September 23, 2025 RALEIGH, N.C. (Sept. 23, 2025) — Just as many lives, businesses, landscapes and wildlife were impacted on September 27, 2024 by Hurricane Helene as it ravaged through western North Carolina, one of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s (NCWRC) fish hatcheries, the Armstrong State Fish Hatchery in McDowell County, was nearly destroyed.
September 24, 2025 LINVILLE, N.C. – Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is set to begin its annual Fall Color Ramble, marking one of the most beautiful times of the year. This series of guided nature walks allows guests to experience the season’s signature colors like never before. The Fall Color Rambles will be offered daily, weather permitting, from Saturday, Sept. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 12. The short excursions begin at 1 p.m. outside the entrance of the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery, and they typically last for 30 minutes.
September 8, 2025 Boone, NC — MountainTrue is proud to announce the appointment of Hannah Woodburn as the first Upper New Riverkeeper, a new full-time position dedicated to safeguarding the headwaters and tributaries of the New River in North Carolina’s High Country. This appointment expands MountainTrue’s Riverkeeper program to five and underscores the organization’s commitment to clean water in the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains.
June 26 2025 Raleigh, NC — Today, the North Carolina House of Representatives approved a proposal to invest an additional $700 million to support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts across Western North Carolina. This latest round of funding builds upon more than $1.4 billion already allocated for disaster relief, bringing the total to over $2.1 billion.
June 26 2025 Ready to taste some cornbread, listen to some Old-time music, and dance on the lawn? Appalachian Day at the King Street market will be the first special event of the King Street Market season, and you won’t want to miss it. Calling all cornbread enthusiasts and secret-recipe holders to enter into the Cornbread Competition. Drop off your cornbread before or during the market for all market attendees to taste! The winning recipe will receive a Blue Ridge Women in Agriculture canvas tote bag and bumper sticker, and honorable mention will be awarded, too.
June 24, 2025 The Town of Boone has been awarded an $850,000 grant from the North Carolina Department of Commerce to help fund the completion of the Howard Street Project, the largest downtown Boone street revitalization effort in modern history. This grant will specifically support the underground relocation of electrical utilities along the eastern side of Howard Street, from Appalachian Street to Depot Street. In April 2025, the Town applied for the Rural Downtown Economic Development Grant (RDEDG) program and was officially awarded the grant in late June.
June 23, 2025 The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has secured a three-year, $750,000 grant from the Dogwood Health Trust to support regional strategies to advance tourism and related economic development. The grant activities will benefit workers and businesses in numerous gateway communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina. The Dogwood Health Trust grant will help implement economic development strategies outlined in the Blue Ridge Rising Action Plan, created with the input of hundreds of community leaders in the counties that neighbor the national park.
June 19, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is looking forward to the summer months on the mountain filled with daily programs, special experiences and an array of events. “The summer months are such a special time on the mountain,” said Jesse Pope, president and CEO of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. “Our programming offers guests unique opportunities to experience the mountain, and we are especially excited to welcome visitors back to the mountain after Hurricane Helene. The N.C. High Country is open for business and we eagerly anticipate a busy summer season.”
June 17, 2025 Jason Sirmon, longtime Edward Jones financial advisor whose office is located in Boone, recently received his firm’s exclusive Ted Jones Spirit of Caring Award for his community response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene. The award, designed to recognize those financial advisors who exemplify the values, culture, and spirit of giving back, was presented to Sirmon during the firm’s annual regional dinner in Hickory on May 3.
June 16, 2025 On June 23rd, 2025 at 2:00 p.m., the Town of Boone will be hosting a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Lower Hardin Creek Restoration Project. Attendees can meet in the Watauga High School Parking Lot near the football field starting at 1pm. Participants can either walk down or there will be shuttle service available to the event site. After many years of planning and grant writing, the project marks a significant step toward restoring ecological balance in the area. It successfully restored 2,500 feet of Hardin Creek by stabilizing the stream bed, reconnecting the stream to its natural floodway, and enhancing aquatic and terrestrial wildlife habitats.
June 16, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has announced that tickets for the Aug. 7 event, “Grandfather Presents: Jeff Corwin,” are on sale now. The event will be hosted in the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery, where guests will experience a “night at the museum” atmosphere, the speaker presentation and book-signing/“meet-and-greet” opportunities.
June 9, 2025 Frontline to Farm will welcome veterans transitioning from military service to sustainable farming to the High Country for its fifth consecutive year and the fourth consecutive year that they’ll be hosting participants at Appalachian State University. The program’s annual intensive training features local and national experts covering essential topics from soil conservation to agricultural law, complemented by hands-on farm tours across the High Country. Summer training is cornerstone project of the Frontline to Farm program and represents a collaborative effort between faculty in Appalachian State University’s Departments of Sustainable Development and Communication.
May 20, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has announced that tickets for the first presentation of the Grandfather Presents 2025 speaker series are on sale now. T. Edward Nickens, an award-winning author and journalist, kicks off this year’s Thursday night presentations on July 24. The event will be hosted in the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery, where guests will experience a “night at the museum” atmosphere, the speaker presentation and book-signing/“meet-and-greet” opportunities.
