With North Carolina slowly beginning the process of recovering from Hurricane Florence, the North Carolina General Assembly is scheduled to meet Oct. 15 to approve a multimillion-dollar package of aid to farmers, flooded out homeowners, small businesses and disaster-stricken communities. On Oct. 10, Gov. Roy Cooper released his Hurricane Florence recovery plan, which includes substantial…
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OCEAN – Hurricane Florence’s big storm surge destroyed many docks, walkways and bulkheads along our coast. “There are large, mangled piles of chemically preserved lumber and poles from docks and bulkheads washed up all along our shorelines,” said Todd Miller, executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation. “Now people are asking what they should…
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The week before Hurricane Florence landed on the North Carolina coast, staff and volunteers in the federation’s Northeast office spent an afternoon monitoring an oyster restoration site on the southern end of Roanoke Island, near Thicket Lump. This 200-foot section of sill was initially built three years ago and is monitored at least once a…
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In late August, the North Carolina Coastal Federation held a living shoreline workday where staff and volunteers worked together to complete a living shoreline in Starkey Creek using bags of recycled oyster shells. This shoreline will protect the shore from erosion and create habitat for many marine creatures including oysters, which help filter and clean…
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OCEAN – Officials with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and the state of North Carolina advise residents and tourists that it’s not yet safe to swim and wade in coastal waters. Massive amounts of polluted runoff are still flowing into coastal waterways all along areas of our coast impacted by heavy rains from Hurricane Florence.…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation staff and volunteers were pleased to act as Avalon Pier’s zone captain for the Outer Banks Surfrider Foundation’s annual OBX Beach Sweep and TrashFest on Sept. 22. Both locals and visitors gathered at multiple accesses to remove trash from the beach. While the sweep had been planned far in advance,…
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This page has been updated with new information regarding the event. The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 2018 Low Country Boil is set to take place on Oct. 28 from 5-8 p.m. at the Hanover Seaside Club. The event will feature fresh shrimp, beer provided by Waterman’s Brewing Company and wine provided by SeaGlass wines, live…
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August wraps up a summer-long program led by the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s office in Ocean. The summer began with a group of third- and fourth-graders from Maysville Elementary School who visited Emerald Isle in May. The group spent the day hiking the nature trail at Emerald Isle Woods Park and later went to the…
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Hundreds of people attended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PFAS Community Engagement Event on Tuesday, Aug. 14, in Fayetteville. PFAS are a group of man-made industrial chemicals – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – that include GenX. Although research on the potential effects of these emerging compounds is limited, scientific evidence associates these compounds with adverse human…
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A federal judge sided with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and other conservation groups Thursday when he issued an injunction that blocked the federal administration’s attempt to suspend the Clean Water Rule. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) represented the federation, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Waterkeeper, American Rivers, Chattachoochee Riverkeeper, Clean Water…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation recently signed on to a comment letter written by the Southern Environmental Law Center in opposition to the proposed Well Control Rule changes. The Well Control Rule (WCR) was put into place after the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, Deepwater Horizon. The rule was created to make offshore drilling…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation is teaming up with the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Environmental Science Department, East Carolina Council (ECC) and Pine Knoll Shores to create a watershed restoration plan for the coastal community in Carteret County. The Pine Knoll Shores watershed restoration planning process began early this year and the plan is…
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A total of 37 people attended a field trip to the Wanchese office with Mano al Hermano, including students and adults. Mano al Hermano serves the Latino community in Dare County. One of its programs is a Family Literacy Program that provides free home-based tutoring. The field trip that took place is a culmination of…
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On Aug. 9, the North Carolina Coastal Federation hosted a Living Shorelines Open House. At the open house, waterfront homeowners were invited to learn more about what they could do to prevent shoreline erosion on their property. While some homeowners at the event simply wanted to gain new insight into the work of the…
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Wanchese office intern and North Carolina State Unversity student, Kadie Midgett, has spent her past two summers working at the federation’s Northeast office. This summer she has worked to develop new applications for the federation’s monitoring efforts. Kadie has spent 240 hours, funded by the Golden LEAF Scholars Leadership Program, completing two Android apps for…
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Video by Mark Hibbs North Carolina becomes the first state in the Southeast and sixth in the nation to launch a state Shellfish Initiative as state officials made the announcement on Aug. 2 at a public event at N.C. State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. Approximately 75 people attended, including scientists, state…
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WANCHESE — The North Carolina Coastal Federation worked with a local contractor to deploy 25 oyster reef balls along the shoreline at their office in the Wanchese Marine Industrial Park last week. These oyster reef balls are made from concrete and designed with lots of surface area for baby oysters to attach to and grow…
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The North Carolina Coastal Federation’s Wanchese office has been busy this summer working with local community groups. Recently, staff helped to lead activities for a Kitty Hawk Cub Scout Troop. The troop and their parents visited a living shoreline at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. The group of 21 Cub Scouts, rising second through fifth graders,…
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Last week, the Wanchese office joined Jennette’s Pier for a week-long summer camp for teenagers called Green Teens. The week was filled with coastal explorations and allowed the teens to focus on service and volunteering. The seven campers helped the North Carolina Coastal Federation make 150 oyster bags that they then placed on the shoreline at…
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CARTERET COUNTY – Last week the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Community-based Restoration Program announced it recommended $950,000 for the North Carolina Coastal Federation and partners to continue work on the Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary. With the funding, the federation and its partners plan to expand the 25-acre project to an almost 40-acre project in…
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For folks interested in conserving and protecting North Carolina’s open spaces, the state’s recently approved budget brought some good news. The new budget includes important increases in open space conservation funding. The Clean Water Management Trust Fund – perhaps the state’s most important funding source for open space protection – received an additional $4 million…
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SWANSBORO— While most parking lots are designed to get the rain off site as quickly as possible, the Town of Swansboro and the North Carolina Coastal Federation have partnered to install a parking lot at Town Hall that will actually let stormwater soak into the ground. The new public parking lot, located between Town Hall…
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On Thursday, June 28, the North Carolina Coastal Federation gave a group of North Carolina Association of County Agricultural Agents (NCACAA) a tour of the living shoreline at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. NCACAA helps communities learn about research and resources that help benefit their livelihoods. These agents were interested in agriculture…
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