WNC communities embark on outdoor economy initiative

World-class mountain biking trails wind throughout Western

North Carolina. Burke Saunders photo

Recipe for adventure

WNC communities embark on outdoor economy initiative

BY HOLLY KAYS OUTDOORS EDITOR

More than 130 people from 25 Western North Carolina counties met in Boone last month to talk about how best to build the region’s outdoor economy — and over the next two years, that conversation will continue. Building Outdoor Communities, a program from Made By Mountains, aims to help individual communities foster collaboration and expertise to meet their outdoor economy goals.

“Each one of our counties is very different, and so the needs and the ways that they can advance their outdoor economy goals are all going to be very different,” said Amy Allison, director of Made By Mountains. “So we want that to come from within, but for us at Made By Mountains, it’s going to be really great to have this kind of bird’s eye view of all 25 counties and see where there’s gaps or needs or patterns that we can see forming across the area.”

Building Outdoor Communities has so far attracted applications from 21 of the 25 counties in Made By Mountains’ service area — plus the Qualla Boundary. The remaining four counties are expected to submit theirs soon, Allison said, and the kickoff event Sept. 19-20 drew attendees from all 25 counties.

COLLABORATIVE COHORTS

Building Outdoor Communities isn’t just about helping local governments build more trails. It’s about the bigger picture of what an outdoor-based economy needs to function and how to put those pieces together.

That could include not only greenways and trails, but also infrastructure connecting downtowns to nearby trail systems, spaces for entrepreneurs to grow outdoor businesses, and workforce training opportunities.

“That’s going to attract not only those businesses, but a talented workforce for those businesses,” Allison said. “Folks want to be in communities where they have outdoor recreation opportunities.”

Though applicants are grouped by county, it’s not just county government participating in the process, or even spearheading it. In some counties, the group might be led by a municipality or a nonprofit instead — but regardless, Allison encourages a collaborative process that brings various types of community leaders to the table.

“Those are the projects where we’re really going to be able to move forward faster, when everyone’s there and everyone has a voice,” she said.

Based on information in the applications, Made By Mountains divided the counties into three cohorts. Each group will complete a seven-month program together with other communities that are at a similar stage in developing their outdoor industries.

“Some communities are a little bit more advanced, so they may already have a recreation plan. They may already have a brand around outdoor recreation for their community,” Allison said. “And there’s other communities that are still getting a working group together.”

The first cohort, made up of the counties with the most advanced outdoor economies, has already started work. Called the acceleration cohort, it includes Burke, McDowell, Mitchell, Rutherford and Wilkes counties.

Most counties in the far western portion of the state are in the middle group, called the planning cohort, and will start their sevenmonth course in the spring. They include Haywood, Swain, Clay, Graham, Surry, Watauga and Yancey counties, as well as the Qualla Boundary. The third group, dubbed the initiation cohort, includes Macon, Cherokee, Buncombe, Polk, Caldwell, Avery, Alleghany and Alexander counties. It will begin next fall. Jackson, Transylvania, Madison and Henderson counties have yet to submit an application but have expressed interest, Allison said. These counties will be placed into either the planning or initiation group.

Attendees at the Building Outdoor Communities kickoff lean in during a

workshop session. Made By Mountains photo

PLANNING TO PLAN

The program features monthly sessions designed to help participants understand infrastructure needs, economic impact analysis, community branding, data collection strategies, sustainable destination tourism and other topics important to successfully building an outdoor economy. As part of the program, they’ll work with researchers from Appalachian State University to gather the data they need to further their goals.

“Whether that’s applying for a grant or going in front of their county commissioners to make a case, all these communities are going to need that data to help them move these ideas forward,” Allison said.

Jeremy Hyatt, secretary of operations for the EBCI, said that learning about data gathering and planning document creation is what he most hopes to get out of the program. Cherokee has plenty of outdoor assets and infrastructure, he said, but it doesn’t have the planning documents it needs to move forward. “This is where the rubber meets F

Funded through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission, Made By Mountains is a regional outdoors brand developed by the Growing Outdoors Partnership to represent the outdoor recreation identity of Western North Carolina. Learn more at madexmtns.com.

the road for us,” he said. “This is what we need most, more than anything. We need help from experts on how to put all this together, create Cherokee as an outdoor destination. That’s ultimately our goal.”

The folks at Made By Mountains are “good allies” to get there, Hyatt said.

“We want to learn the stuff we don’t know,” he said. “I don’t know how to put it any other way.”

Though the Qualla Boundary and remaining participants in the far western region won’t officially start the program until spring, they’re already building momentum toward the effort. In Cherokee, Hyatt has helped put together a working group including representation from the tribe’s commerce, fish and game, historical and recreation departments, and he’s also hoping to bring in someone representing health and medical interests.

