▲ 83 r/WNC
The Trump administration is moving forward with its plans to remove roadless forest protections, this includes WNC
bpr.orgu/uncertaincoda — 1 day ago
r/WNC
▲ 21 r/WNC
MountainTrue and Center for Biological Diversity Send Letter Opposing Joint ICE and USFS Operation
mountaintrue.orgu/uncertaincoda — 23 hours ago
▲ 22 r/WNC
In Canton, a Small-Town Mayor Faces Big Questions
theassemblync.comu/uncertaincoda — 2 days ago
▲ 10 r/WNC
Lazy river tubing, where did we go, around 2012?
Roughly 15 years ago, a group of young Scouts spent a day at NOC and then a day at a park doing a lazy river float. I’m trying to figure out where they may have gone for the lazy river float? I remember renting tubes nearby, strapping them to my car, driving to a park, walking the tubes upstream, the floating (non rapids) for 15-30 minutes, exiting the water, and repeating the walking and tubing all day. We grilled out some hotdogs and there were plenty of other people, so a good-sized park seems to be present.
u/permaculture_chemist — 5 days ago
What do you think could make Smokey Park Highway work better?
The French Broad River MPO is considering a Smokey Park Highway Access Management project between I-40 and Pisgah Highway.
If you've driven this stretch of road, you know there are a lot of driveways, side streets, businesses, and turning movements competing with through traffic. Access management looks at how those points of access are arranged to reduce conflicts and make the corridor safer and more predictable.
Potential improvements could include:
- 🚗 Smoother traffic flow and fewer delays
- 🛡️ Fewer conflict points between turning and through traffic
- ↔️ Better-organized driveways and access points
- 🚦 Improved turning movements at key locations
- 🚶 Better conditions for people walking and biking
- 🏪 Maintaining access to local businesses
This isn't a construction project yet. It's currently in the planning and development stage and has been identified as a regional priority by the MPO.
As part of North Carolina's P8.0 transportation prioritization process, the MPO is proposing to use Local Input Points to help move the project forward.
Have thoughts about Smokey Park Highway? The MPO is accepting comments through August 19.
📧 Send comments to mpo@landofsky.org
u/ApartActivity2818 — 6 days ago
Could passenger trains return to Asheville?
🚆 REGIONAL PRIORITY PROJECT SPOTLIGHT: WNC PASSENGER RAIL
Could passenger trains return to Asheville?
The proposed Western North Carolina Passenger Rail project would upgrade the existing rail corridor between Asheville and Salisbury to support future intercity passenger rail service.
From Salisbury, passengers could connect to North Carolina’s growing passenger rail network, with connections toward Charlotte, the Triad, the Triangle, and destinations throughout the East Coast.
Passenger rail could:
🚆 Give Western North Carolina another way to travel
🏔️ Better connect our mountain communities to the rest of the state
📈 Support tourism and local businesses
🛣️ Provide an alternative to driving on I-40
What’s the status?
The project is still in the planning and development process. It is not yet ready for construction or passenger service, but it has been identified as a regional transportation priority by the French Broad River MPO.
As part of North Carolina’s current transportation prioritization process, the MPO is proposing to award the project the maximum number of Regional Impact Local Input Points available to our region in order to enhance the project's chances of being awarded funding.
💬 Want to weigh in? Submit your comments through August 19: mpo@landofsky.org
u/ApartActivity2818 — 7 days ago
I requested App State's Flock (license-plate camera) records. Three cameras, 1.5 million searches in one quarter, 84% from outside NC — and they won't disclose the camera count their own contract lists.
Disclosure up front: I'm an attorney and I run DeFlockILM, a nonpartisan group that files public-records requests about automated license-plate-reader (ALPR) cameras in North Carolina. I filed one with Appalachian State, and the results are a Boone/Watauga story, so I wanted to put the actual records in front of this community rather than just a hot take. I am also a graduate of Appalachian and lived there nine years. I love Boone!
The short version: App State PD operates three Flock license-plate cameras (about a $16k contract). I asked for the standard records, including the Flock "network audit." For March–May 2026, that audit shows those three cameras were searched 1,511,722 times by 3,487 different agencies, and ~84% of the searches came from outside North Carolina.
