When filing a state tax return this year, North Carolina workers can support research and conservation management projects by donating some or all of their tax refund to the N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund. 

The N.C. Tobacco Trust Fund Commission has awarded more than $6.1 million in 30 grants, including more than $400,000 targeted toward the western counties. 

For the first time since 2022, High Path Avian Influenza has been found in North Carolina. 

In recognition of the outsize impact that longtime members Bill and Sharon Van Horn have had on the organization, the Nantahala Hiking Club has created a new annual award in honor of their contributions. 

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. 

A limited number of high schools will be awarded a $10,000 grant to develop a Trailblazers Outdoor Club for the upcoming school year, with applications open through March 30. 

Rachel Paige Crowe, 33, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison, five years of probation, $5,200 in fines and at least 15 years on the sex offender registry after pleading guilty to engaging in sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy on the Qualla Boundary in 2022. 

A Glenville man, angered by neighbors’ target practice and who, afterwards, fired four times into their residence, is now in state custody serving active prison time, District Attorney Ashley Hornsby Welch said. 

North Carolina’s 13-day early voting period, where voters can appear at local polling places to cast their votes in person, is underway and will continue through Saturday, March 2.

Regional country/rock act Jon Cox will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at the Unplugged Pub in Bryson City. 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park librarian/archivist Michael Aday will present his book, a collection of correspondences, “Letters From the Smokies” at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. 

Net emissions of greenhouse gases have fallen 38% between 2005 and 2020 in North Carolina, according to the latest update of the N.C. Greenhouse Gas Inventory. 

Nearly 300 million acres of American farmland is expected to change hands over the next 20 years, and a new program from the American Farmland Trust called “Land Transfer Navigators” aims to help farmers and landowners retire with confidence as they help new farmers access land. 

A draft conservation plan for the federally endangered Virginia big-eared bat is out for public comment through March 1. 

The U.S. Forest Service has completed its review of proposed renovations at the Bobby N. Setzer Fish Hatchery in the Pisgah National Forest near Brevard and determined that current environmental regulations allow the project to move forward.

Help transform an old cattle pasture into a wildlife haven 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Feb. 24, at Tessentee Bottomland Preserve in Otto. 

Learn how to grow plants from seed with a program slated for 9:30-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28, at the Haywood County Cooperative Extension Center in Waynesville. 

“Safe and Found,” a documentary featuring the Haywood County Search and Rescue Team, is now available to stream online after its premiere Jan. 20 in Clyde. 

Parent interest meetings for Basecamp Summer Camp in Waynesville will be held nightly at 6 p.m. Feb. 14-16 at the Waynesville Recreation Center. 

Take an easy 5-mile hike along Lakeshore Trail at Fontana Dam Thursday, Feb. 22, with the Partners of Joyce Kilmer-Slickrock Wilderness. 

Catch a sight of migratory birds at 8 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 17, at Lake Junaluska. 

Justin Pilat of Tuckaseegee Fly Shop will discuss the shop, waters they fish and hosted travel trips at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, at BearWaters Brewery in Waynesville. 

Thursday, Feb. 15 marks the start of North Carolina’s 13-day early voting period, when voters can appear at local polling places to cast their votes in person through Saturday, March 2.

Every five years, the Main Street Sylva Association’s Board of Directors creates an economic development plan, and this year, the focus is on downtown’s Mill Street. 

Southern rock juggernaut Blackberry Smoke will perform at 9 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16, at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort. 

Featuring four plays, the “Scribes on Stage” series will hit the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Peacock Playhouse in Hayesville. 

With a list of novels, five books of poetry and seven collections of short stories, Ron Rash has garnered a number of prestigious awards in his writing career.

The eastern hellbender does not deserve listing under the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided, but the Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, which was first described as a unique species in 2019, warrants a status review to consider listing. 

After completing its 70th year supporting preservation in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Great Smoky Mountains Association has adopted a new name. The nonprofit will now be known as Smokies Life. 

Over the next three years, 40 sites across Western North Carolina are expected to be part of the WNC Double SNAP Network, which expands the ability of people receiving assistance from the federal SNAP program to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from farmers markets. 

Birders and bird lovers worldwide are encouraged to participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count Feb. 16-19, with several local events offered to mark the weekend. 

For the first time since August, North Carolina is now drought-free. Some areas of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon and Dare counties remain abnormally dry, but the remaining 95 counties are now at or above normal moisture levels. 

New board officers, trustees and advisors have been appointed to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, which partners with the National Park Service to preserve and enhance the most-visited national park unit. 

The annual Haywood County Extension Master Gardener Plant Sale is now underway, with orders due pre-paid by Friday, March 8. 

Start off the year with an early-season slalom race Saturday, Feb. 17, on the Nantahala River at the Nantahala Outdoor Center. 

Registration is open for youth volleyball clinics slated to begin the week of March 11 at the Cullowhee Recreation Center in Cullowhee. 

The Sylva Naturalist Club will meet 6:30-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Jackson County Public Library in Sylva. 

Experience the backcountry during wintertime with a pair of hikes offered over the next week with Haywood Recreation and Parks. 

Camping check-in times will be standardized throughout N.C. State Parks starting June 15. 

Nominations are wanted for people who have led the way in conserving nongame animals in North Carolina. 

After being closed for cleanup since Jan. 11, Allens Creek Park in Waynesville is open again. 

The Therapeutic Massage program at Southwestern Community College has opened its learning clinic for the spring semester to allow its first-year students to practice their studies.

The clinic is open to the public, and a 50-minute massage by a student costs $20. Appointments are available on Tuesdays at noon, 1:15 p.m., 2:45 p.m. and 4 p.m.

To book an appointment, visit massagebook.com or call 828.339.4313. For information about the Therapeutic Massage program, visit southwesterncc.edu.

The Natti Love Joys will perform during the “Bob Marley Birthday Celebration” at 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville. 

Asheville-based rock/funk trio Pleasantly Wild will hit the stage at 9 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at The Gem downstairs taproom at Boojum Brewing in Waynesville. 

In 2023, the Blue Ridge Parkway saw its highest visitation since 2007, according to preliminary figures from the National Park Service, representing a 6.1% increase over 2022.

A forest landowner workshop coming 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Haywood Agricultural Center in Waynesville will give landowners a chance to learn principles and resources for stewarding their forest. 

The Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina has now permanently protected more than 70,000 acres in the South Mountains after a 1,460-acre acquisition in the Pinnacle Mountains of McDowell and Rutherford counties pushed it over the mark to a total of 70,193 acres conserved since its founding in 1995. 

Up your recycling know-how during a program at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 7, at the University of North Carolina Asheville’s Reuter Center. 

Spend the weekend focused on coon hunting with the Jackson County Coon Hound Association Friday, Feb. 2, and Saturday, Feb. 3, in Sylva. 

Learn what to do when your dog gets hurt on the trail with a workshop offered 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, in Clyde.