With no dredging currently in the works and a busier-than-average hurricane season forecast, the Dare County Waterways Commission agreed this week to alert county commissioners that the emergency evacuation channel from Hatteras Island is dangerously shoaled.
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Ocracoke visitors share their success in dimming the lights
Kaye and Rick Kohler, longtime Ocracoke vacationers, shared during their recent stay how artificial light harms people and wildlife and how they helped their community park back home in Virginia get certified as a Dark Skies Park.
Cooper declines to sign bill delaying catch-reporting rule
The controversial measure that requires recreational anglers and commercial fishermen to report their catch of five named species takes effect late next year.
Sea turtle deaths lead to federal review for nuclear plant
Because the deaths exceed the allowable limit for the federally listed species, the plant near Southport is to undergo an Endangered Species Act review.
‘Magical’ family fishing trips fueled Seth Vernon’s passions
Wilmington conservationist filmmaker, guide and lifelong angler Seth Vernon seeks to preserve the passions of fly fishing and ecology for future generations.
Measure gives Bald Head Island OK to study adding groin
Village officials say the bill allows the option to study whether a terminal groin would be viable in controlling erosion at the east end of the island’s south beach, but it remains unclear whether it will happen.
Legislature to revisit significant archaeological resources
Sen. Norm Sanderson last week vowed to again take up measures to deal “with all the archaeological situations that we have in North Carolina that have kind of sprung up on us recently.”
Forecasters, lifeguards warn: Rip currents are deadly
Rip currents have killed four times as many people in the Carolinas since 2000 as tornados, floods and wind combined, a National Weather Service official said.
The Road to Mashoes
Historian David Cecelski’s curiosity about the small Dare County community led to a deep dive into the old fishing village.
Eleven students attend Marine Patrol’s first summer camp
Young cadets recently completed the inaugural North Carolina Marine Patrol Junior Academy, an immersive educational experience geared to provide a glimpse into the officers’ daily routine.
St. James folk bask among beauty, birds certification brings
The town of St. James in Brunswick County recently became the only coastal town to become a Certified Community Wildlife Habitat, a relatively easy-to-get distinction through a National Wildlife Foundation program.
Judge Boyle rejects preliminary injunction in wetlands case
District Court Judge Terrence Boyle last week denied Robert White’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the Pasquotank County man’s challenge to Clean Water Act enforcement against him.
Bald Head Island Conservancy questions groin bill logic
The nonprofit’s executive director, whom the village council invited to make a presentation Friday, urged a smart decision regarding marine life and terminal groin law changes pending in Raleigh.
Bill change adds terminal groin, limits historical site rules
Language to “rein in” the Division of Coastal Management’s authority has been removed, but a Coastal Area Management Act review could return during the next session.
No recreational flounder season likely this year; here’s why
The agency that manages inland waters is looking for public input on a proposed temporary rule to close recreational flounder season in inland waters for 2024.
Biologists, advocates push for more wildlife crossing funds
Proponents of the federal Red Wolf Recovery Program say more protected highway wildlife crossings in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge would benefit all species.