Important caveat, because the number is easy to misread: App State shares its cameras into Flock's nationwide network. When any agency runs a search, that single query sweeps thousands of networks at once, and Flock logs each as a "search" that reached App State's cameras. So when the top searcher is Houston, TX PD at 177,461, that's not 177k people deliberately looking up Boone — it's a measure of how wide-open the shared network is. A search from almost anywhere automatically reaches here.
The local hook: Charlotte-Mecklenburg PD searched App State's cameras 13,392 times in that window. CMPD is the department whose officer was recently charged for running a Watauga County Sheriff's undercover vehicle plate through Flock.
The part I find hardest to defend: App State refused to tell me how many cameras it runs, citing a state "sensitive security information" exemption — even though the contract it produced lists the count (three) on the first page. Meanwhile, Boone PD publishes its own camera count and network-sharing settings on a public Flock portal. Same town, opposite answer.
Full write-up with the records (raw files mirrored on the Internet Archive): https://deflockilm.org/appalachian-state-flock-alpr-audit/
Genuinely curious what students, faculty, and locals think — both about a public campus feeding a nationwide search network, and about the records/transparency question specifically. Happy to answer questions.
Final Note - I read the rules and believe this post is fully allowed but if not, mods please delete and my apologies.
u/Bag_of_DIcksss — 9 days ago
▲ 46 r/WNC
ICE says Forest Service requested cooperation in Wilson Creek operation. Here's how law enforcement in national forests works
nclocal.orgu/uncertaincoda — 7 days ago
The NC GOP District 11 Executive Committee (more commonly known as the Politburo) will meet tonight in secret session, behind closed doors, to decide who they think should represent the citizens of NC-11 - with zero public input or transparency.
I am certain that there are not backroom political dealings in the smoke filled room. They say that this secret process (similar to Russia, Iran and North Korea) is required by NC law - but in NC. the GOP makes the laws. Kim Jong Un would be proud.
u/AlloMareepuppinz — 10 days ago
Any Cat/Vet Oncologists who will trade for Tattoo work? NOT A GOFUND OR CHARITY REQUEST. Hard work for Hard Work!!
My son has a large growth in his left ear (not pictured for sensitivities) and I'm not sure yet what can be done for him. Its quite big its developed in the past month. His vet referred me to a place in greenville an hour away from my hometown asheville. Im awaiting their call. My city and I as an artist have been heavily affected by the hurricane and now war prices. I used to be fine existing off of just tattoos and now I'm selling prints in a bar 3x times a week, tattooing and a barista and also doing commissions and I'm barely scraping by. I think skill trade and bartering is a good way to rebel against capitalism anyway. I'll do anything for my cat to be ok so if any experienced vets are willing to treat him in exchange for thousands in sleeve work or whatever tattoo or art commission you desire I am fully willing and able and glad. Even if its just to keep prices with in my budget and save my son. He's only 12 he loves everyone and everything he meets. He gives hugs and talks back like a person. He was my 16th birthday gift to me and I'd just about give up my life for him. I understand some Vets are more strict about tattoos, not so much in AVL but they can also be hidden. I can do most anything in the tattoo realm. Im decent with mimicking styles and I have my own style too. Ive been dipping my toes into realism as you can see my semi realism Giger inspired Ellen Ripley wasnt too shabby was also a big stomach piece. I'm 28 and female and light handed with 5 years of shop only experience and 2 year traditional apprenticeship. but I know how to tattoo traditional if you like fat lines and texture to your tattoo. I can also paint and I do realism quite well on paint. If you DM me i can send my portfolio over.
u/Aeranine — 13 days ago
WNC in mid-October
I've done a fair bit of fly fishing in WNC, but always in the summer, usually July. (I live in Miami; during my wife's teaching career, extended time away was always summer.) Over the years I've done maybe six or eight guided trips with the Hunter Banks (Hi, Shane!) both floating and wading. Even going in that off-peak time, I've enjoyed every guided trip and every outing on my own and the fishing was "productive" enough for me to be content (albeit WAY more productive when guided than when left to my own devices). I've floated the Watauga, the Toe and the Holston. I've waded the Oconoluftee, the Swananoa (in Black Mountain) and Laurel Creek.
