SWANSBORO —  JoAnne Powell is set to lead another season of birding cruises on the White Oak River.

The cruises, which are organized by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, are set for 10 a.m.-noon on April 14, May 19 and June 9.

Powell, who taught marine science and biology in Wilmington and Morehead City before her 34-year career as education curator at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, plans to lead the group on a slow cruise aboard a covered ferryboat through the estuaries in and around the White Oak River and Bogue Sound, including Huggins and Bear islands, looking for resident and migratory birds.

Participants are to meet at Fish House Docks, 139 Front St. Swansboro, and are asked to bring their own binoculars, water and a snack and to dress appropriately for the weather. The program fee is $20 for federation members and $25 for nonmembers. All ages are welcome, though the program is geared toward adults and older children.

Registration is required and is nonrefundable. There is a maximum of 32 participants.

Learn More

• Register for the April 14 cruise
• Register for the May 19 cruise
• Register for the June 9 cruise

Rachel Carson Reserve is part of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System, which was established by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 as amended, and is administered under NOAA’s National Ocean Service by the Estuarine Reserves Division that works in partnership with the states or territories where the reserves are located.

In 1982, North Carolina received its first federal award toward the establishment of the North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve or NCNERR. Four properties totaling more than 10,000 were selected to become components of NCNERR. Designated in 1985 were Currituck Banks, Rachel Carson and Zeke’s Island. Masonboro Island was designated in 1991.

The four properties that make up the NCNERR are part of the larger North Carolina Coastal Reserve Program, or NCCR, which contains 10 reserves. Totaling more than 32,000 acres, the state reserves are the following: Kitty Hawk Woods, the Emily and Richardson Pryer Buckridge Coastal Reserve, Buxton Woods, Permuda Island, Bald Head Woods and Bird Island.

The NCCR was authorized by the General Assembly in 1989 to protect these unique coastal locations. The goal for the NCCR is preservation of the land for long-term research, education, stewardship and public use.

Information about the state reserves can be found on the NCCR website.

• Go Strawless. Skip the straw and say, “no straw please,” when ordering beverages. Bring your own reusable straw.
• Bring your own reusable bag when shopping, especially at the grocery store.
• Bring your own reusable water bottle or coffee mug.
• Bring your own reusable cutlery. Bamboo “to-go ware” cutlery is light weight and easy to carry in your purse.
• Bring your own reusable to-go containers when dining out, or ask the waitress if you can have a piece of aluminum foil to wrap leftover food and then wash and recycle the aluminum foil.
• If you take clothes to the dry cleaners, request they do not wrap in plastic bags.
• Shop in bulk and bring your own reusable containers.
• Shop at farmer’s markets and bring your own bags.
• Bring your own reusable produce bags when grocery shopping.
• Buy fresh produce when possible that is not in plastic packaging.

RALEIGH — Black Americans bear a higher burden from the effects of particulate matter air pollution than the overall population, according to a study published Feb. 22 in the American Journal of Public Health.

The disparities for blacks are also more pronounced than are disparities based on poverty status, according to the findings by Environmental Protection Agency scientists at Research Triangle Park.

The study, which calculated the health burden from particulate matter, or PM, emissions for racial and ethnic groups and by poverty status nationally and for each state and county, found that blacks faced a 54 percent higher burden than did the overall population for small pollution particles known as PM 2.5, or no larger than 2.5 microns. These particles generally come from burning fossil fuels and are associated with increased lung and heart disease and premature death.

“Strictly socioeconomic considerations may be insufficient to reduce PM burdens equitably across populations,” researchers concluded.

Reprinted from North Carolina Health News

DuPont downplayed its own animal research regarding potential risks from the chemical GenX that the company released into the Cape Fear River for decades, a new lawsuit alleges.

And the company prolonged exposure to GenX and other compounds by not disclosing their release into the river, which feeds public drinking water systems downstream, the lawsuit filed in federal court says.

Filed by the Brunswick County government, which owns one of those water systems, the complaint delivers the most searing accusations yet regarding DuPont’s understanding of potential health risks from GenX.

“For nearly forty years, Defendants have been secretly releasing their persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic perfluorinated chemicals into the Cape Fear River at unsafe levels and contaminating the drinking water source for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians — just as they did in the Ohio River — all the while misleading state and Federal regulators and the Public,” according to the complaint.

GenX is one of a group of compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFASs, a share of which may pose harm to people.

