Photo of Pisgah National Forest, Blue Ridge Mountains from Getty Images
On March 7, the U.S. Forest Service purchased a former inholding in Pisgah National Forest from Foothills Conservancy of North Carolina, the organization said in a press release. The 96-acre property located off U.S Highway 321 in Caldwell County, between Lenoir and Blowing Rock, creates opportunity to extend trails in the Boone Fork recreation area near Mulberry Creek and Blowing Rock.
“The U.S. Forest Service is excited to partner with Foothills Conservancy on this newest acquisition,” said Nicholas Larson, North Carolina Forest Service district ranger. “Chestnut Mountain will be a great addition to the Forest, with easy access to Lenoir. We are working with both the Blue Ridge Horseman’s Association and Northwestern N.C. Mountain Bike Alliance to improve and add to the existing trail system.”
National Parks Week begins Saturday
From April 18- April 26, the U.S. will celebrate National Park Week. Due to the disruption of COVID-19, this year’s celebrations are going digital. While holed up at home, you can still journey to national parks through a variety of online activities including virtual tours, scavenger hunts, trivia contests and junior ranger programs.
The Find Your Virtual Park page on NPS.gov provides resources that feature the sights and sounds of parks, games, videos, webcams and kid-friendly activities. The National Park Foundation offers a series of virtual escapes as well as suggestions for home-based park experiences.
Earth logs its second-warmest March on record
Mother Earth may be taking a much-needed breather right now, but the globe continues to warm. Following the warmest January ever recorded and the second-warmest February, the planet has now logged its second-hottest March on record, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday.
NOAA warns that models are already suggesting that 2020 could be the warmest year on record. “It does look like there’s a better-than-half probability that we will finish the year warmest on record,” Deke Arndt, chief of the monitoring branch at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, said in a news briefing.