May 19, 2025. West Jefferson, NC – It was a beautiful spring day in West Jefferson as Blue Ridge Conservancy (BRC) was joined by supporters, partners, and elected officials to a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open Paddy Mountain Park. Northern Peaks State Trail Coordinator Jordan Sellers welcomed North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, Representative Ray Pickett, Ashe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Todd McNeill, West Jefferson Mayor Tom Hartman, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources Jeff Michael, and Chairperson of the NC Parks and Recreation Trust Fund Margaret Newbold to speak about the significance of the park’s opening. The Park, a conservation victory over a decade in the making, provides recreational opportunities for locals and tourists alike, and will serve as the West Jefferson trailhead of the Northern Peaks State Trail.
May 14, 2025. Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, will celebrate the beauty of the spring season this year with its Rhododendron Rambles, a series of guided strolls that showcase the park’s blossoming rhododendron and other native species. The easygoing rambles take place at 1 p.m. daily May 24 through June 1. These short walks are led by the park’s naturalists and are included with the price of admission. If the rhododendrons continue to bloom beyond early June, Grandfather Mountain naturalists may extend the event dates. Interested attendees should meet outside the entrance of the Wilson Center for Nature Discovery. The rambles are wheelchair and stroller accessible.
May 14, 2025. Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is once again offering its adult field courses for 2025, allowing participants the chance to explore Grandfather Mountain like never before and take a deep dive into a variety of topics. The series runs from May through October, with topics including landscape design, geology, habitat identification, hummingbirds, fungi and astronomy. Each field course is limited to 20 or fewer participants, so they fill up quickly.
May 13, 2025. On Friday, May 16th, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Town of Boone staff will host a public input session to learn more about how the public views the Boone Jaycee Park and what improvements the community would like to see at the park. The public input session will be at the Boone Jaycee Park, located at 728 Horn in the West Drive. Boone Jaycee Park is the most centrally located, Town-owned park in Boone. For over 30 years, it has served as a recreational space for children and families to enjoy the outdoors, featuring swings, slides, climbing equipment, and more.
May 5, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, is set to debut its new Mindfulness and Well-being Series in July and August 2025. “The response from individual mindfulness events we’ve held in the past was outstanding,” said John Caveny, director of conservation and education for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. “It was clear to us that folks got a lot out of the workshops, so we wanted to create more opportunities through a series.”
The Blue Ridge Chapter of the NC Native Plant Society is announcing the dates for their two annual native plant sales. The sales will be held on Saturday, May 17 and Saturday June 21 at the Daniel Boone Native Gardens located at 651 Horn in the West Drive, Boone. The sales run from 8:00am to 11:00am both days. In the event of rain, the location will be moved across the street to the picnic shelter in Boone Park.
April 25, 2025 The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has secured a three-year, $5.13 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to support regional strategies to advance cultural and recreational tourism. The grant activities will benefit dozens of Appalachian gateway communities along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and North Carolina that host millions of visitors each year. “By investing in infrastructure improvements, regional business growth, and tourism workforce development, Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s ARISE grant stands to have a robust economic impact on Appalachian North Carolina and Southwest Virginia,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin.
April 25, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has announced the initial details related to this year’s Grandfather Glows firefly viewing events. Research on Grandfather Mountain has confirmed the presence of 10 species of fireflies or illumining insects, including synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus), blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata) and glowworms (Orfelia fultoni). Synchronous fireflies are habitat specialists and thrive in northern hardwood forests, such as those found at Grandfather Mountain. These glowing wonders only appear for a few weeks each year
April 24, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has announced its educator workshops for 2025. These workshops, provided specifically to environmental educators in various professions, offer opportunities for career growth and professional development by using the wonders of Grandfather Mountain to further participants’ expertise.
April 16, 2025 The Town of Boone Town Council and Historic Preservation Commission cordially invite the public to attend the unveiling ceremony of the Boone Cemetery Interpretative Panels on May 2, 2025, at 5 PM. The ceremony will be held at Boone Cemetery, located at 678 Howard Street, near Appalachian State University’s Howard Street Hall and Student Union Center. This event is scheduled in conjunction with the First Friday festivities hosted by the Downtown Boone Development Association with the Watauga County Arts Council. The ceremony will feature opening remarks, followed by a cemetery tour in collaboration with the Watauga County Historical Society.
April 14, 2025 Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has once again updated its popular nighttime expedition series, Grandfather by Night, for 2025. The evening starts atop Grandfather Mountain at the Mile High Swinging Bridge, where participants can explore and observe sunset, weather permitting, from this lofty vantage point. During this time, park educators will be on hand to discuss the unique flora and crepuscular (active during twilight) fauna that call Grandfather home. Two variations of the Grandfather by Night series will be offered this year — the Twilight Hike and the Naturalist Program.
March 31, 2025 Over 45% of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail has reopened in the mountains in the six months after Hurricane Helene. This has been a collaboration across agencies and volunteer crews to tackle the unprecedented damage that Hurricane Helene caused. In the first weeks and months after the storm, a tremendous amount of work was done by National Park Service and US Forest Service staffs. These pros assessed the trail first and found that much of the damage was beyond even their training. Skilled professional crews and contractors were brought in to detangle the massive tree pile ups and create a narrow corridor of the trail route, oftentimes needing GPS to find the trail. Once the first pass was cut and certain areas were deemed safe for volunteers, our crews got to work.