On Wednesday, DuPont spokesman Dan Turner said company officials would respond to the new North Carolina lawsuit in court, not in the media. But he stressed that there is no evidence that chemical releases from the industrial site that DuPont built and ran for decades in Bladen County have harmed people.

“It is important to note North Carolina regulators have publicly stated that they believe the drinking water is safe,” Turner said. “Although we understand that public concern about PFCs has increased in recent years, we have no reason to believe that the discharges at issue have harmed anyone.”

Accusations regarding research in the suit are based on reviews of published research and studies DuPont submitted to EPA, said environmental attorney Scott Summy with the national law firm Baron & Budd, which is representing Brunswick County.

The lawsuit alleges the following:

• Publicly reported results of DuPont and Chemours studies on Gen X toxicity “contain misrepresentations and factual misstatements that tend to understate GenX’s potential for toxicity.”
• DuPont data show toxic effects in animals from short-term, subchronic and long-term exposure.
• GenX exposure to rats and mice prompted incidence of cancers at levels exceeding those detected in controls in the brain, liver, adrenal glands, pancreas and testicles.
• GenX posed reproductive and developmental risks to lab animals, as well as toxicity in the liver, kidneys, the hematological system, adrenal glands and stomach.
• DuPont animal studies demonstrated an association between GenX and effects found from other PFASs, including changes in the liver, kidney, pancreas, testicles and the immune system.

The lawsuit, which seeks punitive damages, is filed against DuPont, its spinoff Chemours, and the newly formed DowDuPont Inc., a recent DuPont and Dow Chemical merger. DuPont built Fayetteville Works in Bladen County, the source of this chemical contamination, in the 1970s and ran it until 2015, when its spin-off company Chemours took over.

This latest lawsuit also emphasizes that researchers have detected several PFAS compounds downstream of Fayetteville Works.

“While everyone focuses on whether any one single chemical may be above a standard, no one talks about the cumulative effects of all of them together,” Summy, the Brunswick County attorney wrote in an email on Wednesday.

The Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, which operates a water system in Wilmington, has also filed a lawsuit in federal court against DuPont and Chemours over the GenX contamination. This week the utility made clear it badly wants information on all PFAS released at the site.

The utility authority this week filed an “urgent public records” request to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality seeking all information the agency has regarding the chemical releases, even information Chemours or DuPont says is confidential.

“The identities of perfluorinated and polyfluorinated substances that pollute a river that is a public water supply source are not confidential business information and should not be withheld,” its records request letter says.

Utility officials argue they need this information to design an upgrade to its water treatment plant to capture perfluorinated and polyfluorinated substances before they reach the drinking water distribution system. Officials also wants to identify and find ways to remove any PFAS that might remain in its distribution system.

“At present, CFPUA must rely on consultants to reverse engineer the identity of the substances (i.e., find substances without knowing what they are) based only on current intake water quality,” the utility’s request states.

The organization even offered to dispatch qualified helpers to assist  DEQ offices to retrieve and copy the records if that would facilitate the process.

This story is provided courtesy of North Carolina Health News, a website covering health and environmental news in North Carolina. Coastal Review Online is partnering with North Carolina Health News to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast.

Through its subsidiaries, Enviva Holdings, LP, owns and operates plants in the Southeast that produce nearly 3 million metric tons of wood pellets annually for export to power plants in the United Kingdom and Europe that previously were fueled by coal.

Related: Conservation Effort Spares Ecology, History

The Enviva Forest Conservation Fund is a $5 million, 10-year program established in December 2015 by Enviva Holdings, a limited partnership, to permanently protect environmentally sensitive bottom-land and wetland forests. The fund awards grants annually to nonprofit organizations and government agencies for conservation projects in North Carolina and Virginia and is administered by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities.

The fund announced the following 2017 grant recipients in June:

• Ducks Unlimited – $175,000 to assist with the acquisition of more than 6,000 acres in Camden County.
• North Carolina Coastal Land Trust – $200,000 to help acquire 1,000 acres in Bertie County for a new state natural area with public access along the Chowan River and Salmon Creek. It also is the site of an archaeological study to determine if this property is where members of the Roanoke Island “Lost Colony” may have relocated for a time.
• Virginia Department of Forestry – $125,000 to support a conservation easement on more than 1,000 acres in Sussex County, Virginia.

