In January, the North Carolina General Assembly completed its 2019 legislative session. With the 2020 session not expected to begin until April, now is an excellent time to review the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 2019 state policy work. The federation had considerable success in Raleigh last year. Some of our most significant victories include: $1.8M…
Looking back on 2019, the federation is proud of our collaborative impact on coastal water quality, habitat protection and restoration. Here is a snapshot of some of our accomplishments in the past year: Protecting Coastal Water Quality This year, the federation partnered with the Town of Beaufort, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, City of…
On Saturday, Aug. 3, the 2019 Pelican Award recipients were honored at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City for their outstanding contributions to protecting the North Carolina coast. Joe Ramus, president of the federation’s board of directors, served as the Master of Ceremonies and welcomed a sold-out crowd of 500 to the awards…
WANCHESE — Over the course of two weeks, on some of the hottest days this summer has seen, over 100 volunteers braved the elements to join the North Carolina Coastal Federation, Town of Kitty Hawk, landowners and Dare Soil and Water Conservation District to plant marsh grasses at the Moor Shore Road living shoreline project…
A crowd of nearly 300 gathered in Havelock on June 11 and 12 for the North Carolina Coastal Resilience Summit. The North Carolina Coastal Federation and North Carolina Division of Coastal Management hosted the event to solicit ideas and potential strategies for inclusion in the North Carolina Resiliency Plan. In October 2018, Governor Roy Cooper…
The North Carolina Coastal Federation, PFAST Network and UNC–Wilmington hosted Emerging Contaminants in the Cape Fear Region: University Collaborations on Environmental, Drinking Water Supply and Human Health Effects on Friday, May 31 in Wilmington. Composed of research presentations and a live Q&A, the forum served to provide a public conversation about the North Carolina PFAS…
The month of May typically marks the home stretch of the North Carolina General Assembly’s long session, so it’s a good time to take stock of the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 2019 legislative agenda. Here’s a quick rundown: Oysters Earlier this year, the UNC Collaboratory released a strategic plan that included regulatory reforms and new…
The release of the 2019-2024 Proposed National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program has been postponed indefinitely according to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. Bernhardt explained in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, published on Apr. 25, 2019, that the agency will await the outcome of the appeals process against the decision from…
On March 29, Judge Gleason of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska overturned President Trump’s push to open up 128 million acres in Arctic and Atlantic waters to oil and gas drilling. These federal waters were withdrawn from lease sales in 2015 and 2016, making them off-limits to oil and gas exploration…
A total of 78 commercial watermen and women worked in January 2019 to remove 3,112 crab pots from the North Carolina coast. The Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project, is part of a statewide marine debris removal effort led by the North Carolina Coastal Federation with $100,000 from the North Carolina General Assembly. Lost pots are…