The University of North Carolina Wilmington’s benchmark that tracks companies earning revenue via ocean resources has performed poorly since Trump returned to office.
News & Features
Ports, suppliers in 40 states are invested in offshore wind
A new report from an ocean advocacy group finds that billions of dollars have been invested in U.S. ports in gearing up for or actively serving the offshore wind energy, which has created thousands of jobs, just as the new administration levels its anti-renewables sights at the industry.
Researchers to develop heat policy, risk interactive map
Duke’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub has been awarded $500,000 to design a web-based tool that is to help inform heat policies, assess heat risks in rural and coastal communities, and facilitate collaboration.
Conservationists seek Farm Act changes to boost land gifts
Officials with land trusts across the state are concerned that incentives in the law that took effect Jan. 1 may not be enough to entice property owners to donate.
Buxton Beach is clean but advisory board sees work ahead
While the visible and odorous signs are now gone, a panel formed to oversee environmental restoration sees remaining challenges at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore site where a secret submarine survey base once operated.
National Park Service looks to protect Fort Raleigh shoreline
Recognized as the last known location of “the Lost Colony,” officials are considering three different options to stabilize about a mile of shoreline at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.
Dare commissioners vow fight over Wanchese land price
Dare County commissioners, during a special meeting Wednesday, agreed to again attempt to negotiate a deal with the developer of a controversial high-density residential development in Wanchese, but also didn’t rule out condemnation as an option.
EPA to NC: Solvent discharge limits deadline ‘mandatory’
A pending lawsuit notwithstanding, the Environmental Protection Agency has put North Carolina on notice: There’s no extension of the time frames for addressing the federal agency’s objections regarding the discharge of 1,4 dioxane into waters upstream of the Cape Fear.
Coastal Land Trust secures final million to buy ‘The Point’
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is awarding $1 million to the state and conservation organizations to protect the 150-acre, undeveloped tract at the southern end of Topsail Beach.
Biden makes protections from offshore drilling permanent
President Joe Biden on Monday used his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw from new oil development the entire East Coast, eastern Gulf of Mexico, West Coast, and remainder of Alaska’s northern Bering Sea.
Future U.S. 64 wildlife crossings aim to spare red wolves
The U.S. Federal Highway Administration has awarded NCDOT $25 million to construct wildlife crossings that can provide safe passage for the critically endangered species.
Roanoke aquarium cares for 576 cold-stunned sea turtles
Of the nearly 600 cold-stunned sea turtles brought to the N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island earlier this month, as of Friday, 399 have been warmed up and released.
Commission OKs sandbag variance for NC 12 on Pea Island
Transportation officials plan to begin building in January a temporary sandbag structure that wouldn’t otherwise meet coastal development rules along Highway 12 by the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge visitor center in Rodanthe.
Oyster farmers argue penalty too harsh for minor violations
Shellfish farmers are petitioning the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission to change the punishment for what farmers call clerical errors and minor permit violations.
Winter Waterfowl Excursion to resume after 4-year pause
The Coastal Culture and Waterfowl Watching Excursion, a two-day adventure through Pamlico, Hyde and Dare counties, is being offered twice next year.
Inundation-prone Sledge Forest site set for development
A sprawling, “rare, old-growth forest” on the banks of the Northeast Cape Fear River in New Hanover County that’s a key part of the river floodplain is targeted for a massive 4,000-home golf course/equestrian development with few options for opponents to stop it.