Transportation officials plan to begin building in January a temporary sandbag structure that wouldn’t otherwise meet coastal development rules along Highway 12 by the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center in Rodanthe.
Coastal commission lawyer: CAMA a 50-year ‘balancing act’
Coastal Resources Commission legal counsel Mary Lucasse, speaking during a recent legal symposium in New Bern, said the Coastal Area Management Act balances development and private property rights with protecting natural resources.
The Down East way: Harkers Island to celebrate waterfowl
This weekend, Carteret County’s historic traditions — and food — take the spotlight with the three-day Waterfowl Weekend, including the 36th annual Core Sound Decoy Festival.
Black bears’ resurgence reflects acceptance, economic spur
Conservation efforts and reforestation have allowed the species to rebound in rural northeastern North Carolina, providing a food source for families here and luring “high-net-worth” hunters and visitors.
Eastern NC’s black bears: How hunters helped save a species
Special report: The state’s black bear population was in trouble 50 years ago, but research and conservation measures put in place in the decades since — with hunters’ “direct cooperation” — have enabled the species to recover, although not everyone is happy.
Waste discharge agreement moves toward becoming rule
The Environmental Management Commission has advanced proposed changes that would codify an existing, long-term agreement with an association of wastewater dischargers into the Tar-Pamlico River Basin.
Whales that use echolocation mistake plastic for prey: study
A Duke University doctoral candidate in a new study found that deep-diving whales that rely on sound to forage for food are mistaking plastic for prey.
Dare puts ‘OBX Folklore’ on the map in time for Halloween
Dare County gets in on spooky season with its new interactive map that features more than 30 tales, legends and ” mysterious occurrences” connected to the Outer Banks.
Science panel applies 2022 sea level report projections to NC
The Coastal Resources Commission’s science panel has released its “North Carolina 2024 Sea Level Rise Science Update” that applies the findings of a 2022 federal-level sea level rise technical report to North Carolina.
Ever-worsening wildfire threat burns closer to cities, towns
Longer, dryer droughts, warmer seasons year-round — the outlook for wildfires is increasingly grim as the state rapidly grows with already more acreage considered wildland-urban interface than any other state.
Caution increasingly needed as fall wildfire season arrives
Special report: People cause 99% of wildfires, and half of those are due to carelessness, according to the North Carolina Forest Service, all while climate change is making conditions worse.
NC Oyster Month makes October a shucking good time
This is the fourth year the state has celebrated the ecologically and economically important mollusks.
Groups who joined to take on marine debris assess progress
Five years into a coastwide plan to address marine debris in North Carolina waters, those behind the plan met last week to judge their effort and consider the message going forward.
National Estuaries Week sheds light on fragile habitats
National Estuaries Week, Sept. 21-28, is a celebration of economically and ecologically vital and sensitive ecosystems, and there’s still time to take part and learn more.
BOEM begins planning second Atlantic offshore wind lease
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is in the early stages of planning to determine new wind energy areas for the Central Atlantic region.
Storm thrashes NC coast: historic rainfall, crumpled roads
Brunswick and New Hanover counties each saw more than 15 inches of rainfall over the past two days as the storm that formed off the East Coast came ashore near Myrtle Beach.
