The State Energy Office recently announced a $5 million investment to provide accessible post-disaster emergency power by deploying permanent and mobile small-scale solar and battery storage systems.
Waves again reveal Buxton pollution; Corps vows removal
“We are dedicated to finding the petroleum contamination and removing it,” said Army Corps of Engineers District Commander Col. Ron Sturgeon earlier this week.
Center for Biological Diversity sues feds over red wolf listing
The nonprofit conservation group is challenging the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging it acted illegally in deciding to continue classifying the critically endangered population of red wolves as “nonessential,” a designation of lesser protections.
Judge blocks pilot Lake Mattamuskeet algaecide application
A federal court decision Wednesday blocks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from using a potentially harmful algaecide at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a compound that environmental groups argued would endanger the waterfowl the refuge is supposed to protect.
Commission asks to use county dredge in emergency channel
The Dare County Waterways Commission has voted unanimously to request county commissioners pursue permitting the Miss Katie dredge to maintain the troublesome Rodanthe-Stumpy Point emergency ferry channel for Hatteras Island.
Federal cuts lead to unease for state’s wildlife refuges
Amid dramatic funding cuts, leaders of the nonprofits that support national wildlife refuges in the northeastern part of the state fear what’s ahead for these protected lands.
Four-day fête honors Jockey’s Ridge State Park’s 50th year
Preserved from development by Carolista Baum, a mother of young children, who blocked a bulldozer, declared a National Natural Landmark and made a state park 50 years ago, an occasion recently celebrated by officials and throngs of visitors.
Longtime Outer Banks fish house opens doors to new facility
Jeffrey’s Seafood has a new facility in Hatteras Village that houses equipment to process fresh seafood, a retail store and plans are underway for a small restaurant that will feature local catch.
Cracks in lighthouse walls will stall, increase restoration costs
Halfway into the $19.2 million project to restore Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, potentially dangerous cracks were discovered in critical structural components of the tower’s ironwork, creating inevitable project delays and unbudgeted cost increases.
Coastal Commission rejects effort to drop rules lawsuit
Coastal Resources Commissioner Jordan Hennessy garnered only two other votes last week for his effort to withdraw from the commission’s successful lawsuit challenging the state Rules Review Commission, which is set to appeal the ruling.
Hatteras windsurfing spot mirrors US-Canada tensions
A windsurfing and kiteboarding destination off Hatteras Island known as Canadian Hole and the businesses that support visitors from up north have become a microcosm and barometer of a newly fraught international relationship.
Decades on, mid-Currituck bridge plan faces same hurdles
Fifty years after the need for a bridge between mainland Currituck County and its barrier island beaches was first identified, and 30 years after a draft planning document for the proposed mid-Currituck bridge was first released, a recent public meeting revealed that the same issues are still being vigorously debated, costs have skyrocketed, and funding is still lacking.
Mattamuskeet’s invasive carp boycott carp-removal effort
“What we found is we’re not finding the carp numbers in the lake that we thought were there,” Kendall Smith, refuge manager at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, told the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan Core Stakeholder Team at a recent meeting.
As NC wind energy projects advance, uncertainty rules
In the wake of Trump’s executive order barring new offshore wind leases and requiring reviews of existing and permitted wind projects, industry supporters worry about what rules, permits or projects could be affected and the broader implications for manufacturers and the workforce.
Buxton Beach is clean but advisory board sees work ahead
While the visible and odorous signs are now gone, a panel formed to oversee environmental restoration sees remaining challenges at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore site where a secret submarine survey base once operated.
Darrell Collins remembered for giving life to Wrights’ story
“He found a way to blend science and history and art to paint a picture that resonated with everybody that entered this building,” Scott Babinowich with the National Park Service Outer Banks Group said Saturday.
