Outdoors
Joyce Kilmer Memorial trail reopens
The U.S. Forest Service reopened the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Trail and all other facilities in Graham County will reopen on Oct. 11
The Joyful Botanist: After The Flood
Water washes us clean, helps to cook our food and quenches our thirst. Water grows our crops, cools the air and brings the flowers in April and May. Not enough water leads to drought and fire.
'A minor little thing:' Macon moved ahead on watershed ordinance revision
The Macon County Planning Board voted last week to recommend a revision of the water supply watershed ordinance to the county commission. Set against the backdrop of catastrophic flooding in Western North Carolina, and despite public opposition to the change, board members maintain the revision is a minor and will have little impact.
Up Moses Creek: The Hatband
I was on the ridge this morning admiring the autumn-red leaves of a gum tree, lit up by the rising sun, when a titmouse landed and, fixing his black eye on me, shouted a word in Bird I know — “Snake!” He shouted it so loud you could have heard him down in the yard. And every time he shouted it, he turned first one way on the branch, then the other. And with every turn, he fixed the eye on that side of his head on me.
Hurricane Helene recovery in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The National Park Service (NPS) continues to assess conditions and to address damage following the impacts from Hurricane Helene in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Today, park staff are prioritizing assessments of high use roads and trails as well as radio repeaters and historic structures throughout the park.
NCDOT offers update on I-40
From the Tennessee state line to about mile marker 4 of Interstate 40, the two eastbound lanes are either gone or partially gone. In addition, there are about three other damaged locations in an 11-mile stretch leading to Fines Creek Road (Exit 15).
Haywood Waterways hits septic repair milestone
Since 2006, Haywood Waterways Association (HWA) and the Haywood County Environmental Health Department, with grant funds, have repaired 200 failing septic systems in Haywood County through the Septic Repair Program.
State of the waterways: New report details potential impacts of ordinance revisions
The Macon County Commission decided this month to delay consideration of changes to its watershed and floodplain ordinances until at least the new year, in part due to the organization of a Water Quality Advisory Committee and its new report on the state of Macon County waterways.
Fall comes to the Smokies
Fall is a beautiful but busy time in the Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains National Park visitors should plan their trips and expect crowds, traffic congestion and limited parking throughout the park.
