The Jackson County Chamber and Visitor Center Ambassador Team held a grand opening/ribbon cutting ceremony for its new members at EcoForesters, Inc.

Located at 569 Mill St. in Sylva, EcoForesters is a non-profit professional forestry organization dedicated to conserving and restoring Appalachian forests through education and stewardship.

For more information, visit their website at  ecoforesters.org, call 336.972.7444 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

A forest landowner workshop coming 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 10, at the Haywood Agricultural Center in Waynesville will give landowners a chance to learn principles and resources for stewarding their forest. 

The nonprofit EcoForesters has crowned its winners for the people who made a difference in forest stewardship and education during 2023. 

Usually, talk around conservation and forest management focuses on big chunks of public land like the Pisgah-Nantahala National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park, not smaller parcels of private acreage. According to Lang Hornthal, co-executive director of the nonprofit EcoForesters, that needs to change — added together, those smaller parcels cover enormous swaths of land.