“Our local conservation partners – Ducks Unlimited, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust – have come through with some sensational projects in this second year of the program,” said Carlton N. Owen, president and CEO of the endowment. “Not only will their good work lead to more than 8,000 acres of sensitive forestland being protected, but the public will have access to most of this property for compatible recreational uses.”

“Awards from the Enviva Forest Conservation Fund enable our partners to secure matching dollars from other funding sources,” said Brian van Eerden, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Virginia Southern Rivers Program. “The Nature Conservancy is pleased to see how Enviva’s investments are unlocking new capital and fostering public interest in conserving wetland forests. If sustained, these contributions will help achieve valuable floodplain protection for wildlife in southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina.”

Local, state and national conservation organizations submitted applications for funding to protect environmentally sensitive forests in 35 counties in the Virginia-North Carolina coastal plain, an area that is home to four wood pellet production facilities and a deepwater marine terminal owned by Enviva.

The fund is focused on bottomland forest ecosystems identified through consultation with academic and environmental organizations.

“Although the vast majority of Enviva’s wood comes from areas other than bottomland forests, Enviva will work with the Endowment to catalog and protect these four sensitive habitats and to document the company and its suppliers do not cause them harm,” according to the fund’s website.

Also, a science-based review team recommends measures to define and protect sensitive areas, which Enviva says it will incorporate into its wood supply practices.

The Enviva wood pellet domes at the Port of Wilmington became operational in December 2016.

The Enviva terminal includes two storage domes that can hold up to 45,000 metric tons of wood pellets each. Port officials estimated to ship more than 1 million tons of pellets a year with a more than $16 million annual economic impact.

The Wilmington port can receive wood pellets by truck or rail, with the rail link able to handle about half the total volume.

Learn More

• Enviva Forest Conservation Fund

The $64,607.88 contract, to be billed in 12 monthly installments, also requires that the study findings will be made public and provided to agencies including the state Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Ralph Mead, a professor in UNCW’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, is designated as the university’s representative for program and project reports and correspondence.

The first four months of the study will be devoted to establishing methodology and procedures. Sampling of raw and treated water is to begin once UNCW is confident with the methodology.

The presence of GenX and other compounds was discovered through a study conducted by North Carolina State University, the EPA and the utility authority, a report that indicated that the authority’s treatment technology is unable to remove them from the water.

GenX is a chemical replacement for another compound, C8, formerly used in the manufacturing of Teflon and other items. Other compounds detected in the study could not be identified or quantified, according to the utility authority.

The authority, as with other providers of public drinking water, is required to conduct a wide variety of tests to ensure its quality for human consumption, but the officials say other special tests are conducted for an array of contaminants.

The authority says these special tests are to stay ahead of trends and to monitor the performance of its treatment technology. Tests including monitoring for compounds that may be regulated in the future.

Learn More

• Special Compound Testing
• Contract with UNCW

Reprinted from North Carolina Health News

Although extremely serious on its own, contamination by the industrial chemical GenX in the Cape Fear River is significant beyond potential risks to the public drinking water downstream.

Public scrutiny of how the industrial chemical got there in the first place is raising awareness of scientific concerns about potential hazards from unregulated GenX and similar compounds. It is also bringing new attention to how well multiple government agencies and industry, in this case Dupont and its spinoff Chemours, protect people from potential risks.

GenX is one of many human-made compounds called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFASs. While not household names, PFASs make up a category of super-tough substances used in many common products that consumers love, including non-stick cooking pans, stain resistant carpets, waterproof clothing and food packing.

But that toughness has a downside: the chemicals stick around rather than degrade quickly once released into the environment.

U.S. companies voluntarily stopped using an older generation of PFASs, including the compound PFOA (also known as C8). Research has shown associations between exposure to some older generation PFASs and several health problems, including increases in cholesterol levels, thyroid and liver disease, pregnancy related high blood pressure (known as pre-eclampsia) and other ailments, said East Carolina University toxicologist Jamie DeWitt, who has studied GenX.

Chemours for years has heralded GenX as an improved substitute for PFOA and similar substances due to differences in its chemical structures which it was anticipated would make it less persistent in the environment, thus reducing any potential health risks. But some scientists are finding reasons to be concerned.

Chemours Co., a DuPont spinoff, repeatedly has said levels of GenX released since possibly the 1980s from its Fayetteville Works plant, upstream from Wilmington and other communities, are at levels that pose no health hazards.

