Brian Haines

Longleaf Honor Roll recipients

The N.C. Longleaf Coalition recently honored Terry Sharpe, as well as Anne and Fletcher Wright as new members of the North Carolina Longleaf Honor Roll. The Honor Roll recognizes landowners who are working to improve their stands and balance all the values of a longleaf forest such as wood products, wildlife habitat, recreation and aesthetics. […]

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Mosquitoes – a Flood Bug

By Kelly Oten Top 3 Things You Need to Know About Mosquitoes After a Flood Excessive rainfall from Hurricane Florence dealt a major blow to North Carolina, but there is one critter that will thrive, mosquitoes. Some species of mosquitoes lay egg rafts floating on the water surface that can hatch within 24-48 hrs.  Other […]

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When it comes to incident response, it’s all about Brotherhood

By Carrie Harmon MOREHEAD CITY- “Upbeat but tired”, “Same people there every day”, “Putting in long hours” and “Very appreciative” are some of the phrases used to describe the multitude of firefighters from different departments scattered across Carteret County responding to the aftermath of Hurricane Florence. The county was hit directly by Hurricane Florence, causing […]

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Waterfalls are beautiful to see, but can be deadly to play on. Follow these 8 waterfall safety tips.

Waterfalls are beautiful to see, but can be deadly to play on. Follow these 8 waterfall safety tips.

In 2016, Transylvania County experienced six waterfall fatalities, prompting the creation of a waterfall safety campaign by the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority. The campaign kicked off last year in conjunction with local leadership at Pisgah National Forest, DuPont State Recreational Forest, Gorges State Park and Transylvania County EMS, among others. To help stress waterfall […]

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Happy Birthday, Smokey Bear!

Happy Birthday, Smokey Bear!

Today is Smokey Bear’s 73rd birthday, and he is still working hard to get his message out that “Only You Can Prevent Wildfires.” Smokey Bear has been a symbol of fire safety and prevention since 1944. The purpose of the Smokey campaign is to create and maintain public awareness about the need to prevent wildfires. […]

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This NC Forest Service ranger is also a champion lumberjack

This NC Forest Service ranger is also a champion lumberjack

When Ben Kniceley joined the N.C. Forest Service as the Duplin County assistant ranger in March, he brought with him the title of 2015 Stihl Timbersports U.S. Collegiate Champion. Last year, Kniceley placed first in the collegiate qualifier in Pennsylvania, which earned him a spot in the U.S. rookie finals in New York’s Central Park before a large crowd. […]

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It’s Arbor Day in North Carolina

It’s Arbor Day in North Carolina

Today is Arbor Day in North Carolina. (In our state, Arbor Day falls on the first Friday after March 15.) Many communities around the state also celebrate their own Arbor Day in spring. A majority of the communities celebrating Arbor Day are recognized as Tree Cities by the national Tree City USA program, which is sponsored by the Arbor Day […]

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A walk in the woods leads to unique find

A walk in the woods leads to unique find

This blog post was written by N.C. Forest Service Conifer Silviculture Staff Forester Bill Pickens about an exciting find in the woods that takes us back to a forgotten piece of our state’s history.  I recently took a walk back in time through a forest stand in Nash County with N.C. Forest Service Water Quality Forester Aaron Levine […]

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Two from NC Forest Service honored at Fallen Firefighters Memorial

Two men who died while serving with the N.C. Forest Service were honored in May during the N.C. Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s 10th annual memorial service. They are Halbert Campbell of Kinston, a former pilot and operations worker, and Jimmy Halliburton of Morganton, an educational ranger. “It was great to see the honor and respect paid to […]

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Harvell is new regional forester in Piedmont

The N.C. Forest Service has a new regional forester for the Piedmont. Kevin Harvell takes over for Mike Hendricks, who retired this year with 36 years of service. Harvell said he admires Hendricks’ work ethic and dedication to the NCFS, and intends to carry on with the great work Hendricks was doing. Harvell also said he’s looking forward […]

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