The Friends of the Greenway and the Franklin Bird Club invite the public to the dedication of the Barbara McRae Memorial Viewing Platform on 2 p.m. Sunday, June 23.  

Join Mainspring Conservation Trust on March 18 for a presentation on conservation strategy in Western North Carolina by Mainspring Conservation Outreach Associate Skye Cahoon. 

The speaker series “Where We Live: History, Nature, and Culture” will continue this month with a presentation explaining the role that the Mainspring Conservation Trust plays in the region. 

Help care for conserved lands by participating in a string of upcoming stewardship volunteer workdays with Mainspring Conservation Trust, held 9 a.m. to noon every other Thursday at various locations in Macon County. 

Help remove invasive plants on the Jackson County Greenway 1-4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12 in Cullowhee. 

A coalition working to remove the aged Ela Dam in Swain County has raised $8 million of an estimated $10 million needed to complete the project.

For most people, the word “snorkeling” conjures images of blue Caribbean waters, pink coral reefs and a rainbow of tropical fish. But witnessing a world of aquatic beauty doesn’t require a flight to the Florida Keys.

After months of discussion and deliberation, Mainspring Conservation Trust and Northbrook Carolina Hydro II have signed an agreement allowing Mainspring to purchase the aging Ela Dam in Swain County — paving the way for dam removal efforts to progress.

Franklin-based nonprofit Mainspring Conservation Trust will take the lead in efforts to remove 97-year-old Ela Dam if its board decides in favor of acquiring the 62-acre property now owned by Northbrook Hydro II.

Mainspring Conservation Trust recently closed on an in-holding of the Nantahala National Forest Service in the Caney Fork Valley of Jackson County.