Officials in the three Topsail Island towns see improvement in the chronic street flooding that had long been a problem after an agreement to take on an island-wide resiliency project.
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Opinion: Water, water, everywhere; when’s it safe to drink?
Guest commentary: We need the North Carolina General Assembly to step up and protect their constituents as the EPA rolls out its stated plans to eliminate nationwide drinking water standards for PFAS, a known human health risk.
DEQ chief announces resilience grants during coastal visit
Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Harkers Island Monday to announce $300,000 in grants awarded for eight projects to bolster resilience to natural disasters.
Nonprofit that cares for Shackleford’s wild horses turns 30
The Foundation for Shackleford Horses is commemorating three decades of advocacy with a special program on Harkers Island featuring behavioral ecologist Dr. Dan Rubenstein, who has studied the herd for decades and helped draft the legislation approved in 1998 to protect the wild herd.
Found archival photos add new wrinkles to Pea Island story
Historical columnist Joan Collins shares a collection of recently discovered photographic negatives stored in tins at the State Archives with 19 images depicting the Pea Island U.S. Coast Guard Station crew in 1938 and the new questions the photos bring to light.
Fish tales: Sorting fact from fiction isn’t really the point
Those indelible memories, sometimes made more grandiose with the passage of time, but treasured nonetheless, and they’re all that we take with us when we go.
Corps presses toward fall decision on $1.3 billion harbor plan
The federal final environmental impact statement for the proposed channel deepening and widening at the N.C. Port of Wilmington is nearing the final approval stage, but Cape Fear area residents and advocates say their objections and questions about potential effects remain unanswered.
‘There’s no way’: Hanig decries rationale, rush to toll ferries
Sen. Bobby Hanig says the Jan. 1 deadline is impossible, but legislative leaders have so far refused to budge on the date by which the Ferry Division must implement tolling for the four state ferries that now are free to ride.
‘If there’s magic’: Coastal Federation honors water’s guardians
The North Carolina Coastal Federation honored more than a dozen individuals and groups this year during the 23rd annual Pelican Awards held Saturday in Morehead City.
‘Peering into the black box of nutrition’: Study tracks diets
Dr. Rachel Noble of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Institute of Marine Sciences and colleagues used technology developed to track COVID-19 in municipal wastewater to now track populations’ dietary habits so their nutritional health may be studied and improved.
My uncommon interactions with common snapping turtles
Snapping turtles have quite the reputation, a larger-than-life mystique rife with legend and lore, but despite their fierce appearance, they are rarely aggressive toward humans while in the water, but on dry land — mind your fingers!
DEQ staff ready update to fisheries habitat protection plan
North Carolina’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, a long-term strategy for supporting coastal fisheries, is due for its five-year update, and the three state commissions that adopt rules for air and water quality, state fisheries, and coastal development, respectively, are set to soon send draft changes out for public comment.
Not just eye candy; flowers, pollinators they attract are vital
Flowers symbolize so many things — they say so much — but to really appreciate blooms is to get to know them and their essential food-producing, life-giving roles better.
Fishing spartina flats yields prize catches — with experience
Know the right gear for varying conditions and avoiding the snags that can rid you of your costly tackle. Capt. Gordon has suggestions.
Section 408: Missing from Cape Fear Memorial Bridge talks
Guest commentary: The project to replace the aging Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, if handled well, will for generations connect residents, military interests, the seaport and segments of the state’s economy, but a recent determination under the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 changes the discussion.
State budget eliminates Office of Environmental Education
The budget Gov. Josh Stein signed earlier this month eliminated the state Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs, which was created in 1993 and has since become a model for other states.
