through the Inspired Art Ministry at the First Baptist Church in Waynesville.

• Drawing classes for adult beginners through advanced will go from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 14 and meet weekly for six weeks. Tuition is $55.

• Painting classes for adult beginners through advanced will go from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15 and meet weekly for six weeks. Students work in acrylic, oil, watercolor, colored pencil and/or oil pastel. Tuition is $55. Both adult classes will be taught by Char Avrunin who is a nationally collected painter.

• “Taking Control of Your Digital Photography – From Camera to Computer” will be taught by master photographer Ed Kelley. Two classes are offered from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., both beginning Tuesday, Jan. 22, meeting weekly with four classroom sessions and one on-location outing. Tuition is $145.

• Art classes for children ages 5 to 14 will be held from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22, and meet weekly for five weeks. Tuition is $75 and includes materials. Professional artist Scottie Harris will be the children’s teacher.

828.456.9197 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or www.iam.webs.com.

Nationally acclaimed Western North Carolina bluegrass group Balsam Range will continue their winter concert series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at The Colonial Theatre in Canton.

Cartoonist and illustrator James Lyle will do a presentation and demonstration on comic books and graphic novels for the Art League of the Smokies at 6:15 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, at the Swain County Center for the Arts in Bryson City.

Wildlife program seeks help with classes

Wild South’s Wildlife Outreach Initiative, along with Mountain Wildlife Days, are in the process of scheduling wildlife education programs for both adults and students during the 2012-13 school year.

The programs emphasize on close-up wildlife experiences for a variety of audiences. However, participants are needed to justify the expense of providing a qualified wildlife expert. Because of the limited funds available, the organizers need to hear from schools or organizations, and possibly receive contributions, to provide the wildlife education.

In 2011-2012, wildlife education presentations in Western North Carolina totaled more than 22 programs and provided for an estimated 2,800 children and adults. They were held in Enka, Maggie Valley, Franklin, Cashiers, Sapphire Valley, Brevard, Hendersonville and Asheville.  

www.wildsouth.org.

Learn to be a master gardener

There is still space available in the 2013 N.C. Cooperative Extension Master Gardener class, which is geared toward gardeners who enjoy horticulture and would like to share knowledge with others.

Participants will learn about botany, propagation, pest control in the landscape and garden, as well as many other topics. Classes are taught from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays at the Extension center on Raccoon Road in Waynesville. Cost of the class is $100, which includes the class manual, 40 hours of instruction and other class materials. The classes start Jan. 9, and run through the end of April.

828.456.3575.

Cataloochee Ski Area is opening its winter race series beginning 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 8, for middle school competitors, followed by high school races at the same time on the following day, Wednesday, Jan. 9.

The race series occurs weekly until early March, and the cost is $150 for the whole season. That price also includes the price of skiing on Tuesday and Wednesday, so competitors can practice on the slopes either the day following or preceding their race.

Adult races will also be held throughout the ski season on Thursday nights, and recreational races will be held on Sundays.

www.cataloochee.com.

Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust conserves five parcels in 2012

With the help of community members and donors, the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust will have conserved five new properties by the end of 2012.

The properties include two in Highlands, one that holds a mountain bog that is home to numerous rare plant species and another containing a forest and a waterfall. Other properties include one in Jackson County that protects more than 30 endangered plants and one that protects part of the Nantahala River in Macon County.

www.hicashlt.org.

Nominate your favorite wildlife protector

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting nominations for an award recognizing those who make outstanding contributions to wildlife diversity in the state. The award is called the Thomas L. Quay Wildlife Diversity Award, and nominations are open through Jan. 30.

The winner will be announced at the Commissioners’ meeting in July. The winner will join a list of seven existing winners ranging from the first, Quay himself, a volunteer and retired zoologist, to Harry LeGrand, an authority on the conservation of rare vertebrate animals and their habitats.

Those interested must fill out a form and complete an essay. Nominations from 2010 and 2011 will be automatically be considered as well, while nominations submitted prior to 2010 will be considered upon request.

919.707.0058.

Group saves land from development

The Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy recently purchased 260 acres visible from the Appalachian Trail and the overlook at the Rhododendron Gardens on Roan Mountain.

Located in the middle of the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area, the parcel adjoins the 225-acre Spear Top Mountain property that the organization acquired in 2011. Together, these adjoining conservation projects protect the summit and three sides of the mountain.

“This area is so special and precious, with beautiful waterfalls and many rare plants and mushrooms. It just needs to stay natural,” said landowner Laura Mitchell, who sold the property to the organization in early December.

Protecting this parcel has been a priority for SAHC since the Yellow Mountain State Natural Area was created in 2008. The newly purchased tract holds rich cove and northern hardwood forests, extending to 4,800 feet in elevation along the upper reaches of Spear Top Mountain’s western slopes. The headwaters of Justice Creek originate on the property, and tributaries of the North Toe River, a trout stream, flow through it.

SAHC plans to lead guided hikes on the property beginning in 2013.

Hikers of the Appalachian Trail now have a new shelter where they can rest their bones. The U.S. Forest Service announced Dec. 18 the completion of the Long Branch Shelter, located in the Standing Indian Basin in the Nantahala National Forest.

Writer Amy Allen will discuss her journey along the Appalachian Trail as she presents her book, Summoning the Mountains: Pilgrimage into Forty, at 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva.  

