News Flash

Town of Boone Continues to Plant Trees at Bolick Farm Property

The town of Boone partnered with the High County Audubon Society for a tree planting event at the Bolick Property on June 25.

The town of Boone originally purchased the Bolick Property in 2016, and has permanently conserved approximately 31 acres of the 54...

Town of Boone's Municipal Electricity will be 100% Carbon Neutral by February 2022

The Town of Boone’s Town Council voted during the January 12th, 2022 Town Council Meeting to accept the proposal for all electricity used by the Town’s municipal buildings to be generated using 100% renewable energy. Boone is the first municipality to ach...

Town of Boone Reaches Climate Neutrality in Municipal Operations Eight Years Ahead of Its Goal

The Boone Town Council voted during its Jan. 12 Town Council Meeting to allot $60,290 to purchase renewable energy.

Boone is the first municipality in North Carolina to achieve 100% renewable energy in municipal buildings, according to a Jan. 12 Town of Bo...

Boone hits a goal many seek: 100% renewable energy in town buildings

As local governments across the country puzzle over how to eliminate their use of electricity generated by fossil fuels, one North Carolina town has met that goal.

The mountain town of Boone had a goal of running town operations on carbon-free electricity ...

Gov. Cooper Signs New Energy Bill Calling for Carbon Reductions

House Bill 951 — signed into law on Oct. 13 — requires the North Carolina Utilities Commission to take the steps needed to achieve the goal of reducing energy producers’ carbon dioxide emissions by 70 percent by 2030 and to r...

Boone, App State Aim for Carbon-Free 2050

In January, Boone Town Council created a new position to prioritize sustainability. George Santucci, the first occupant of the sustainability and special projects manager role, took immediate action to begin sustainability operations. “We take a...

Boone Municipal Operations will Transition to 25% Renewable Energy in 2022 NRLP Green Power Program

Moving a quarter of the town of Boone’s operations to a carbon neutral energy source, the contract will begin Jan. 1, 2022, and cover all 1,650,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy the town purchases from NRLP. Residents and business owners will h...

Boone Floods During Remnants of Tropical Storm Fred, Harms Water Quality

Although Boone residents are coming to expect flooding during storm events, the physical and environmental damages of the floods are causing continued harm to the town. The town of Boone has a local river gauge dashboard tracking water levels at three dif...

New River Conservancy Working on Phase 2 of a River Restoration Project Near Brookshire Park

Phase 1 involved a partnership between multiple organizations to implement 2,800 linear feet — or a little more than seven-and-a-half football fields — of river restoration. Now, the NRC is partnering with Watauga County, town of Boone...

Watauga Riverkeeper Installs Trash Trout in Winkler Creek

MountainTrue, an environmental organization based in the Southern Blue Ridge, announced June 2 that their Watauga Riverkeeper installed Boone’s first Trash Trout in Winkler Creek along the Greenway in partnership with the Town of Boone. The Trash Trout Jr...

Town of Boone’s Sustainability Committee Explores Renewable Energy Options

NRLP is a nonprofit operating unit of Appalachian State University. The nonprofit has been providing power to Appalachian State University and the larger Boone community since 1915, according to Appalachian State University. The university stated that NRL...

Boone Files Conservation Easement for Bolick Property, Town Council Talks Municipal Complex Plans

The town announced on Feb. 16 that it had officially filed the easement for the property, protecting 30.286 acres of town-owned property along the South Fork of the New River. The easement — filed on Jan. 21 — is in partnership with th...

Boone Hires Santucci as New Sustainability and Special Projects Manager

The Boone Town Council is creating a slate of environmental issues — such as electrifying town vehicles — for the town’s new sustainability and special projects manager. Boone Town Manager John Ward said that George Santucci ...

Boone, NC Passes Historic Resolution: Ditch Fossil Fuels, Go 100% Clean Energy

With an incoming presidential administration seemingly hostile towards action on climate change, local solutions are now more important than ever. With or without Donald Trump's help, the North Carolina municipality of Boone is calling on the who...

Boone Council clarifies town energy goals: Climate neutral by 2030

The Boone Town Council voted 4-1 on April 18 to establish clarified energy goals for the town: climate neutrality in municipal operations by 2030, 100 percent clean renewables in municipal operations by 2040 and 100 percent clean renewables for the entire...

Boone Solar Energy Effort Completes 39 Projects

The Clean Energy for Boone effort spearheaded by locally based nonprofit Climate Voices US successfully installed 315 kilowatts of solar energy in the High Country area in 2015, resulting in hundreds of thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide being diverted...