In that context, persistent and big questions regarding GenX pollution in Cape Fear remain extremely important, including:

• For how long did DuPont and Chemours, the spinoff, release GenX and similar compounds?
• Have people been harmed by drinking water tainted by chemicals that they did not know tainted their water?
• Did DuPont or Chemours violate state or federal laws when releasing GenX upstream of drinking water intakes in Wilmington and nearby communities?
• Did government agencies, from the local to the federal, do all they should have to prevent the pollution?

That final question is developing political overtones in the state capitol. Republican senators recently announced a legislative hearing to question Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration regarding “inconsistencies” in its response to the discharge of GenX and how money he’s requesting “would be used to meaningfully improve water quality and public safety in the lower Cape Fear region.”

Cooper, as part of a plan to better research and monitor GenX and many other unregulated pollutants of concern in this state’s rivers, has asked the legislature for $2.58 million in funding. When he made the requests, Cooper noted that legislative budget cuts in recent years resulted in the loss of 70 positions within the state Department of Environmental Quality. Those cuts included eliminating staff available for permitting, compliance and enforcement programs.

The emerging political conflict is not sitting well with some people on the receiving end of that water in Wilmington, where GenX has been detected in drinking water, including former Mayor Harper Peterson, a Democrat active in the group Clean Cape Fear. That alliance of local groups hosted a community non-partisan forum on GenX last month.

“Let’s come with an agenda that focuses on action and address the issue: the risk of unsafe drinking water. Leave your party affiliation at the door,” Peterson said.

To keep up as this story unfolds, it’s useful to know its history, particularly what’s listed in the timeline below.

1980s: According to notes taken at a meeting with Chemours staff, the Fayetteville Works facility has produced and discharged substances identified now as GenX since the 1980s.

2002: DuPont starts producing PFOA, also known as C8, in North Carolina, at its Fayetteville Works property adjacent to the Cape Fear River on the border of Cumberland and Bladen counties. This information is according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document filed by an activist DuPont shareholder.

2004: EPA charges DuPont with violating the Toxic Substances Control Act due to multiple failures from 1981 onwards to report evidence of human health risks from PFOA in Ohio and West Virginia. Cited was evidence that a female employee had transferred the chemical to her developing fetus and confirmation of contamination of public water supplies in West Virginia and Ohio.

2005: DuPont agreed to pay $10.25 million, EPA’s largest civil administrative penalty at that time, to settle PFOA charges. It also agreed to commit another $6.25 million, partly to pay for research assessing if other DuPont products break down to form PFOA, which could result in widespread contamination.

2009: DuPont, which commits to not making, buying or using PFOA by 2015, is deploying GenX to create high-performance fluoropolymers, according to company marketing materials. EPA, in a consent agreement, requires the company to prevent GenX from escaping from any manufacturing processes with “99 percent efficiency.”

2015: A research paper is published showing that EPA scientists and collaborators, using chemical detective work, detected GenX and other newer generation PFAS compounds in the Cape Fear River.

2016: Research by Harvard scientists disclose that EPA-mandated sampling detected PFASs in public drinking-water supplies for 6 million people between 2012 and 2015. Most of those samples were collected near manufacturing facilities and other sites where they are used. North Carolina ranks third nationwide for the number of detections.

2016: A research publication by N.C. State University water chemist Detlef Knappe and others report finding GenX in untreated drinking water drawn from the Cape Fear River. The paper also notes the compound’s resistance to standard water cleaning treatments. Knappe had notified state and water utility officials of the finding before publication.

January 2017: A publication by ECU toxicologist Jamie DeWitt shows that in lab mice GenX appears to leave a body sooner and may be less potent than PFOA. That said, the chemical did generate some of the same physiological changes observed in lab studies after exposure to older generation PFAS compounds, although at lower concentrations.

June 2017: The Wilmington StarNews reports that GenX, which is unregulated, was detected but local utilities and the state, alerted to the problem by Knappe, did not publicize the findings. Residents in Wilmington and nearby towns criticize local, state and federal officials for not acting sooner.

June 2017: Chemours staff, in a closed-door meeting, tell state and local utility officials that GenX’s release, which took multiple attempts to stop, originated from a process at Fayetteville Works exempt from the EPA consent order. They also reveal that releases likely started in the 1980s. Company representatives maintain that levels released are too low to pose a hazard.

