Outdoors
Smokies Life CEO recognized with lifetime achievement award
Laurel Rematore, CEO of Smokies Life, will be recognized with the Excellence in Cooperating Association Partnership Award at the National Park Service’s Excellence in Service Awards to be held Aug. 21 in Washington, D.C.
Interested in forest valuation?
Alexandra Lewis, a USDA Forester in the Nantahala Ranger District will offer a presentation to shed light on valuation of forests. The presentation will touch on how a forest is valued relative to quality of life and flora sustainability.
Pisgah View State Park comes into focus
Buncombe County’s first state park, near the eastern gateway to Haywood County, remains on track for a 2025 opening after the final in-person public input session for master planning concluded at Upper Hominy Fire and Rescue Department on Aug. 1.
Word from the Smokies: Shedding light on the nature of venomous snakes
Summer in Southern Appalachia affords many opportunities to watch and learn more about our diverse species of wildlife. Near the border of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee, I see migrating and breeding birds, wild turkeys rearing poults, white-tailed deer with their fawns and the occasional black bear.
Angling for the podium: How Michael Bradley has taken the fly fishing world by storm
Most folks who get into fly fishing do it despite the fish, which seldom cooperate and sometimes get in the way of an otherwise perfectly enjoyable morning standing out in the creek.
Input sought on environmental justice initiative
People can soon comment on an environmental justice initiative outlined in Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 292.
The order reestablished an Environmental Justice Advisory Council and calls on state agencies to develop and track goals to improve environmental justice in North Carolina.
Word from the Smokies: Park program welcomes people with disabilities into the backcountry
Growing up, Blount County native Carly Pearson considered time outdoors a way of life. When she wasn’t exploring the stunningly diverse landscape of nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, she was giving it her all on the soccer field.
Highlands lecture series to host NASA scientist
The Highlands Biological Foundation (HBF) announced the next lecture in their Zahner Conservation Lecture Series, taking place at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1, at the Highlands Nature Center.
Waynesville project seeks to elevate quality of life
The Town of Waynesville is applying for the Urban and Community Forestry Financial Assistance Program grant.
The goal is to implement the "Keeping Waynesville Beautiful Project,” which would aim to address several critical needs related to urban and community forestry.
“We have identified a pressing need for the enhancement of the town's urban tree population and the implementation of sustainable tree maintenance practices in two census tracts that include over half of the Waynesville population,” a news release states. “Furthermore, fostering community engagement and awareness about the importance of urban and community forestry is essential.”
By addressing these needs, the project seeks to elevate the overall quality of living in Waynesville while ensuring the long-term health and sustainability of urban and community forests.
The Town of Waynesville is seeking letters of support from community businesses and organizations that are interested in the beautification of Waynesville and the maintenance of local trees. Those letters can be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by July 31.