For the first time, this year I'll be in WNC smack bad in the middle of October.
Thoughts on all of these spots October? Best recommendations? Any spots I'm missing in October? Also, I haven't fished WNC since Helene. From what I read the recovery is proceeding, but there's a ways to go. I'm very interested in any insight locals might have for best experiences in the Fall and most sustainable/supportive way to access the fishery.
u/tslextslex — 8 days ago
Lost dog in Waynesville/Hazelwood area
Please tell me there are Haywood County friends in here that know ANYTHING about the whereabouts of this sweet girl. She has been lost since Sunday late morning and is very shy/runs away when people try to approach sometimes. We don’t know if someone has her and hasn’t said anything, or if she’s out scared in this crappy weather. We had half the city looking with no luck all day today.
Her name is Harper and she has a dog bone name tag on her collar. Please please message me if you have her or know who does. Or any leads at all.
I’m going to cross post on WNC but I figured this had the bigger footprint to start. Yes I posted on all the Facebook groups and Nextdoor as well.
u/longcooolwoman — 10 days ago
▲ 25 r/WNC
Free social meetups around Asheville over the next few weeks — hikes, coffee, ice cream, a riverside picnic
I organize a Meetup group called Asheville Transplants — it's for people who landed here from somewhere else and are building a social life from scratch. 618 members now. Posting the next few weeks of the calendar because it seems useful to have in one place, whether or not anyone ever joins the group.
• Fri Aug 14, 6pm — Asheville Tourists vs. Rome at HomeTrust Park, 30 Buchanan Pl. Dollar Dog Friday, fireworks after the game.
• Sat Aug 15, 9am — Chimney Rock. The 1.5-mile trail to Hickory Nut Falls at an unhurried pace, then lunch by the river in the village. $17 park entry, which is the state's, not ours.
• Sat Aug 15, 9:30am — Coffee at PennyCup North, 857 Merrimon Ave. That's the whole event. Coffee and talking.
• Sat Aug 22, 6pm — Zillicoah in Woodfin, 870 Riverside Dr, for sunset over the French Broad.
• Wed Aug 26, 6pm — The Hop on Merrimon for ice cream, then an easy walk around North Asheville. Dairy-free options.
• Sat Sep 5, 6pm — Picnic at Carrier Park, 220 Amboy Ave. Blanket, snacks, river.
• Sun Sep 27, 2pm — A photo challenge up and down Haywood Rd starting at Archetype West. Teams of four are drawn at the start, so you get paired with people you've never met on purpose.
Three things, since "come to my meetup" posts are a dime a dozen around here:
The events are free. No dues, no cover. The only money involved is the venue's — Chimney Rock's park fee and a Tourists ticket.
Every event has non-alcoholic options and a decent number of regulars don't drink at all. Nobody's counting. We've also been deliberately shifting the calendar away from breweries and toward daytime stuff — hikes, coffee, sketch nights, yoga in the park — because that's what people keep asking for.
Showing up alone is the default rather than the brave exception. Most people at any given event walked in by themselves.
Happy to answer questions in the comments if you want a sense of the vibe before committing to anything.
u/Longjumping-One-8982 — 8 days ago
▲ 20 r/WNC
Some different fungi in a pine grove!
I went to a local park with some easy mountain bike trails with my 9 year old and saw several different types of mushrooms and wanted to share!
u/CrashBandit06 — 8 days ago
▲ 27 r/WNC
Same Knee Surgery, Twice the Price: Hospital Monopolies Push Up Healthcare Costs
kffhealthnews.orgu/uncertaincoda — 9 days ago
Stop Funding mass surveillance: Defund Flock Cameras in Henderson County, NC
Please help support this great cause for liberty in Western North Carolina. Macon County was the first domino to fall in defunding flock cameras. Together we can make a big impact for the betterment of our future.
u/Outrageous_Cat9967 — 12 days ago