July 2017: Multiple investigations are launched:

• EPA starts investigating whether Chemours complied with the 2009 Toxic Substances Control Act consent order. Failure to do so usually results in civil and criminal penalties. The federal agency also starts assessing if changes to the consent agreement are needed.
• Federal prosecutors subpoena documents, research and monitoring data from DEQ as part of a grand jury probe.
• Attorney General Josh Stein launches a civil investigation into Chemours marketing practices regarding its representation about GenX’s safety.
• Cooper directs the State Bureau of Investigation to assess whether a criminal probe might be needed to determine if Chemours violated North Carolina law forbidding intentional violations of the U.S. Clean Water Act, or violations of the EPA consent order.

July 2017: The state Department of Health and Human Services lowered by 99.8 percent a provisional “health goal” limit for GenX amounts in drinking water, reducing it from 70,000 parts per trillion to 140 ppt. The number is a provisional estimate built with limited data of the contamination level below which exposure is unlikely to do harm to people, including developing fetuses and bottle-fed babies over a lifetime of exposure.

August 2017: Cape Fear Public Utility Authority attorneys announce plans to sue Chemours and DuPont in federal court to enforce federal Clean Water Act requirements due to the pollution.

August 2017: In a press release, Republican senators announce a plan to stage a legislative hearing regarding “inconsistencies” in the Cooper administration’s handling of GenX pollution.

August 2017: In response, DEQ Secretary Michael Regan and Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said they are ready and willing to cooperate fully. They note that in May or June 2016 the administration of former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory received information about EPA and N.C. State University research on GenX in the Cape Fear.

The letter also posed its own criticism. “We should also warn that the General Assembly is poised to eliminate a provision in G.S. 150B-19.3 that restricts regulators’ ability to address threats to public health, safety and welfare.” The text links to a conference report for House Bill 162 which was not published, but circulated to legislators, state officials and reporters.

August 2017: A group of N.C. State and ECU researchers are applying for National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences funding to test for PFASs levels in blood and urine of people living in the Cape Fear River basin.

This story is provided courtesy of North Carolina Health News, a website covering health and environmental news in North Carolina. Coastal Review Online is partnering with North Carolina Health News to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about our coast. You can read other stories about health care here.

During the Aug. 21 solar eclipse, the moon will block more than 90 percent of the Carolinas’ sunshine.

According to an article in Illumination, Duke Energy’s publication, solar energy production in the state will dramatically decrease as demand for lighting increases while the sun hides behind the moon from about 1 to 3 p.m.

This is normally a peak time for solar energy production, and Sammy Roberts, Duke Energy director of system operations, estimates solar energy output will drop from about 2,500 megawatts to 200 megawatts in one-and-a-half hours.

The article states that during the Aug. 21 eclipse, about 98 percent of sunlight will be blocked at Duke Energy’s new 500-acre solar plant in Monroe, which has given operators a challenge.

Related: Sam Bland Shines light on Aug. Eclipse

To compensate for the loss of solar energy, operators will have natural gas plants ready to step in during the eclipse. In addition to replacing the lost energy with a flexible fuel source, operators can gradually decrease solar production before the sky darkens depending on weather conditions, Roberts said, which would allow them to slowly increase natural gas energy production.

On a sunny day, North Carolina’s panels can produce enough energy to power nearly 600,000 homes.

Duke Energy manages energy from more than three quarters of the roughly 3,200 megawatts of solar power in North Carolina, but because it has a diverse mix of energy sources and a plan in place, Roberts said the company expects to meet customer demand during the eclipse.

The group, Clean Cape Fear, blames inadequate oversight, and plans to host a community discussion 6-8 p.m. Wednesday, July 5, at the Coastline Conference and Event Center at 501 Nutt St. The session will include brainstorming on ideas and plans for providing outreach and support to everyone who may be affected by the water contamination. Deborah Dicks Maxwell, president of the New Hanover County NAACP, and others will lead the discussion.

Learn More

• Clean Cape Fear

RALEIGH — The Senate budget approved Thursday includes several provisions related to recent efforts to expand the state’s oyster and aquaculture programs.

The spending plan adds $1 million each year for oyster sanctuaries, bringing the total annual spending to $1.4 million. The state’s cultch planting program to rehabilitate shellfish beds also gets a boost in funding with an additional $150,000 this year and $300,000 next year for a total of $2.3 million over the two years.

The Senate also modified last year’s requirements for a shellfish study being led by North Carolina Policy Collaboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and budgeted an additional $150,000 to the policy center to develop a shellfish mariculture plan by the end of 2018. Researchers will analyze existing programs; siting strategies; enforcement; pest elimination; and environmental policies that affect mariculture operations.

