The George Masa Foundation has announced the launch of the inaugural George Masa Youth Conservation Photography Prize. This unique competition aims to inspire middle and high school students to connect with and protect our natural world through the art of photography.

The Haywood County Soil & Water Conservation District is a recipient of three of this year’s N.C. Grange grants to aid in land preservation efforts within the county. 

Administrators for the Town of Canton have presented a conservative fiscal year 2024-25 budget that seeks some sense of sustainability after last year’s closing of the Pactiv Evergreen paper mill, which created a substantial revenue deficit and has now forced the small town to plan for a huge new expense it’s never had to worry about before.

In the hours following the announcement that Pactiv Evergreen’s paper mill property in Canton may have a new owner in the coming months, news came and fast and furious.

Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy (SAHC) is celebrating 50 years of conserving clean water, plant and wildlife habitat, farmland and scenic beauty in the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee.

Pactiv Evergreen, owner of the shuttered papermill in Canton, has been working to clean up two separate seeps leaking toxic substances into the Pigeon River under an administrative order of consent (AOC) with the Environmental Protection Agency. 

When you’re busy it’s easy to grab something like a candy bar or soda to give you a quick hit of energy, but the reality is that those types of snacks are high in sugar which won’t keep you full, satisfied or fueled for long. Some better snack ideas: 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources is now accepting public comment on the proposed list of streams, rivers, reservoirs and other water bodies in North Carolina considered to be “impaired,” or that do not meet water quality standards, in 2024.   

Although concerns about Canton’s post-mill wastewater treatment remain front and center, the town’s recovery from devastating flooding in 2021 continues to move forward with a project budget meant to shore up the town’s aging water infrastructure. 

For the first time since August, North Carolina is now drought-free. Some areas of Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon and Dare counties remain abnormally dry, but the remaining 95 counties are now at or above normal moisture levels.