The Sicklefin Redhorse has a long history in the waters of southern Appalachia. But the fish wasn’t rediscovered and recognized as a distinct species until 1992. Now, the fish has been scientifically described and as of February, has an official scientific name — Moxostoma ugidatli. 

Haywood Community College in Clyde will welcome multiple speakers, guests and partners to campus for the WNC Environmental Summit from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, March 21,. 

Birds face a number of threats during their long migration journeys, but you can help by simply turning off unnecessary lights at night and advocating for your neighbors, employer, or local government to do the same. 

Simon Thompson, an international birding expert, will discuss surprising effects of climactic changes on North Carolina’s and the world’s wild bird populations. He will speak to the WNC Sierra Club at 7 p.m. on April 2, in the UNCA OLLI/Reuter Center, at 300 Campus Drive. 

Located atop “The Plateau” on the outskirts of downtown Highlands, the Highlands Biological Station is a world-renowned facility for academics, locals and visitors alike. 

The WNC Nature Center will reopen to the public March 17, five and a half months after closing due to the devastating effects of Hurricane Helene, which caused significant flooding that destroyed roads and the main bridge to the Nature Center. 

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation supplied funding to help a collaborative partnership conserve 406 acres of habitat for elk, whitetail deer, wild turkey, grouse and other wildlife in Western North Carolina.

Watching birds is a year-round pleasure for Becky and me — daily to see their beauty and vitality, their aerial acrobatics, their antics and doings that reveal their native smarts. And to make sure there are birds to watch we bait the yard.

As part of the Great Backyard Bird Count initiative, a global community science project that helps researchers understand how birds are doing before they undertake their great spring migration, Mainspring Conservation Trust is hosting its own event. 

Inside Keith Gibbs’ office hangs an imprint of a sicklefin redhorse, a sucker fish that the Western Carolina University assistant professor in the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources takes great interest in.