The founder of Ray’s Weather Center speaks about the local forecast service’s growth over the years, how meteorologists handle the area’s tricky topography and what weather sayings carry a grain of truth.
Threats challenge local bat populations
White nose syndrome, a fungal disease first seen in Western North Carolina in 2011, has reduced some local bat populations by as much as 95%. And climate change poses a long-term challenge to their habitats and survival.
Green in brief: Isaac Dickson solar system goes online
Six years in the making, a 300 kilowatt-hour solar array at Asheville’s Isaac Dickson Elementary School was officially dedicated Sept. 24. The $428,000 project is expected to save the school over $1.3 million in utilities costs over its 30-year operational lifespan.
Avian lovers committed to making Asheville bird-friendly
On an upper floor of Zeis Hall on the UNC Asheville campus is a small room containing many birds. None of these birds are alive. Each one is dead, preserved through taxidermy and stacked side by side in individual Tupperware containers. The room, smelling faintly of formaldehyde, is a biological specimen laboratory. The collection is […]
New climbing spots expand the sport in WNC
The Carolina Climbers Coalition is helping to open two new areas later this year: the McKinney Gap Boulders in Burnsville and Chimney Rock Village Boulders in Chimney Rock. The new spots, says CCC Executive Director Mike Reardon, further his organization’s goal of conserving the natural environment, promoting safe climbing and preserving access to areas in the Carolinas.
Green in brief: Ecusta Trail land purchase complete
On Aug. 12, a subsidiary of nonprofit Conserving Carolina completed the $7.8 million purchase of the currently unused Ecusta rail line, stretching 19 miles between Hendersonville and Brevard, from the Blue Ridge Southern Railroad.
Green in brief: Cherokee establish framework for medical marijuana cultivation
The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Council passed an ordinance on Aug. 5 allowing production and use of the crop, which the body had previously voted to decriminalize on May 6.
Green in brief: New website shares WNC landslide risks
According to the N.C. Climate Science Report prepared by N.C. State University’s Asheville-based N.C. Institute for Climate Studies and other experts, the area will likely experience more landslides in the coming years due to climate change.
Q&A with Justin McVey, regional wildlife biologist with NC Wildlife Resources Commission
Justin McVey of Horse Shoe looks at the world differently than do most people. A bird feeder and a trash can are a potential buffet for urban black bears scavenging residential properties in search of food. A dead deer on the side of the road might be roadkill — or an indication that disease is […]
Electric bikes poised for larger role in WNC transportation
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, just 0.2% of workers in the four-county Asheville metro area commute by bike, less than half the national average. But the owners of Asheville’s first electric bike dealership, as well as and regional transportation planners, think e-bikes are likely to change that number.
Green in brief: American Chestnut Foundation, EBCI plan long-term restoration work
“I hope that one day in the future — 200, 500, 1,000 years from now — those generations can stand next to a 6- or 8-foot diameter chestnut tree in our mountains and be able to trace the story of that tree back to today,” said Joey Owle, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians secretary of agriculture and natural resources, in a press release announcing the agreement.
Regional land trusts celebrate major donations
On April 22, the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy shared news of a 7,500-acre donation in the Roan Highlands. That same day, Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina announced a 332-acre donation along Wilson Creek.
Adam Warwick is on fire
For decades, the prevailing narrative around fire has been one of destruction and devastation. Adam Warwick, stewardship manager for the Nature Conservancy of North Carolina’s Southern Blue Ridge chapter, is working to break that misconception.
Trout in trouble: Habitat protection key for brook trout in warming climate
Ongoing habitat loss and warming temperatures present an existential threat to Western North Carolina’s only native trout species, the brook trout.
From CPP: Forest supervisor balances population, budget and environmental concerns
Forest supervisor James Melonas sets priorities for tenure as leader of state’s four national forests.
Local dowsers harness intuition to find water and personal empowerment
Appalachian Dowsers members discuss the numerous benefits they find in looking beyond the visible world.
New trails are opening up Hickory Nut Gorge
A cooperative effort by Conserving Carolina, state and local governments, other nonprofits and the general public is gradually developing the Hickory Nut Gorge State Trail in and around the rugged terrain that lies just beyond Buncombe County’s southeastern border. In late April, a new 2.5-mile trail section is scheduled to open.
From CPP: Black leadership advances new trails project in Pisgah National Forest
Creation of more than 40 miles of “purpose-built” trail system will serve a diverse range of users from equestrians to walkers.
Green in brief: WNC gets $100K toward charging stations, RiverLink seeks storm drain adoptions
The charging station program, funded by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality from part of the state’s allocation in the Volkswagen emissions-cheating scandal, partially defrays the cost of installing Level 2 infrastructure, which can recharge electric vehicles up to seven times as quickly as a standard 120-volt outlet.
Arboretum’s Willow Pond educates visitors on wetland ecosystems
The new outdoor classroom and garden area, the result of a three-year, $2 million project, features three distinct ponds, a boardwalk, a 20-person teaching shelter and interpretive signage, complete with a frog kiosk that plays different amphibian vocalizations.
State launches inaugural bird atlas
The first such effort of its kind in North Carolina, the atlas will break the state into 937 sections of 10 square miles — covering roughly a fifth of its total land area — and ask birders to record all the varieties they see using the online platform eBird.