A trio of conservation groups is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for alleged violations of the Endangered Species Act, charging that new and illegal agency policies bar use of proven management measures to save the red wolves. 

The 5Point Adventure Film Festival will come to Western North Carolina with an online screening at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1. 

The few remaining leaves hanging in the trees shine like stained glass as the morning sun rises high enough to outrun the slopes above Trillium Gap Trailhead in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The abnormally warm November day is perfect for hiking, the play of sunlight on autumn leaves and the sweeping views glimpsed through mostly bare branches commanding complete attention. It’s easy to forget the ground beneath your boots, feet moving forward automatically as eyes focus up and around, only occasionally flickering downward. 

The red-cockaded woodpecker could be downgraded from an endangered species to a threatened species if a proposal from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is adopted, and a public hearing slated for 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 1, will give citizens a chance to weigh in.