In neighboring Haywood County, program lead Ian Smith, director of Haywood County Recreation and Parks, is working with a group of 14 people. Members represent the town and county governments of Haywood’s various municipalities, multiple tourism and commerce organizations, the N.C. Wildlife Commission, recreation boards and more.

“I think the biggest advantage of doing this is it brings the stakeholders within in our county to the same table,” said Smith.

The Haywood County workgroup had its first meeting last week, and that went well, Smith said. The focus was understanding everybody’s goals and expectations for the program and outlining how the group should function going forward.

Smith’s initial priority for the program is to get a better handle on the current state of Haywood’s outdoor economy.

“Before we go anywhere, we need to figure out where we are first, then measuring the economic impact of our current outdoor, recreation facilities, amenities is important,” he said.

This will be a “data-driven” process, Smith said, focusing on how to capture the economic impact of the recreation assets the county already has. For example, regarding the new Chestnut Mountain Nature Park, the course will help Haywood’s recreation leaders understand how many people are visiting the park and where they’re going once they leave. “Based off of that, we can see this park generates this much economic impact in the community,” he said. “From that we can make assumptions that if we added this many miles of trail, it would have this much economic impact in the community.” In addition to rallying partners within the community, the program will also give county groups the chance to learn from other communities going through the same process. “We’ll have the ability to lean on other counties that are in a similar spot as we are, since we’ve all been identified as being at this range of development phase,” Smith said.

A young angler helps bring in a brown trout.

Tommy Penick photo

AN ONGOING EFFORT

The Building Outdoor Communities program runs only two years in total, but Allison sees it as the first step of an ongoing process to support WNC communities as they “connect the dots between trails and economic development.” “The program will continue, but it will just take a different shape once everybody’s off the ground and running,” she said. The end result, she said, won’t be just about greener communities with more trails and gear shops, but about healthier economies with more opportunities for working age adults and their families. “What I want to see is Main Streets that have all of their businesses full,” she said. “I want to see kids in communities feel like they can stay after they graduate from high school and college because there’s job opportunities there, and just for our communities to continue to see the value of the natural assets that surround us and the opportunities for those to continue to promote the culture that we all love in Western North Carolina — and continue to retain workforce so if people want to stay in the area, stay close to their families, they can work and have careers in their communities.”

Help send the Capitol Christmas Tree on its journey from Western North Carolina to Washington, D.C., with a trio of events planned Nov. 5-6 in Fletcher, Murphy and Cherokee.

The red spruce, named “Ruby,” will be harvested from the Pisgah National Forest in early November, with a harvest celebration to follow 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, in the expo building of the WNC Agricultural Center in Fletcher. Attendees will be among the first to see the tree before it starts its trip to D.C., signing banners on the truck and sending good wishes to all the communities set to host the tree along the way. Visitors can walk through an interactive display of North Carolina’s four national forests and learn about each forest’s ecosystems and employees, and more than 25 partner organizations will offer family-friendly games and U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree merchandise.

The series of community celebrations will continue the next day, with Ruby stopping 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, at the Cherokee County Courthouse in Murphy, then 6 to 8 p.m. that same day at Oconaluftee Island Park in Cherokee. As the tree continues its trek from the mountains to the coast, it will stop in Marion, Newland, Boone, Newton, Mount Airy, Troy, Asheboro, Kinston and New Bern.

For more information, including a full event schedule, visit uscapitolchristmastree.com.

Talk trout in Sylva

The Sylva chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its regular monthly meeting 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at the United Methodist Church in Sylva.

Chapter volunteers will provide a meal, and the evening will include raffles for fishing gear and lots of fishing talk. tu.sylva.373@gmail.com.

Help restore the Murphy River Walk

Help get rid of invasive plants along the Murphy River Walk and Canoe Trail during workdays 2 to 4 p.m. Mondays, Oct. 31 and Nov. 7.

The group will use hand tools to cut invasive shrubs like Chinese privet and then treat the stumps. No prior experience is needed, with tools and training provided. Sign up at mountaintrue.org.

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A third deer in North Carolina has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, an always-fatal nervous system disease that affects cervids like deer and elk.

Harvested by a bow hunter in Surry County, the deer was located about 10 miles away from the previous positive detections in Yadkin County, which occurred in December 2021 and August 2022. Because the new detection is so close to the previous two, surveillance areas and regulations related to chronic wasting disease will not change at this time.

Though the detection is disappointing, it’s an encouraging sign that the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s efforts to engage sportsmen in testing deer are working, said Wildlife Management Division Chief Brad Howard. Now more than ever, he said, the Wildlife Commission needs cooperation from the sporting community to test as many hunter-harvested deer as possible and to safely dispose of deer carcasses.

