Debbie Swick, in partnership with the Outer Banks Anglers Club, has launched a monofilament recovery and recycling program using collection vessels at sites across the Outer Banks.
Spotlight
Chance encounter reveals shared family history of service
Joan Collins, director of outreach and education with the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc., relates how she happened to meet Johnnie Van Willis of Marshallberg and the discovery of what their two families have in common.
Topsail Islanders amp up calls for hold on new shellfish leases
Densely allocated shellfish leases and the resulting conflicts and complaints have prompted a yearslong pause on new leases in New Hanover County and other nearby waters, and Topsail Island officials say a temporary moratorium on new leases is also needed in Stump Sound in Onslow and Pender counties.
First document to declare independence celebrated in Halifax
The first official action taken toward Independence by any colony was commemorated this past weekend with numerous dignitaries and more than 300 turning out for “Halifax Resolves Days.”
Proposed industrial wastewater rules ‘completely inadequate’
Nearly all who spoke Tuesday during a public hearing in Fayetteville criticized the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s proposed industrial discharge rules fail to protect the drinking water supply of people who live farther down the Cape Fear River.
Ocracoke decoy festival to highlight Eddie O’Neal’s carvings
Lifelong waterman and islander Eddie O’Neal is the featured carver for this year’s Ocracoke Island Waterfowl Festival Friday and Saturday in the Ocracoke School gym.
EPA adds microplastics, pharmaceuticals to contaminant list
In a first, the Environmental Protection Agency has included microplastics and pharmaceuticals on its draft list of substances in public drinking water that are unregulated but merit further scientific scrutiny.
Plant sale to offer species that support wildlife, enhance yards
The 39th annual Master Gardener Volunteer Association will host a four-day plant sale in Wilmington beginning April 16.
Scientists record female sperm whales assisting in calf’s birth
A research team was working the summer of 2023 off the coast of Dominica when they made the “impossibly rare” observation of a mother sperm whale giving birth and the newborn assisted by the other whales in taking its first breath, all while recording their underwater vocalizations.
Coastal Federation announces 800-acre Carteret acquisition
The close to 800 acres is expected to further the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s mission to protect water quality, while supporting military readiness, as well as to provide a new official portion of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the environmental group said Monday.
Mapping upgrades go live in online flood blueprint tool
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s online tool designed to help local governments, agencies and nongovernmental partners plan and prioritize flood resilience actions now includes new maps for five river basins in Eastern North Carolina.
Corps says initiative will streamline infrastructure permitting
An Army Corps of Engineers initiative announced earlier this year is geared to speed up and improve the permitting process for civil works projects, eliminating “bureaucratic delays” with new technology and tools, but when it comes to dredging and beach nourishment, nothing is as simple as that may sound.
Commercial, for-hire fishing license, permit presale is April 15
Commercial and for-hire fishers may take advantage of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries’ presales for fishing licenses and permits beginning April 15.
Don’t hate the pines but Pollen-palooza ’26 is now upon us
One day, you’ll be standing at your window, minding your own business, watching plants start to green up, and then the blast of springtime begins, but it’s hard to see why there’s so much of it.
Carolina Long Bay wind energy firm takes Trump buyout
The Interior Department’s announcement Monday that the developer of wind energy leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts had taken a $1 billion taxpayer buyout rather than proceeding marks a sharp pivot from the company’s previously stated position.
Study of past erosion-control lessons key to ongoing review
Analyzing lessons learned over decades of fighting back the ocean is critical as the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel wraps up its ongoing study of the effects of permanent beach erosion control structures such as seawalls and jetties.
