Dreaming of spring? Beat the winter blues by planting native seeds.

Late fall and early winter are the perfect times to sow many native species, which benefit pollinators, wildlife, soil and water quality — all while being low-maintenance in your garden.

While our habits and hobbies outdoors may vary, it’s a point of pride for most in Western North Carolina that nature is never far out of reach. 

Cullowhee and Sylva host a wealth of recreation opportunities suited for enthusiasts and beginners alike and occupy some of the most biologically diverse wilderness in the United States. 

The Pigeon River Fund of The Community Foundation of Western North Carolina (CFWNC) awarded 12 grants totaling $350,365 to environmental groups working to improve surface water quality, enhance fish and wildlife habitats, expand public use and access to waterways, and increase water quality awareness in Buncombe, Haywood, and Madison counties. With these grants and since 1996, the Pigeon River Fund has distributed $10,594,556 in grants.  

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reporting the first presumptive detection of Chronic Wasting Disease in Edgecombe County. NCWRC has received a preliminary positive test result on a white-tailed deer harvested by a hunter in the eastern corner of the county. The closest confirmed location from this new suspected site is 92 miles away in Cumberland County. 

As the fall winds blow the remaining leaves from deciduous trees and the plants have gone dormant for the season, the bones of the mountains and skeletal shapes of the trees come into view. Especially on snowy days, when the fallen snow lays on both forest floor and the branches of trees and shrubs, creating a stark outline of the forms of both hills and limbs. 

Flowing over nutrient-rich limestone rock that fueled a diverse assemblage of species, Abrams Creek was once one of the most productive streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That changed in 1957, when wildlife managers intent on expanding opportunities for anglers stocked it with non-native rainbow trout — after applying the fish pesticide rotenone to the entire lower portion of the creek, hoping to protect the trout from competition. Chilhowee Dam was completed later that year, cutting the creek off from downstream fish populations. 

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between BPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.

Nearly one month into the federal government shutdown, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park remains open to the public, and the National Forest Service’s logging and disaster response capabilities remain active. 

Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina announced the completion and opening of an accessible walking trail through the meadow of Oak Hill Community Park & Forest, marking the latest milestone in the park’s Sensory Trail Experience Program. 

Jackson County commissioners have approved a sweeping new conservation framework designed to balance growth with preservation across some of the most ecologically significant lands in Western North Carolina, located in the southern part of the county. 

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission recently released 12 rehabilitated black bear cubs back to the wild, four from the coastal region and eight from the mountains. 

NCWRC has been overseeing the rehabilitation and release of orphaned black bear cubs since 1976 through the agency’s cub rehabilitation program, one of the first in the country.