Outdoors
Word from the Smokies: For some Smokies volunteers, campground hosting is the ideal lifestyle
Before they retired, Bob and Nancy Furlow owned and managed apartment buildings for a living. Now, they don’t even own a home — at least, not one without wheels. Since selling their house seven years ago, the couple, both in their late 60s, has resided in a 160-square-foot Boles Aero trailer, which Bob painstakingly rebuilt to feature cedar-paneled walls, a king-sized bed, and a full bathroom and kitchen. Four years into their new life as full-time RVers, they joined the ranks of the five dozen people who serve as campground hosts every year in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“This is the way to go when you retire,” said Nancy. “It’s fantastic.”
$221 million USDA disaster relief grant announced
Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed a $221 million federal block grant agreement that targets aid to North Carolina farmers who sustained losses and damages from Hurricane Helene in 2024.
Wildlife agency to hold free National Hunting and Fishing Day events
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will host two family-friendly events to recognize National Hunting and Fishing Day, an annual celebration promoting outdoor recreation and conservation.
Falling for a Cleaner North Carolina
The N.C. Department of Transportation is calling on volunteers to help clean up roadsides during the 2025 Fall Litter Sweep, scheduled for Sept. 13-27.
The statewide cleanup, held each spring and fall, brings together neighbors, civic groups and businesses to remove litter from North Carolina roadsides.
Planned rule changes threaten hellbender’s protection as endangered species
The ideal habitat of the Eastern hellbender that Tracy Davids described was pretty much what she saw on Tuesday morning as she stood ankle-deep in the Davidson River.
“Relatively shallow, fast-moving, highly oxygenated water because (hellbenders) breathe through their skin,” said Davids, senior southeast representative for the Defenders of Wildlife environmental organization.
Remembering summers of adventure at Camp Margaret Townsend
I was at least an hour and a half into my conversation with June Goforth when I joked that she hadn’t given me a chance to ask any questions. She paused a moment before laughing and said, “Oh, I didn’t know you had questions.”
I had sat down with Goforth to talk about Camp Margaret Townsend, a Girl Scout camp that was a summer home away from home for hundreds of girls between 1925 and 1959.
‘Into the Mist’ now available in e-book format
“Into the Mist: Tales of Death and Disaster, Mishaps and Misdeeds, Misfortune and Mayhem in Great Smoky Mountains National Park Volume I” is now available in e-book format on popular electronic reader platforms.
State begins to send checks for Helene crop losses
The first group of checks have been sent to farmers who applied for disaster assistance through the 2024 Ag Disaster Crop Loss, with more to follow in the coming weeks, said North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. The first round of checks was sent to farmers in Western North Carolina.
Upcoming half-day closures of Kuwohi Road on Sept. 9 and 16 for educational programs
Kuwohi Road will be temporarily closed for half-days on Sept. 9 and 16 to facilitate special educational programs for students from Swain County and Qualla Boundary schools. The park will close the road at midnight the night before each event and will reopen it by 2 p.m.