The collaboratory is also among a group of state entities,  including the state’s Economic Development Partnership, Department of Commerce and Department of Cultural and Natural Resources, that are to develop an economic development plan for promoting the state’s shellfish harvesting heritage. The plan is to include a Carolina Oyster Trail and a North Carolina Oyster Festival and is due March 1 of next year.

Another provision in the budget requires a new annual report on oyster research to be compiled by the Division of Marine Fisheries and UNC-Wilmington.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation-sponsored crab pot cleanup would receive another round of funding under the Senate plan.

The cleanup, which started last year as a pilot program, works with commercial fishermen to aid in retrieving derelict crab pots. The program is budgeted at $100,000.

The most recent cleanup in January resulted in the recovery of 4,270 derelict crab pots from coastal North Carolina waters.

Under the new budget provision the federation, which publishes Coastal Review Online, is also encouraged to find ways to reuse recovered crab pots.

Also, the legislature is requiring the federation and other nonprofits the state partners with to file an audit report. The federation, along with the High Point Furniture Market Authority, the North Carolina Biotechnology Center and RTI International, will be required to report annually.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is asking for the public’s input on the effectiveness of federal environmental regulations in an effort to downsize regulatory systems.

As part of the Trump administration’s federal government overhaul efforts, a Regulatory Reform Task Force has been asked to assess regulations and make recommendations to the EPA on whether to repeal, replace or modify existing regulations. The task force is the result of the administration’s executive order, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” which mandates that federal agencies find ways to “alleviate” the American people of regulations.

Among other points, the task force has been asked to identify jobs that:

• Eliminate or inhibit job creation
• Are outdated, unnecessary or ineffective
• Impose costs that exceed benefits
• Create inconsistency or interfere with regulatory reform initiatives

The executive order requires that the task force seek input “from entities significantly affected by Federal regulations, including State, local, and tribal governments, small businesses, consumers, non-governmental organizations, and trade associations”

The task force has requested that comments are as specific as possible.

Learn More

• Read the full request for comment
• Submit comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OA-2017-0190

The Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter will host its 22^nd annual Taste of Carteret dinner fundraiser on Friday Nov. 18 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City.

The event will feature an open bar and a buffet with food from Tight Lines, Mongolian Grill and Red Fish Grill, among others. A live band will provide entertainment and attendees can bid on items in a silent auction that includes paintings, sculptures, gift cards and jewelry.

All of the proceeds from the event will benefit OWLS, to help fund feeding, transporting, housing and meeting the medical needs of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife.

Brooke Breen, director of the shelter, said the event serves as a way to connect to the community.

“It’s a really good community support system,” she said.

OWLS is a nonprofit wildlife hospital in Newport, North Carolina that treats thousands of animals every year. The organization’s goal is to rehabilitate and release wildlife and to educate the public on how to coexist with animals. The organization, which started in 1988, relies on the generosity of the public for funding.

Tickets to the dinner are $35. Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.

To purchase a ticket, call OWLS at (252)240-1200.

To Learn More

• Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter website

The University of North Carolina’s Coastal Studies Institute’s executive director, Nancy White, will be stepping down June 30, 2017, after 14 years.

The institute is a partnership with East Carolina University, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, UNC-Wilmington and Elizabeth City State University facilitating research and education relevant to water quality, fisheries, renewable energy, maritime heritage and coastal economies.  

In an interview with the Outer Banks Sentinel, White said she was stepping down because she feels strongly about having fresh leadership.

“This is my 14th year,” she said, “It’s not like I couldn’t keep doing it, but at the end of the day I have to ask, am I really as passionate and obsessive about it as I have been? No. And is it good for somebody in this job to be that way?”

White said she will continue at the institute as a member of the faculty working to integrate art and science. She will also help raise funds for the institute.

ECU Chancellor Cecil Staton is expected to appoint a search committee to recruit White’s successor.

To Learn More

• Read the article in the Outer Banks Sentinel
• UNC Coastal Studies Institute

Mano al Hermano llevó a los niños Latinos a la playa para vadear las aguas y recoger las criaturas para examinarlas y soltarlas. Video: Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program

Translation by Ana Zivanovic Nenadovic; Read this story in English.

