Reflecting on 2025

At the end of each year, we take time to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments. It’s impressive to see how much we achieved with the support of each one of you, as well as our coastal communities, local governments, volunteers, and many other partners.

This year, our salt marsh team was able to complete four major living shoreline projects and 43 smaller-scale projects, protecting a total of 11,132 linear feet of shoreline more than 2 miles!

The water quality team was busy this year completing a first-of-its-kind one-acre salt marsh nursery, which will eventually help provide salt marsh grasses for restoration projects in a sustainable way! The team also worked with partners to install two stormwater retrofit projects that will reduce stormwater runoff by an estimated 28,000 gallons per storm event.

The oyster team, along with the Division of Marine Fisheries and partners, completed 47 acres of oyster sanctuary in Pamlico Sound. They also worked to recycle 9,000 bushels of oyster shells through 30 public drop-off sites and with 28 Restaurant to Reef partners.

Our marine debris program helped employ 50 commercial fishers who worked with us to remove 290 tons of large marine debris, 2,250 pieces of lost fishing gear, and, through partnerships with contractors, 9 abandoned and derelict vessels.

The Federation’s team of educators worked with 4,141 K-12 and college students, and 529 volunteers engaged through 30 different events. Altogether, we reached 7,606 adults and community members (including 110 teachers) through local partnerships, internships, workshops, cleanups, and community events in 2025.

Our advocacy team worked both behind the scenes and on the front lines to protect our coast. They brought transparency to major shoreline projects, tackled chronic erosion, at-risk oceanfront homes, and contamination concerns, pushed for stronger wetland protections, and advanced legislation to safeguard the coast.

A Win for North Carolina

The Coastal Federation is thrilled to celebrate the recent news that North Carolina has been excluded from BOEM’s draft proposed offshore oil and gas drilling program. This outcome is a testament to the power of thousands of North Carolinians who spoke up, submitted comments, and made it clear that our coast – and the communities and economies that depend on it – are worth protecting. Your voices truly mattered and made a real difference.

While North Carolina had been under a federal drilling moratorium, the current administration had signaled interest in lifting that safeguard to allow offshore drilling. Thanks to a strong, unified, bipartisan stance from East Coast governors, state leaders, local officials, and coastal advocates, BOEM has heard loud and clear that offshore drilling has no place off our shores.

This broad coalition was instrumental in keeping North Carolina out of the program. This is an important victory for our coast, and we’re grateful to everyone who played a part in securing it. Together, we’ll continue working to ensure a clean, healthy, and thriving coast for generations to come.

Holiday Shopping with a Purpose

This holiday season, we hope you’ll consider giving your loved ones a gift that gives back, and what better way to do that than by shopping at our Holiday Shop or by giving the gift of a Coastal Federation Membership!

Be sure to check out all we have to offer and feel great about the lasting impacts on the coast your gift can have! 

Shop Today!

Recycle for Reefs

Winter is a popular time to gather with close friends and family and enjoy an oyster roast, but did you know all of those empty shells can be used in restoration projects along the coast?!

The Coastal Federation is working to restore wild oyster populations by recycling oyster shells and putting those shells back into the water. It’s a critical step in ensuring that North Carolina’s coastal ecology and economy continue to thrive.

We have many public drop-off sites around the coast and in the Wake County/Raleigh area, and we hope that you’ll consider taking your oyster shells there so that we can get to work putting them back in the water where they are needed the most!

The Coastal Federation also works with some amazing seafood markets and restaurants that are part of our Restaurant to Reef program, and we highly recommend checking out one of these stellar spots that are not only serving up delicious seafood but also helping us restore wild oyster populations.

Help Inspire Coastal Stewards

Now more than ever, connecting people to the environment and inspiring the next generation is incredibly important to ensuring the long-term stewardship of the coast.

In 2026, the Coastal Federation will redouble our efforts to engage people of all ages in meaningful experiences at the coast—everything from community workshops and volunteer events to nature hikes and hands-on youth education programs. Our programs will connect people to special places and habitats coastwide. This includes new opportunities out of our Wanchese office, our Wrightsville Beach office, and the new Center for Coastal Protection and Restoration in Carteret County, which is under construction and scheduled to open in 2026.

Please consider a special, year-end gift today to help the Federation launch new opportunities for hands-on learning and community engagement in 2026 – and help build a strong community of coastal stewards.

Please Give Today!

Tax-Advantaged Giving

Maximize your charitable impact AND your tax benefits for 2025 by giving through a donor-advised fund (DAF), making a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) from an IRA, or donating appreciated stock. Visit Charity Navigator to learn more about tax-advantaged giving, and visit the Federation’s webpage or contact Sarah King at sarahk@nccoast.org to make a tax-smart year-end gift to the Federation. 

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