Recently exposed petroleum contamination at the old site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, where the Navy and later the Coast Guard formerly operated, is but one nasty aspect of the abandoned installations’ environmental legacy.
Park Service taps nonprofit fund to buy 2 Rodanthe houses
Details emerged last week on a pilot program in which the Cape Hatteras National Seashore purchased two threatened oceanfront houses in Rodanthe, but challenges remain.
Outrigger club completes second leg of coastal NC trek
Wrightsville Beach Outrigger Canoe Club paddlers recently completed a three-day, 125-mile journey from Swansboro to Cape Hatteras in a traditional oceangoing Polynesian canoe to raise awareness of risks to water quality.
USFWS plans to chemically treat part of Lake Mattamuskeet
The EPA warning label for an algaecide proposed for use in a trial project at algal-bloom-plagued Lake Mattamuskeet cites the product’s potential risks to birds.
Refuge’s 15-year water plan a conservation balancing act
Maintaining the natural dynamic between fire and water in Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge is key in the latest plan to restore, protect and conserve this unusual landscape.
Murray Bridges, NC soft-crab industry pioneer, dies at 89
Bridges, who owned and operated Endurance Seafood Co. off Colington Road since 1976, was the second person confirmed to have died from Vibrio in Dare County since July.
Scientist urges more Vibrio awareness as risk moves north
Recent data finds that warming coastal waters from climate change impacts have resulted in Vibrio wound infections spreading north along the East Coast, and those with health issues are urged to immediately seek medical attention if exposed.
Settlement reached in challenge over red wolf management
Wildlife conservation groups announced Wednesday a court settlement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that ensures continuation of successful management strategies and public engagement to restore the world’s only population of wild red wolves in northeastern North Carolina.
Murphy assures Dare board: Corps will do study if funded
The Corps of Engineers is committed to conducting the required feasibility study of a sand project along the highly erosion-prone Rodanthe beach on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore if funded, Rep. Greg Murphy has told Dare County officials.
Details emerge on plans for Fort Raleigh’s interpretive trail
The seven exhibits along the Freedom Trail will interpret various aspects of the Black experience on Roanoke Island.
Climate peril, insurance, sand costs: No easy fix in Rodanthe
A possible inflection point in property insurance markets, a proposed $40 million beach nourishment project, talk of a needed act of Congress — officials struggle with at-risk oceanfront homes in Rodanthe.
Federation, law center call for enforcement of existing law
The Southern Environmental Law Center has sent letters on behalf of the North Carolina Coastal Federation to two government agencies pressing for current laws and rules to be enforced regarding leaking septic systems on the Rodanthe oceanfront.
Artifacts appear to confirm ‘first contact’ at Roanoke Island
A copper ring and bits of pottery recently found in a layer of soil 3 feet deep on Roanoke Island are consistent with the site of the Algonquian village where English explorers arrived.
After 200th celebration, Ocracoke Light set for restoration
Thursday marks the 200th anniversary celebration of the Ocracoke Light Station, an event to be livestreamed on Facebook, and officials look to a $2 million project to preserve the historic site amid rising sea levels.
Waterways panel eyes Avon, emergency ferry harbors
Now that the dredge Miss Katie has improved conditions in Hatteras Inlet’s Connector Channel, the Dare County Waterways Commission is looking ahead to long-discussed projects in Avon Harbor and the Stumpy Point emergency ferry harbor.
Commission approves septic rule changes, flood disclosure
The state Coastal Resources Commission took separate actions last week to clarify two persistent issues: septic systems on the public beach, and residential flooding.