Allen, a recently divorced single mom, cast aside family and society’s expectations to follow a lifelong calling. On the eve of her 40th birthday, she reached for her personal goal of hiking the Appalachian Trail. After settling her teenage sons at their father’s house, Allen embarked on her 2,000-mile journey.  

Taking on the name her sons give her, Willow, she transports the reader into the forest, giving the armchair hiker a glimpse into a world of coyotes, butterflies and bears. She shares her experiences of storms, injuries and the determination to ward off hunger and doubt. Summoning the Mountains is a book about embracing challenges and accepting change.  

828.586.9499.

By Tom Rogers • Guest columnist

The tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School is beyond comprehension. Such an event should never occur in this country or anywhere else. But it did.

After we care for the survivors, honor the heroes, hold memorials for the victims and the shock of the event diminishes, as a nation we want to know: “Why?”

We want to know how to keep it from ever happening again and then do it.

To the Editor:

I challenge The Smoky Mountain News to assist in opening a respectful, thoughtful, meaningful conversation in our region about gun policies in the United States. Give us credible, objective statistics relating to gun policies and violence, in this country and others. I realize this is a touchy subject, with hunting so ingrained in our culture here in Western North Carolina. However, The Smoky Mountain News is no stranger to controversy. I remember when you provided us with in-depth reporting about the Haywood hospital, even when it meant loss of advertisement revenue.  

In particular, I would like to read your interviews with ordinary people, not spokesmen or politicians, about how a ban on military-type assault weapons and limiting the size of ammunition clips would infringe on hunting rights. I would also like to hear how closing the gun-show background check loophole to reduce the likelihood of criminals and mentally unstable people obtaining guns would infringe.  

I have seen proposals of a small tax on gun and ammunition purchases to fund our mental health system, which has been subject to budget cut after budget cut, so that interventions may be made to protect us from unstable people with guns. Funding could also be obtained this way for more law enforcement officers to protect our schools. How do people in the community feel about this?

Lastly, I would like to hear from citizens their solutions for reducing the incident of tragedies such as which occurred at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut. Is it too much to hope that we can come to some consensus to present to our legislators?

Carole Larivee

Waynesville

Fine dining, jazz for New Year’s Eve

There will be a special jazz performance and dinner at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 31, at The Classic Wineseller in Waynesville.

The event will feature musicians Sheila Gordon (keyboards/vocals), Mike Creech (guitar) and Danny McMahon (percussion). Situated inside The Classic Wineseller is Angelino’s Ristorante, which will be preparing and serving the three-course meal. Patrons will also receive a bottle of wine and complimentary glass of champagne.

Tickets are $35 per person, and there will be a cash bar.

www.classicwineseller.com or 828.452.6000.

New Year’s Eve fireworks in the Smokies

The final details are being put into place for the annual “New Year’s Eve Celebration in the Smokies” that will be held from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday, Dec. 31, at Fontana Village Resort.

The 2012 New Year’s Eve Bash includes a holiday dinner party prepared by Chef Tracy Williams and his team in the Mountview Restaurant, a New Year’s Eve Gala party with live music featuring the Caribbean Cowboys at the Fontana Events Hall, and Fireworks on the Village Green to ring in the New Year at midnight. Reservations are now being accepted.

www.fontanavillage.com/events/pdfs/newyears2012 or 800.849.2258 or 828.498.2211.

Cherokee to ring in New Year with fireworks

Celebrate the New Year at Cherokee’s Annual New Year’s Eve Fireworks display at 8 p.m. Monday, Dec. 31, located at the Acquoni Expo Center. This special holiday event will include fun for the entire family, surrounded by the scenic mountains of Western North Carolina.

www.cherokee-nc.com or 800.438.1601.

The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad will ring in the New Year with an evening of live music, dancing, dining and celebration starting at 7:45 p.m. Monday, Dec. 31, at the train depot in Bryson City.

Registration is ongoing for the eighth annual “Dulcimer U Winter Weekend” conference for mountain dulcimer enthusiasts, which will be held Thursday, Jan. 3, through Sunday, Jan. 6, at the Terrace Hotel at Lake Junaluska.

Haywood County Arts Council Executive Director Kay Miller is stepping down after nine years on the job.

An ongoing investigation into gravestones purchased from Moody’s Funeral Home in Sylva but never delivered to the buyers has resulted in charges against the former funeral home director.

The Nantahala Hiking Club recently renovated an 80-year-old Appalachian Trail shelter about a mile north of Burningtown Gap in Macon County.

The Franklin Young Professionals were recently awarded a plaque for their participation in the N.C. Big Sweep river cleanup this fall.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has once again launched a year-end fundraising campaign called the 469 Challenge.

Inspired by the miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway, the 469 Challenge is an effort to bring in one donation for every mile during the last two months of the year. In 2011, the Foundation raised 452 donations towards the 469 Challenge. As of Dec. 5, the Foundation had raised 233 donations towards the 2012 Challenge.

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is the primary fundraiser for the Parkway. Since its founding in 1997, it has provided more than $3.4 million to fund Parkway projects. In 2012, the Foundation funded projects at popular spots including Graveyard Fields near Waynesville. The Foundation also funds year-round initiatives like Parks as Classrooms, allowing rangers visit schools in Parkway communities to connect students with nature and the cultural heritage of the region.

With more than 16 million visitors a year, the Parkway is the most visited feature of the National Park Service, more so than Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon combined. Yet there is no entrance fees and declining federal budgets are forcing the Parkway to rely more on donations.

www.brpfoundation.org.