On a recent trip to New Hampshire, historian David Cecelski pored over historic accounts and survivors’ sworn affidavits pertaining to shipwrecks, storm damage, insurance claims and the North Carolina coast.
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Proposed state rules on discharges defanged as EPA retreats
The Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement this week that it will rescind and reexamine four expected PFAS rules follows a state Environmental Management Commission committee’s opaque decision stalling proposed surface water rules on three compounds.
Trolling the best way to cover lots of water in search of a bite
Among all the saltwater fishing methods, one way is best when you know fish are out there and you want to keep bait in the water for as long as possible — and it has nothing to do with social media or Scandinavian folklore.
Sam’s Field Notes: Migratory owls and climate change
Naturalist Sam Bland and his wife Bright, while in western Wyoming, recently trekked into the night to observe a researcher who specializes in capturing, banding and monitoring the movements of northern saw-whet owls, a threatened species here in North Carolina.
Harbor seal spotted in Beaufort: anomaly or harbinger?
The harbor seal spotted this spring swimming in Beaufort’s Taylors Creek has inspired a team of researchers to reconstruct the timeline of this species in North Carolina.
Draft state rules for 1,4-dioxane, PFAS dischargers delayed
State staff need more time before presenting draft monitoring requirements for dischargers of PFAS and 1,4-dioxane for the Environmental Management Commission to consider.
Coastal towns awarded resilience grants see funding pulled
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grants program, known as BRIC, a funding source for communities working to be better prepared for the next flood or weather catastrophe, has been axed as “wasteful” spending, leaving local governments in financial binds.
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.
Secotan Alliance event ‘to bring Wingina out of the shadows’
The program, “In the Spirit of Wingina 2: Our Women, Our Words, Our Water,” set for May 30-31 in Nags Head and Manteo will highlight Chief Wingina’s Secotan Alliance, and general Indigenous environmental history, with a concentration on the roles of women.
Coastal commission OKs limited use of wheat straw bales
The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission has changed an oceanfront development rule to allow wheat straw bales be used under certain conditions as an alternative to sand fencing to try and fend off erosion, a move environmental and wildlife groups oppose.
Bald Head Island’s abundant deer spur management talks
The village council is in discussions on how to manage the growing number of deer that populate the Brunswick County island.
Preventing Environmental Hazards Act a commonsense bill
Guest opinion by Congressman Greg Murphy: Allowing National Flood Insurance Program payouts to remove a threatened oceanfront structure before it collapses, rather than wait until it creates an environmental disaster, will add flexibility while mitigating risks.
Don’t be bugged by bugs, they show us if a garden is healthy
In today’s Budding Wisdom, Heidi Skinner writes about the two kinds of bugs: “the ones we love and the ones we loathe” and “whether we like them or not, insects definitely have their place.”
Senate bill pushes for prohibiting, fining for balloon releases
After lobbying, letter writing, cajoling and presentations, “one-woman crusader” Debbie Swick of Southern Shores has seen her efforts to ban balloon releases become a bipartisan-supported senate bill.
Historian David Cecelski: Carolina coast still worth the fight
The recent shackling of the Environmental Protection Agency “foreshadows the breathtaking descent back into the worst days of our coastal past, when our estuaries, our beaches, our fisheries and the sources of our drinking water were a free-for-all, open to plunder, pillaging and poisoning.”
For gardening success, it’s all about timing — and old wisdom
The endless old sayings about when to plant are never failsafe, but there is ancient understanding of the natural world, and following its cycles can improve your odds, no matter what kind of gardener you may be.
