AUDUBON NORTH CAROLINA LAND ENHANCEMENT OUTREACH INITIATIVE TO PROTECT GOLDEN-WINGED WARBLER HABITATS

Press Release
by Mary Alice Holley, BC/DC Ideas

Eligible Private Landowners Will Have Opportunities to Receive Financial Incentives by Participating in Program

Audubon North Carolina (ANC) will soon reach out to 77 private landowners across Avery County to encourage them to protect and restore priority bird habitats, while simultaneously helping landowners enhance their property in cost-effective and sustainable ways. ANC staff will work to educate landowners on what they can do to enhance their land for Golden-winged Warblers, and work to enroll them in incentive programs with partner programs.

Western North Carolina, because of its elevational range and forested landscape, is an important destination for Golden-winged Warblers to nest each year. The warbler has been petitioned for listing as an endangered species due to its rapid range-wide decline, making the nesting areas in North Carolina crucial for protection and ongoing maintenance.  Audubon has mapped privately owned land in Western North Carolina that contains preferred habitats for the species, in hopes of working with eligible landowners to protect and maintain the area for long-term sustainability. Landowners who meet certain criteria to participate in the program will be notified with a letter from an ANC representative in the next few weeks.   

“As the bird people for our state, ANC has crafted an approach to forest management that protects and restores habitats for birds, while simultaneously helping landowners enhance their property in cost-effective ways,” says Audubon Conservation Biologist Erin McCombs

“We are excited to develop these partnerships with local communities and their citizens across Western North Carolina in an effort to sustain the Golden-winged Warbler and North Carolina’s beautiful landscapes.”

 

The program will offer training opportunities, management plans and demonstration sites in order to work with private landowners to support environmentally sound practices, especially those that benefit native birds. Landowners who have been identified will receive a letter in the mail in the coming weeks detailing how they can learn more about participating in the program, and how they can receive land management support that will create these specialized habitats. For more information about Audubon North Carolina and the working lands initiative visit our webpage.

About Audubon North Carolina

With a century of conservation history in North Carolina, Audubon strives to conserve and restore the habitats we share with all wildlife, focusing on the needs of birds.Audubon North Carolina achieves its mission through a blend of science-based research and conservation, education and outreach, and advocacy. Audubon North Carolina has offices in Corolla, Boone, Wilmington and Chapel Hill.

Top-5 Artist Randy Houser Headlines Beech Music Fest, Sept. 8

News Release
by Craig Distl

Randy Houser, a rising star in country music, headlines the inaugural Mile High Music Fest on Sunday, September 8th, at Beech Mountain Resort.

Houser is one of three acts performing at the first-year festival, which will transform the slopes of the ski resort into a natural amphitheater capable of seating several thousand people.

Organizers expect a big turnout because Houser is assured of rolling into Beech Mountain next month with one of the top singles and top albums on the Billboard country music charts.

His current hit, "Runnin' Outta Moonlight," is No. 3 on the latest country singles chart and received the most airplay last week of any country single in the U.S. It is the second Top-10 hit on the album, How Country Feels, which has been on the charts for 27 weeks and peaked at No. 3.

Houser, a Nashville resident and Mississippi native, is no stranger to the top of the charts. His 2008 debut album produced two Top-20 singles, while his second album, released in 2009, climbed all the way to No. 8 on the album charts.

Joining Houser at the Mile High Music Fest are two high-energy bands well known to followers of Americana and bluegrass - Donna the Buffalo and Sons of Bluegrass.

Donna the Buffalo is a five-person band fronted by Tara Nevins. The band has been at it since 1989, providing their followers - nicknamed The Herd - with feel-good, groove-oriented music all up and down the East Coast. The New York band features a soulful and electric Americana sound infused with elements of zydeco, rock, folk, reggae and country.

Sons of Bluegrass, heralded as one of the best up-and-coming bluegrass groups in the country, is comprised entirely of majors from the four-year bluegrass music program at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn., just over the mountain from Beech.

Tickets for the Mile High Music Fest, presented by the Beech Mountain Chamber of Commerce, are $30 in advance and $35 at the gate and available at www.ticketsoeasy.com.

Come Fly a Kite During 11th Annual Festival on Sept. 1

Press Release

by Craig Distl

            BEECH MOUNTAIN, N.C. – It’s easy as pie to fly a kite a mile high this Labor Day weekend on Beech Mountain – all you need is a couple hundred feet of string.

            The 11th annual Mile High Kite Festival takes place Sunday, Sept. 1, in the Beech town meadow. Located at more than 5,000 feet in elevation, the high-altitude meadow makes it easy for children of all ages to sail their kites up to a mile above sea level.

            The festival includes kite-flying music and announcing provided by Terry Murray and Will Smoot of the Richmond Air Force Kite Club from Virginia. Prizes will be awarded for the biggest kite, smallest kite and best decorated kite.

