To address sediment pollution in the Pisgah and Cherokee National Forests, MountainTrue developed a program called Muddy Water Watch. The program closes illegal roads and repairs roads and trails that cause sediment impact to waterways. Using funds from the National Forest Foundation Matching Awards Program, work was done to close and repair roads that negatively impact...
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AmeriCorps Project Conserve 2016-2017 position descriptions are up. This Carolina Mountain Land Conservancy program places members in service with one of 18 host site organizations working to protect the unique natural resources of the southern Blue Ridge Mountain region. Each member will serve 1,700 hours during an 11 month term, from September 1st through July 31st....
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In 2015, more than 4 million non-local visitors flocked to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, reaffirming its place as the system’s most visited location. Yet how many of those visitors had ever heard of the diminutive but energetic Japanese immigrant whose remarkable photos and tireless exploration of the Smokies played a key role in the park’s creation? And how many...
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Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy helped celebrate Earth Day with the closing of an exciting new project which will enable more people to learn about and enjoy the incredible Rocky Fork region. They worked with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to purchase a 1-acre tract to facilitate public access for Rocky Fork State Park. “This 1-acre...
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Spending by a record number of national park visitors in 2015 provided a $32 billion benefit to the nation’s economy and supported 295,000 jobs, according to a report released by NPS Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “The big picture of national parks and their importance to the economy is clear,” Jarvis said of the $16.9 billion visitors spent in communities within 60 miles...
Learn MoreA string of dark-money organizations with ties to the billionaire Koch brothers is helping Arizona politicians and special-interest groups fight the popular Grand Canyon National Heritage Monument proposal, tax documents show. The money trail begins with a conservative political advocacy organization funded in part by Charles and David Koch and their vast donor network,...
Learn MoreAt 620 feet, Multnomah Falls is the tallest waterfall in Oregon. It’s awe-inspiring, making it one of the most popular destinations in the Pacific Northwest. Each year, 2 million people visit the dramatic, two-tiered falls, taking pictures from all angles, but very few get to see it suspended on a rappel rope, from below the footbridge. Tony Hobkirk and his search...
Learn MoreShenandoah National Park is on fire and the blaze is growing. The National Park Service said that 3,000 acres have been charred since the fire started on April 16, 2016. Officials don’t know what sparked the fire, but they think it was likely human-caused. The smoke from the confusingly-named “Rocky Mount” fire could be seen on visible satellite imagery. Photos show...
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DuPont State Recreational Forest’s popularity has been increasing rapidly, and forest leaders say that growth is putting a strain on their ability to accommodate visitors. At the annual meeting of Friends of DuPont State Forest, members heard about a fee proposal that would bring in revenue for more amenities to help shoulder the growing load of visitors. The...
Learn MoreThe U.S. Forest Service and the North Carolina Forest Service are warning the public of high fire danger across North Carolina. Fire danger is high across the state due to lack of rainfall in recent weeks and low humidity. Conditions across North Carolina are forecasted to remain dry for the next couple weeks. April typically marks the height of wildfire season in North...
Learn MoreWe’re at the beginning of another Blue Ridge Parkway season, and it’s time to start preparing the Blue Ridge Music Center area for visitors. The Fisher Peak Chapter of FRIENDS of the Blue Ridge Parkway is planning a workday on Saturday, April 30, 2016 from 10 a.m. til noon with a hot dog cookout immediately following the work activities. FRIENDS will be...
Learn MoreFor nearly 40 years, Craig Pugsley has worked at Custer State Park in South Dakota’s magnificent Black Hills, greeting guests and answering their many questions as they enter the visitors center. Other than asking about the bathrooms, one of the most common comments is, “I can’t believe this isn’t a national park.” “People are struck by the size, the diversity of...
Learn MoreNASA reports that this was the hottest three-month start (January to March) of any year on record. It beat the previous record — just set in 2015 — by a stunning 0.7°F (0.39°C). Normally, such multi-month records are measured in the hundredths of a degree. Last month was the hottest March and February the hottest on record by far. It followed the hottest January on...
Learn MoreTo say the 2016 Greenland melt season is off to the races is an understatement. Warm, wet conditions rapidly kicked off the melt season this weekend, more than a month-and-a-half ahead of schedule. It has easily set a record for earliest melt season onset, and marks the first time it’s begun in April. Little to no melt through winter is the norm as sub-zero temperatures...
