Biology professor Dr. Howie Neufeld, the official "Fall Color Guy" of Western North Carolina, says the perfect conditions have arrived for furthering fall foliage colors.

Few people in North Carolina know more about what makes trees tick than Dr. Howard Neufeld, a professor of biology at Appalachian State University. To his thousands of online followers, Neufeld is better known as the "Fall Color Guy" because of the weekly updates he shares this time of the year. According to Neufeld, North Carolina hasn't always had the same variety and vibrancy of fall color.

Visions of daylighting Boone Creek along Rivers Street are progressing into plans, and Appalachian State University, town of Boone and New River Conservancy representatives say the project could alleviate frequent flooding in the area.

Around this time of year when the color starts to change in the trees, we pay attention. Most of us watch the leaves turn in real time. Others work to skip ahead, to predict when exactly we’ll see our fall colors, how vividly, and how long. One such person is Dr. Howard Neufeld, a professor of biology at Appalachian State University. Better known by the public as the Fall Color Guy, he monitors the weather, temperature, and color activity here in the mountains, and makes predictions accordingly.

The New River Conservancy and New River State Park are working to reopen Elk Shoals to the public through a plan they are calling ReWilding Elk Shoals. A team from Appalachian State University's Appalachian Studies program participated in planting native trees in the flood plain at Elk Shoals on Sept. 20.