Officials agree that the public is caught in the middle of inconsistent state fisheries regulations enacted by the state Wildlife Resources Commission and Marine Fisheries Commission for inland and coastal waters, respectively.
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Dolan, Godfrey: Scientists proved Outer Banks are moving
Findings more than 50 years ago by coastal geologist Robert Dolan and husband-and-wife researchers Paul and Melinda Godfrey changed barrier island understanding and led the National Park Service to reverse longstanding policy.
North Topsail Beach empowers police to remove junk boats
Aldermen have adopted an ordinance giving the police department authority to rid the town’s navigable waters of abandoned or derelict vessels.
Foundation maps journey of its Lost Colony research
“Excavating the Lost Colony Mystery: The Map, the Search, the Discovery” is a compilation of essays and writings by historians, archaeologists and other experts on the last 20 years of research on Sir Walter Raleigh’s settlement.
Mattamuskeet carp numbers likely to be ‘a continual issue’
Refuge Manager Kendall Smith says the $1 million project to remove invasive common carp from the state’s largest freshwater lake will also require regular maintenance to restore vegetation and improve water quality.
Live Christmas trees can go back to nature after holidays
Now that the holidays are wrapping up, natural Christmas trees can find a new purpose, from restoring dunes to becoming mulch.
Excerpt: Conflict Over Water Access from ‘Time And Tide’
Outer Banks resident and author Tim Hatcher examines the long history of conflicts over water access on the North Carolina coast in this selected chapter from his 2023 book, “Time and Tide: The Vanishing Culture of the North Carolina Coast.”
Student study shines light on Outer Banks sea turtle nesting
Outer Banks Field Site undergrads who conducted a four-month study of how artificial light at night affects sea turtle nesting have presented their findings, which indicate conservation efforts may be working.
State Parks to ring in new year with First Day Hikes for all
More than 50 ranger-led First Day Hikes of varying degrees of length and difficultly are planned for New Year’s Day across the state, including here on the coast.
Winter fishing comes with perils, discomfort, big rewards
Capt. Gordon doesn’t like winter any more than anyone, but he has tips for boating the big ones that don’t seem to mind the cold.
Designer Lilias J. Morrison: Homes should ‘blend into land’
Reared in Northwest England, surrounded by botanical gardens and history, the unlikely developer says she “became a builder because local builders wouldn’t do anything except beach boxes.”
Funding boosts UNCW scientists’ work to stem coral losses
University of North Carolina Wilmington researchers recently received nearly $2 million to further study how to ethically protect coral reefs from being wiped out by disease and climate change.
Making a Way: Army Corps of Engineers 1930-1932
Historian David Cecelski has compiled a selection of photographs from an album the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Office of History discovered in their historical collections a few years ago.
Scuppernong River study takes regional look at water woes
Officials say that because water knows no boundaries, a basin-wide approach was needed to better address water management challenges on both private and public lands.
Commission restores 16 recently nullified, years-old rules
The Coastal Resources Commission on Wednesday adopted 16 emergency rules to temporarily replace the most critical of the 30 that were stripped from the books after the Rules Review Commission objected to them in October.
Hundreds celebrate opening of bridge to Harkers Island
More than 300 crowded onto the new Harkers Island bridge Tuesday to join in the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the high-rise structure — and try it on foot.