Behind Blue Ridge Country

Besides obviously a canoe and dry box or bag and perhaps a rod for fishing and binoculars for birding, what are some essential items for canoe camping the Blue Ridge's rivers during the warm weather period?

A red eft –the juvenile stage of the Eastern newt– is all but hidden on the forest floor. Cat McCue and Jeff Hunter took a walk in the proposed new Wilderness area in east Tennessee. Here's a snapshot of what they saw as well as details on the bill:

The Conservation Trust for North Carolina is "a land trust that focuses mostly on the Blue Ridge Parkway, although we also help the 23 other land trusts that exist all over the state," says CTNC executive director Reid Wilson.