To the Editor:

The new 2023 state budget will pump more than $100 million annually into land and water conservation.

Experience the hemlock trees growing at the historic Cradle of Forestry in America during a hike starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 4.

Two Western North Carolina people and organizations were recognized in this year’s Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards, presented by the N.C. Wildlife Federation.

Help scientists band birds this summer with the “A Bird’s Eye View” program at Highlands Biological Station June 22, July 3, July 12, July 25 and Aug. 2.

The Highlands Biological Foundation will kick off its annual Zahner Conservation Lecture Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, June 15, with a talk from biologist Allen Hurlbert titled “Birds, Big Data and Citizen Science: Understanding the Impacts of Global Change.”

Agricultural producers and private landowners have until May 26 to sign up for the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program, a federal program that lets producers and landowners continue grazing and haying while conserving grasslands and promoting diversity and healthy soil.

Sylva has received the results of an in-depth botanical survey of Pinnacle Park revealing that the property is a bonanza of biodiversity. Now, the town is partnering with Jackson County and the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority to fund a master plan implementing survey recommendations.    

OO Over the next two years, Haywood Waterways Association will implement a $2 million grant aimed at protecting Canton, Clyde and Cruso when the next flood comes. The grant is by far the largest in Haywood Waterways’ 25-year history.

Doug Tallamy had been teaching at the University of Delaware for a quarter of a century when he had an epiphany: People who want to do something good for the planet have the ability to effect change immediately by choosing plants that share their energy with other beings, as opposed to those that don’t. And they get to see positive results in real time in their own yards.

The Pisgah and Nantahala national forests are now operating under a new management plan, ending an arduous, 11-year process to revise an existing plan implemented in 1987.