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.
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‘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.
Find a special bottle in the water and you can help scientists
Deploying trackable floating bottles, researchers are working to better understand how litter gets into waterways and travels downstream, with an effort to pinpoint litter hotspots and identify correlations between storms and the volume of trash that enters individual streams during those storms.
North Carolina’s seagrass habitat continues to decline: Study
The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership has found that the extent of seagrass meadows in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary decreased by at least 16,000 acres over a 14-year period, “despite suitable habitat available for expansion.”
NC coast is state’s greatest investment; new budget treats it so
Commentary: Bipartisan agreement this year, combined with nurtured relationships, sound science and practical problem-solving, resulted in permanent funding to rid coastal waters of abandoned and derelict vessels and money for projects that improve water quality, bolster resilience and help preserve the natural resources that sustain economy and our quality of life.
Indigenous environmental justice: Author links culture, water
Duke University professor and member of the Lumbee Tribe Dr. Ryan Emanuel is Coastal Carolina Riverwatch’s guest speaker next week in Morehead City to discuss links between historic Indigenous oppression and present-day efforts to promote environmental justice and Indigenous rights.
Residents urge mining firm to find other expansion options
New Hanover County residents and environmentalists spoke out Tuesday against Martin Marietta’s planned Castle Hayne quarry mine expansion, urging other alternatives that would lessen threats to water quality, wetlands and aquifer levels.
Budget, donors, grants total $31 million for wildlife crossings
Wildlife advocates are hailing the recently approved state budget for including $10 million of a $31 million project to build 11 protected road crossings for wildlife with corresponding fencing along 2.5 miles of U.S. 64 from the east end of East Lake on the Dare County mainland to west of Robertson Landing Road by 2031.
Fibonacci plus his golden ratio equal sunflower mathematics
If you have ever marveled at a sunflower’s complex beauty, then you’ve seen one example of the ubiquitous sequence introduced to Westerners by an Italian mathematician named Leonardo Fibonacci.
Coastal Land Trust director set to step back, become adviser
North Carolina Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Harrison Marks is officially stepping down as executive director to assume the role of senior adviser for the Wilmington-based nonprofit organization.