            Meanwhile, all festival participants receive an official certificate from town mayor Rick Owen that proclaims: “I flew a kite a mile high on Beech Mountain.”

            Don’t have a kite? Fret not. There will be kites for sale, and the first 300 kids (12 and under) receive a free one. Folks who have kites are welcome to bring their own.

            Other activities include races with kids pulling parachute kites, face painting, and a variety of craft and food vendors.

            Ample room is available for everyone, plus there’s a reserved field for demos from the Wings Across Carolina Kiting and Okra Society (WACKOS) and the Richmond Air Force.

            “We like to float the idea to come up and make a weekend of it,” says event organizer Calder Smoot. “Folks can bring their dogs and enter them in our annual dog show Saturday, and then attend an all-ages street dance Saturday night before enjoying the Sunday kite festival.”

            The festival is sponsored by the Beech Mountain Chamber and the two kite clubs. Hours for the Mile High Kite Festival are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and there’s no charge for admission.

            Dog lovers should make plans to attend BJ’s Dog Show, named for long-time town employee B.J. Hughes. The show is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Bark Park, adjacent to the town meadow. Entry fee is $20 for one dog and $30 for two dogs, with spectators admitted free.

            There will be certificates and prizes for winning dogs, while all furry friends receive a ribbon of participation.

            For information, call the Beech Mountain Visitors Center at (800) 468-5506.

Magic Cycles Opens New Location at Beech to Provide Bike Rentals

Press Release

by Craig Distl

To fulfill the need for bike rentals at Beech Mountain Resort’s new mountain bike park, Boone-based Magic Cycles has opened a shop in the ski village.

Michael Boone, owner of Magic Cycles, jumped at the opportunity to expand to Beech Mountain this summer when he learned the resort would provide regular lift access to its new downhill trails, and to the town’s Emerald Outback trails.

“We’ve been anxious for somebody to open a bike park at one of the ski slopes and Beech Mountain really made the commitment to outfit their lift and build trails,” said Boone, who opened his shop in downtown Boone in 1993. “We’ve seen the need for that for quite some time.”

Since early June, Magic Cycles’ satellite location has operated from leased space at Ski Beech Sports at the base of the trails. Riders may rent downhill or cross country bikes, depending on which trail system they plan to ride. They can also rent helmets and body armor, while buying lift passes at Ski Beech Sports.

“I just ordered seven more bikes recently and we will probably double the size of our rental fleet next year,” Boone said. “Business has gotten better and better every weekend. I think by the end of summer we’ll see a big demand from visitors coming to ride the trails.”

Boone said his primary customers so far have been cyclists who’ve ridden cross-country trails before and are excited to take the chairlift up and try downhill trails.

“I’m thrilled with the quality of the trails. The trail builders are out there adding new stuff weekly,” explained Boone. “They have done a good job developing something for the beginner and intermediate riders, as well as the advanced and pro riders.”

Boone is also excited about further development of the Emerald Outback trails, which are maintained by the Town of Beech Mountain. The town recently received a grant to improve and expand the Emerald Outback.

"That will make those trails a destination. They’re a little rooty for your beginning rider, but when they get some of that cleared out, it will become a destination for riders in the Southeast,” said Boone. “To be able to offer cross country riding up at that elevation is something I think will really explode. A lot of people from down off the mountain are going to find their way up here in the summer months when it’s so hot in Charlotte and everywhere else.”

Magic Cycles on Beech Mountain is open every Friday, Saturday and Sunday through September. Hours are: Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and weekends from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For bike rentals or more info, call (828) 387-2733 or click on the Magic Cycles at Beech Mountain link.

XTERRA North Carolina Series Comes to Beech July 27

Press Release
Contributed by Craig Distl

Trail runners of all ages and abilities are invited to Beech Mountain on Saturday, July 27th, for the XTERRA North Carolina 15K/5K Trail Run.

This is a great off-road running experience for any runner wishing to "ditch the city" and traverse a mountaintop of single track and double track trails.

Although the race starts on pavement the town of Beech Mountain, it quickly heads off road and into the woods. The course is comprised of varied terrain, including: rolling hills, uphill climbs, rooty forests and some technical sections.

The race is organized by Dirty Spokes Productions of Dacula, Ga., Dirty Spokes produces trail races, mountain bike races and off-road duathlons across the Southeast.

The top three overall male and female finishers at Beech will receive medals and prizes.

Medals will also be awarded in the following male and female age divisions: 14-under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, and 70-and-up.

Entry fee for the 15K is $35 per person through July 18; and $40 from July 19-26. Race day entry is $45.

Entry fee for the 5K is $25 per person through July 18; and $30 from July 19-26. Race day registration is $45.

Beech Mountain is a ski resort town, so plenty of lodging is available. Additionally, runners and their families are eligible for a 15 percent discount on lodging at Pinnacle Inn Resort.

For complete race details, visit DirtySpokes.com. For lodging info, call (800) 468-5506.