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 Center for Biological Diversity and MountainTrue are suing the federal government, seeking to ensure laws are followed where they claim the U.S. Forest Service is skirting regulations in allowing the logging of a 135-acre parcel in the Nolichucky Gorge near the small Poplar community on the border between Yancey and Mitchell counties. 

MountainTrue, a nonprofit conservation organization serving Western North Carolina, is partnering with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to launch a comprehensive River Debris Cleanup Program to address ongoing impacts from Tropical Storm Helene.

MountainTrue, in partnership with the Mainspring Conservation Trust and the Pinnacle Park Foundation, is hosting a community volunteer workday to control non-native invasive plants and restore native habitat at the Pinnacle Park in Sylva. 

A lawsuit filed last month in a Washington, D.C., federal court alleges the U.S. Forest Service’s practice of setting “timber targets” puts the climate at risk, undermines the Biden administration’s climate goals and violates federal law. 

Join MountainTrue’s 18th annual caravan around the Lake Chatuge shoreline to view a variety of birds 7:30-9:30 a.m. Saturday, March 9. 

The 16th annual Hiwassee Watershed Gala will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29, at the Charles Suber Banquet Hall at Young Harris College in Georgia. 

In a newly filed lawsuit, a coalition of conservation organizations is alleging that a controversial U.S. Forest Service logging project on the Cashiers-Highlands Plateau violates federal law. 

A retreat for faith leaders and people interested in inspiring their congregations and communities to care for the planet will be held Feb. 2-3 at the Montreat Conference Center in Montreat. 

Hear the case for building more housing from an environmental perspective with a webinar offered 5:30-6:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, from MountainTrue.