The Wetlands Restoration Fund agreed to provide money and work with the federation to remove a portion of a causeway to Permuda Island in Onslow County, restoring tidal wetlands in the area and increase flushing in Stump Sound – one of North Carolina’s most productive oyster areas.
The federation bought 1,981 acres on North River in Carteret County with a grant from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The former farm land is the site of the largest wetland restoration project in the state..
2001
The Cape Fear Coastkeeper®, headquartered in the Wilmington field office, became the federations first Coastkeeper®.
Carteret Community College worked with the federation, N.C. State University and others to restore its shoreline on Bogue Sound as part of a campus-wide stormwater management plan. The N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund approved the planning grant.
2002
The federation conducted major shoreline restoration projects at the Duke University Marine Lab on Pivers Island near Beaufort and at the N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores.
The federation’s second Coastkeeper® began work in the Cape Lookout region.
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources held a formal dedication of Bird Island as the state's 10th coastal reserve. The federation and several environmental groups worked over ten years to purchase and protect the island from development.
The federation bought the rest of North River Farms. The federation negotiated with three private conservation buyers to acquire 1,435 acres. They commit to provide the federation with a conservation easement on the land after it is restored by enrolling the land in the Wetland Reserve Program through USDA.
2003
The Cape Hatteras Coastkeeper® came aboard.
The federation saw a number of new legislative initiatives, including the "Living Shorelines" law. This bill will speed up the process and promote natural shoreline erosion control projects over chemically-treated wooden bulkheads which destroy marine habitat.
The N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund approved a grant to allow the federation to 52 acres at Morris Landing near Holly Ridge in Onslow County. This property helps to protect the relatively unpolluted waters of Stump Sound, an extremely productive fisheries area for shellfish, shrimp and finfish.
2004
The federation received the prestigious Governor's Conservation Achievement Award for 2004 Land Conservationist of the Year. The award was given to federation's North River Farms restoration project, the largest private wetlands restoration project in North Carolina history.
Seven schools participated in the federation's Student Wetland Nursery Program, cultivating plants in wetland nurseries built at schools and planting 12,500 plants to restore 3,000 feet of coastal shoreline.
2005
The Morris Landing Living Shoreline demonstration project in Onslow County was completed, including the construction of a 575-foot stone and oyster-bag sill adjacent to Stump Sound, the planting of wetland grasses and the construction of a public pier and educational platform.
The federation received a grant from the N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund to buy much of Jones Island in the lower White Oak River. The island was for sale, and development would have increased bacterial contamination in the river. It is now being developed into a environmental education center.
2006
Landowners on the Scuppernong River in Tyrrell County worked with the federation to place 160 acres of wetlands and prime upland real estate in a conservation easement held by the federation.
2007
The federation led a campaign that resulted in the passage of the Solid Waste Management Act of 2007. The bill nixed several mega-landfills planned for the coast in low-income and minority rural communities and established new environmental protections to protect surface waters and wetlands.
2008
The federation offered citizens from areas around Wilmington, Morehead City, Manteo and the Triangle an opportunity to rally outside the Legislative Building in Raleigh to show support for more effective rules to control polluted runoff along the coast. Meetings were arranged to ensure legislators heard all sides of the debate. Citizens had another opportunity while seated across the table from their representatives at lunch to peal shrimp and argue the need for clean water. The legislature passed tougher stormwater rules.
The federation's Northeast Regional Office in Manteo was purchased, renovated and opened.
The Wetlands Restoration Fund agreed to provide money and work with the federation to remove a portion of a causeway to Permuda Island in Onslow County, restoring tidal wetlands in the area and increase flushing in Stump Sound – one of North Carolina’s most productive oyster areas. 