“Deer hunters must be vigilant and mindful of carcass disposal,” he said. “The last thing we want to do is inadvertently move it to a new location in the state. We continue to stress to don’t give it a ride.”

To dispose of deer carcasses, hunters should bury the remains at the harvest site whenever possible. Alternatives include double-bagging the remains for disposal at the nearest landfill or leaving the deer on the ground where it was harvested.

Though the disease does not affect people, it is highly transmissible between deer and spreads via saliva, urine and feces when the deer is alive, and through carcass parts once it’s dead. Because the disease takes a long time to reach its fatal conclusion as it spreads through the nervous system, causing spongy holes in the brain, infected deer can appear healthy.

To learn more about chronic wasting disease and the Wildlife Commission’s response, visit ncwildlife.org/cwd.

Meet the mole salamander

Wiggle into the world of mole salamanders 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the N.C. Arboretum in Asheville.

During this program, attendees will learn how the Arboretum worked with research scientists, landscape architects and others to craft the Willow Pond, an important habitat that is now home to a breeding population of mole salamanders, which are a species of special concern in North Carolina. Participants will use dip nets to search for mole salamanders and other amphibians that call Willow Pond home.

Free, with a suggested donation of $12. Register at registration required at secure.ncarboretum.org/5220/5224.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the southern population of the bog turtle, which lives in Southern Appalachian bogs, might warrant listing under the Endangered Species Act. The finding, based

on evidence presented in a petition the Center for Biological Diversity submitted kicks off a more in-depth review of the turtle’s status.

Bog turtles live in wetlands and are easily recognizable by their orange-yellow cheek spot and diminutive size, with the shell typically growing to just 4.5 inches long. They are North America’s smallest turtle. The southern population lives in a variety of rare wetland types in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The USFWS found that the petition presented “substantial scientific or commercial information” that the southern population might qualify as a distinct population segment and warrant ESA listing.

In 1997, the southern population was listed as threatened due to similarity of appearance, a special status offering limited protection under the ESA. That designation addressed threats stemming from poaching for an illegal turtle trade, which is a significant threat to the turtle. Additional threats to the species include limited availability and loss of mountain bog habitats due to drainage, conversion to other uses and degradation due to changes to water flow or plant communities resulting from human impacts on the landscape.

Under the ESA, citizens can petition the USFWS to make changes to the ESA list, and the agency works to deliver findings on these petitions within 90 days of receipt. However, favorable findings represent a relatively low bar, requiring only that the petitioner provide information that the petitioned action may be warranted. Next, the USFWS will conduct an in-depth status review and analysis to arrive at a 12-month finding on the turtle’s status.

For more information, visit regulations.gov/docket/fws-r4-es-2022-0042.

The bog turtle is North America’s smallest turtle.

Jonathan Mays/NCWRC photo

Bird flu detected in Wake County

A backyard chicken flock in Wake County has tested positive for High Path Avian Influenza, marking the disease’s return to North Carolina two months after the state achieved HPAI-free status.

The flock, containing fewer than 100 birds, was culled to prevent spread of the disease. Other backyard flocks near the infected one will be contacted as part of the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service’s ongoing surveillance. Earlier this year, the disease was found at nine poultry farms in Johnston and Wayne counties, but this is the first confirmed positive in a backyard flock.

The detection is unfortunate, but not surprising, said State Veterinarian Mike Martin — the department had previously gathered evidence that the virus remained in North Carolina’s resident population of wild birds and in migratory waterfowl.

“Because we know this virus is in our resident wild birds and migratory birds, the threat of high path avian influenza is statewide and likely will remain so through the fall and winter,” he said. “This virus continues to put our poultry population at high risk. This latest HPAI positive flock reinforces the need to be extra vigilant.”

Commercial operators and backyard flock owners alike should follow strict biosecurity measures, including keeping birds enclosed without access to wild birds or other domestic flocks.

Warning signs of HPAI include lethargy; decreased appetite; lower egg production or soft-shelled and mishappen eggs; swelling of the head, eyelids, comb and wattles; purple discoloration of the wattles, comb and legs; difficulty breathing, runny nose and sneezing; twisting of the head and neck, stumbling, falling down, tremors and circling; and greenish diarrhea.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, HPAI is low risk to people and not a food safety threat, but it is highly contagious among birds. Report sick or dying birds to your local veterinarian or to the NCDACS Veterinary Division at 919.707.3250. Learn more at ncagr.gov/avianflu. For questions about HPAI and wild birds, visit ncwildlife.org.