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. 

As the fall winds blow the remaining leaves from deciduous trees and the plants have gone dormant for the season, the bones of the mountains and skeletal shapes of the trees come into view. Especially on snowy days, when the fallen snow lays on both forest floor and the branches of trees and shrubs, creating a stark outline of the forms of both hills and limbs. 

Trees already line many of Waynesville’s streets and ring the town’s parks, but after Town Council’s Oct. 28 meeting, their future care will no longer be left to chance. Council members voted unanimously to adopt a new municipal tree ordinance designed to protect public trees, reduce energy use, improve aesthetics and promote long-term environmental sustainability. 

In autumn, large trees like maples (Acer spp.), hickories (Carya spp.) and Oaks (Quercus spp.) get all the attention for their vivid fall leaf color. And that esteem is well deserved, along with smaller trees like flowering dogwood (Benthamidia florida), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica) and sourwood (Oxydendron arboreum), these colorful trees bring the tourists and their cameras each fall. 

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. 

As the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Helene’s arrival in Western North Carolina approaches, two faculty members in Western Carolina University’s College of Business served as project managers for an in-depth study of storm damage to the North Carolina Arboretum in an effort to develop a plan for its recovery. 

The N.C. Forest Service began accepting orders July 1 for its annual tree seedling sale. With an average annual production of 10 million seedlings, the NCFS Nursery Program produces enough native and genetically improved tree seedlings to plant roughly 18,700 acres of land. 

Do you have a gardening question? NC State Extension Master Gardener volunteers are available to answer your questions about lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees and ornamental plants; disease, insect, weed or wildlife problems; soils (including soil test results) and fertilizers; freeze and frost damage; and cultural and chemical solutions to pest problems. 

Equipment and personnel have arrived in Haywood County to begin removing debris at 22 sites along the Pigeon River. 

The initial focus of the debris removal will be on things like downed trees, appliances and vehicles that, if dislodged and sent downstream, could cause further catastrophic damage.

The Pisgah Conservancy’s Invasive Plant Management Crew celebrates one year of tackling non-native invasive species in the forest this month. 

The Invasive Plant Management Crew is the first and only of its kind fully dedicated to working in the Pisgah Ranger District.