The League of Women Voters of Dare County hosted a public meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 27 to discuss the current activity associated with seismic surveys and the development of the 2019-2024 National OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Craig Merrill, the Natural Resources Committee Chair, welcomed the attendees and introduced Bob Woodard, Dare County Commissioner…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation and partner organizations filed a motion for a preliminary injunction on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2019 to block seismic surveys from beginning in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf until a separate lawsuit is resolved. The initial lawsuit filed on Dec. 11, 2018 outlines that the decision to issue incidental harassment authorizations (IHAs) violates…
Details
BEAUFORT — The North Carolina Coastal Federation, North Carolina Sea Grant, Onslow Country Solid Waste Department and North Carolina Coastal Reserve hosted the N.C. Marine Debris Action Planning Workshop, on Thursday, Feb. 28. The workshop was held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort. The workshop was a collaborative…
Details
Press release via Oceana CHARLESTON, SC – A group of conservation organizations today asked a federal judge to block the start of harmful seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean, a precursor to offshore drilling, until the case can be fully heard in court. The motion for a preliminary injunction filed in federal court in…
Details
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking feedback on its plan to remove clean water protections that have been in place for generations. The administration recently released a proposed rule that will break down the Clean Water Act. If adopted, this proposed rule will open the doors to pollution into southern rivers, streams, lakes and coastal waters.…
Details
The sixth annual Hatteras Island Oyster Roast at Oden’s Dock hosted by the North Carolina Coastal Federation on Saturday, Feb. 2 saw record breaking attendance of over 400 oyster enthusiasts, making the event a sold out affair. Guests traveled from up to six hours away to enjoy unlimited oysters, chowder and corn bread. The federation…
Details
WANCHESE – The North Carolina Coastal Federation is wrapping up a sixth year of the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project in partnership with North Carolina Marine Patrol. Along the coast, 78 commercial watermen and women spent about a week retrieving lost crab pots from the sounds. This project was funded by the North Carolina General…
Details
On Jan. 17 the North Carolina Coastal Federation teamed up with the Town of Sunset Beach to start construction on a living shoreline project at Sunset Beach Waterfront Park. This is the first step of a project with Sunset Beach to create a living shoreline that will help protect the park from erosion and create…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation hosted a series of land based cleanups along the coast this past weekend in conjunction with the kick off of the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project, an effort to remove lost crab pots from North Carolina sounds. The North Carolina General Assembly appropriated funding to this project to facilitate and…
Details
On Jan. 11, a key state environmental committee welcomed researchers from the North Carolina Shellfish Mariculture Advisory Committee and the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory for a review of the recently completed strategic plan to boost the state’s shellfish industry. Researchers told lawmakers that a modest increase of state funding over the next decade could boost…
Details
On a relatively calm January day, Michael Flynn, coastal advocate for the Wanchese office of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, donned his wetsuit to install a king tides gauge at the end of the office dock. The King Tides Project is an international citizen science program used to document extreme high tide events using photos…
Details
A cohort of dynamic and innovative teachers of grades K-12 participated in their first weekend field experience at the Pocosin Lakes and Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuges as part of a fellowship program offered by North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences to facilitate project-based learning (PBL) in the classroom. The educators visited the Pocosin Lakes on…
Details
After much collaboration and teamwork, construction began on a living shoreline project along Moor Shore Road in Kitty Hawk this past December. The project consists of seven vertical sills that act as speed bumps and extend approximately 600 feet along the shore. These sills buffer the shoreline from erosion by decreasing wave energy as it…
Details
New friendships were formed at the Toast to the Coast Oyster Roast hosted by Outer Banks Distilling, the makers of Kill Devil Rum, in downtown Manteo this past weekend. Following the release of their winter spiced rum, staff and volunteers from the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s northeast office were excited to participate in the distillery’s…
Details
A ton of oyster shells made a unique journey from the sea to the mountains and back to the sea this month. The North Carolina Coastal Federation received over 2,000 lbs of oysters from the Highlands Food and Wine Festival. The Highlands Food and Wine Festival is an annual event that takes place just west…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation has received a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. This award is given to non-profit organizations that are accountable, transparent and financially healthy. This is the federation’s fifth year in a row earning a 4-star rating which is a long-term dedication to fiscal best practices that only 10% of nonprofits achieve.…
Details
With the November election over, the North Carolina General Assembly returned to Raleigh after Thanksgiving for one, last lame duck session before the new legislature is seated in January. Among other legislation, the General Assembly approved a new round of Hurricane Florence disaster recovery appropriations. Included in this legislation was $250,000 for the NC Department…
Details
On Friday, Dec. 7, Backstreet Pub in Beaufort hosted NC Fest and invited the North Carolina Coastal Federation to attend and benefit from the event. The chill in the air that evening was quickly forgotten when pub employees dumped buckets of freshly roasted oysters on tables and attendees swarmed to grab an oyster before they all…
Details
On Nov. 27, the North Carolina Coastal Federation hosted their second Living Shoreline Open House at the central office. The open house allowed waterfront homeowners to learn more about what they can do to prevent shoreline erosion and damage on their property. Several of the homeowners in attendance had experienced damage to their bulkhead after…
Details
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Leading environmental groups sued the federal government today to prevent seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. This extremely loud and dangerous process, which is used to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean’s surface, is the first step toward offshore drilling. If allowed, seismic airgun blasting would harm marine life,…
Details
Photo by Jennifer Allen Final draft submitted to N.C. Division of Water Resources following public symposium The final draft of the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan was presented to an audience of nearly 100 during a public symposium that was held at Martelle’s “Feed House” Restaurant in Engelhard on Dec. 3. The final draft and…
Details
The North Carolina Coastal Federation was thrilled to attend the 2018 Revolution on the Half Shell event held at Revolution Mill in Greensboro on Dec. 1. While Revolution Mill initially started its business as the first flannel mill in the south, it has since been revitalized as a mixed-use development that hosts event space, apartments,…
Details
UPDATE 12/27/18: State environmental officials have extended the public comment period for the proposed consent order. The new deadline for submitting comments on the draft order is Jan. 7, 2019. For more information, please review the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Fact Sheet. Since news broke in June 2017 that GenX had been detected in…
Details
Jennifer Allen is a junior environmental studies major at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. During her fall semester, Allen interned with the North Carolina Coastal Federation at our Wanchese office. The following is written by Allen as she reflected on her time spent with the federation: This semester I participated in the University…
Details