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The body of evidence is growing that fracking is not only bad for the global climate, it is also dangerous for local communities. And affected communities are growing in number. A new report details the sheer amount of water contamination, air pollution, climate impacts, and chemical use in fracking in the United States. “For the past decade, fracking has been a...
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With the help of human herders, some hungry goats are saving the sensitive balds of Roan Mountain. Sixteen goats have gone missing, lost in one of the hardwood forests lining Roan Mountain’s southern Appalachian balds. Treeless and naturally occurring, the balds straddle two national forests: the Cherokee in Tennessee and the Pisgah in North Carolina. The balds existed...
Learn MorePeabody Energy, the world’s largest private-sector coal company, is not in great financial shape. Last month, it casually skipped a $71 million interest payment, and analysts are speculating that it may be edging toward bankruptcy. Standard and Poor’s recently downgraded Peabody’s credit rating to a “D.” The company has $6.3 billion in outstanding long-term debt. If...
Learn MoreA group of 20 senators and representatives has formed a de facto “anti-parks caucus” in Congress and is waging the most significant legislative and ideological challenge to America’s national parks in decades, says a new report by the Center for American Progress. The analysis finds that this anti-parks caucus is composed of less than five percent of Congress but is...
Learn MoreThe national monuments that President Obama has created or expanded are generating more than $156 million in local economic activity annually, according to a study published April 6, 2016. The report, which was conducted by Colorado-based BBC Research and Consulting on behalf of an organization representing small businesses, looked at the economic activity of out-of-town...
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Rebuilding hiking trails and restoring the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias are among nearly three dozen projects being funded by a $15 million donation to Yosemite National Park from The Yosemite Conservancy. The project to protect the Mariposa Grove will improve natural water flows, re-establish sequoia habitat and create accessible trails. Conservancy donors are also...
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The Cradle of Forestry in America historic site will begin the 2016 season on April 9 with a living history event, “Old Time Plowing and Folkways.” David and Diane Burnette from Haywood County will demonstrate how their Percheron draft horses work the land the old way. Weather permitting, they will plow the Cradle’s vegetable garden along the Biltmore...
Learn MoreFlowing from the top of the Rockies to the Mississippi River, the Arkansas River is one of America’s mighty river systems. Its headwaters make up an ecological wonderland and a recreational hotspot, cutting through rugged canyon country full of hair-raising land features like rock hoodoos and rough crags. This breathtaking Colorado landscape could be protected for future...
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For half a century, climate scientists have seen the West Antarctic ice sheet, a remnant of the last ice age, as a sword of Damocles hanging over human civilization. The great ice sheet, larger than Mexico, is thought to be potentially vulnerable to disintegration from a relatively small amount of global warming, and capable of raising the sea level by 12 feet or more...
Learn MoreA new study out of Stanford University offers residents of Pavillion, Wyoming a little more clarity on an issue that has been plaguing them for nearly a decade: is hydraulic fracturing to blame for years of contamination in their drinking water? The town initially made headlines in 2008, when residents began complaining of strange odors and tastes in their drinking...
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Descendants of a bison herd captured and sent to Canada more than 140 years ago will be relocated to a Montana American Indian reservation next month, in what tribal leaders bill as a homecoming for a species emblematic of their traditions. The shipment of animals from Alberta’s Elk Island National Park to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation follows a 2014 treaty...
Learn MoreArchaeologists exploring the remote mesas of northern Arizona have uncovered a trove of previously undocumented rock art, including more than 1,500 petroglyphs, and confirmed the presence a prehistoric solar calendar, which has been marking the seasons for more than 700 years with a striking “shadow dagger” that travels across its sandstone face. Researchers made these...
Learn MoreFact-checking four of the most pervasive myths used by anti-conservation land takeover proponents. As presidential hopefuls tour the country, some candidates are spreading false rhetoric about our national public lands, how they originated and to whom these lands “rightfully” belong. The standoff at Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge has shed light on the...
Learn MoreAfter some 115 years, Scotland has burned its last lump of coal for electricity. The Longannet power station, the last and largest coal-fired power plant in Scotland, ceased operations March 24th. What once was the largest coal plant in Europe shut down after 46 years before the eyes of workers and journalists, who gathered in the main control room. “Ok, here we go,”...
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I am Jeff Clark, founder of Internet Brothers, producer of this blog, and passionate about hiking. I live in Western NC near the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests are just out my door, so the content will focus on these areas, but let me know what you would like to see on the site. 
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