NAGS HEAD — He aquí un reto: Ver niños que vadean en el estrecho en Jockey’s Ridge State Park, chillando de alegría al ver a una criatura en un cubo. Los niños que probablemente nunca han visto o agarrado un ser vivo tan baboso. Trate de no sonreír.

Fue un día de calor abrasador, pero algunos de los niños de la edad de la escuela primaria en su viaje de campo con el programa de verano Mano al Hermano, vacilaron a meterse en el agua. Habían pasado el verano leyendo libros sobre el medio ambiente, pero era diferente verlo de cerca. De pie, en sus zapatillas de deporte metidos en el agua hasta los tobillos en la playa, observaron a sus amigos, que sumergían redes y cubos en el agua turbia en torno de la hierba de la marisma salina.

Cuando un adulto en el agua anunció que tenía un cubo lleno de “cosas interesantes”, eso ya era demasiado para resistir. Una docena de niños pululó alrededor del cubo para mirar a las criaturas que habían sido temporalmente capturadas.

“¿Quieres echarle un vistazo?” invitó Ladd Bayliss, defensora de la costa, empleada en la Federación de la Costa de Carolina del Norte, que se ofreció a ayudar durante la visita de campo.

“¡Vaya! ¡Vaya! “Exclamaron los niños.

Eso es un camarón bebé, dijo Sara Hallas, la educadora de la federación. Y aquí está una pequeña corvina, agregó, señalando a un pez lindo de color plata. ¡Y miren! Aquí está un camarón bebé que está tratando de salir. ¿Quién sabía los camarones podían saltar tan bien!

“Ooooooooooo!” Los niños murmuraron, mirando fijamente a los animales.

Hallas recogió del cubo lo que parecía un largo trozo de hierba. Se movió. “Se llama un pez pipa,” explicó a los niños obviamente impresionados. “Está emparentado con un caballito de mar.”

Este año es el segundo verano que la federación se ha asociado con Mano al Hermano para participar en el Programa de Alfabetización Familiar, una organización sin ánimos de lucro. La misión de Mano al Hermano es capacitar a las familias latinas del condado de Dare mediante la educación y otras formas de apoyo para ayudarles a integrarse en la comunidad.

La federación recibió una concesión de $3,550  de la Asociación Nacional del Estrecho de Pamlico Albemarle para cubrir el coste del viaje de campo y los libros para unos 55 participantes. La federación también se comprometió a añadir $3,600 en especie a través de las horas del personal, los voluntarios y suministros adicionales.

Marely Hernández, una niña de 8 años de edad, estudiante de Manteo Elementary School que estaba esperando para caminar hacia el estrecho, dijo que el programa le encantó tanto el año pasado y que a pesar de haber visto a una serpiente decidió volver.

“Después de verla, todavía entré al agua”, recordó. “El agua era impresionante. Caminamos por la arena. Era como un desierto. Aprendí mucho sobre los animales marinos que viven en el océano”.

Culminando en la visita de campo, el programa proporcionó a un voluntario que iba una vez a la semana durante una hora a la casa de una de las 75 familias participantes. El voluntario leía con los niños y hacía actividades relacionadas con los libros que estaban leyendo.  Se proporcionaron tres libros con temas costeros para los niños, estudiantes de Manteo Elementary School, Nags Head Elementary School o la First Flight Elementary School en Kill Devil Hills: “Un día en la profundidad”, por Kevin Kurtz; “La naturaleza recicla. ¿Y usted? “por Michelle Lord; y “Henry la garza impaciente,” por Donna Love.

Erica Connery, un miembro de AmeriCorps que ha servido con la federación desde febrero, participó en la visita de campo como parte de un proyecto comunitario requierido para la certificación estatal de educadores medioambientales. Se graduó en 2012 de la North Carolina State University con un título en ciencias ambientales.

Connery dijo que trabajó con dos familias durante el verano, una con tres hijos, de 5, 8 y 10 años, y otra con un niño de segundo grado y su prima de sexto grado. La mayor parte de su interacción fue con los niños, mientras que los padres se quedaban en segundo plano. Dijo que el programa de verano ayuda a los niños a mantener una conexión positiva con los libros.

“Puedo ver que están mejorando sus habilidades de lectura,” dijo.

El viaje de campo del 12 de agosto, el fin oficial del programa de verano, fue la guinda del pastel, y el gozo de los niños fue evidente durante todo el día.

“Se portaron muy bien y estuveron interesados en aprender”, señaló Connery.

Además de la programación ofrecida en el estrecho, a los niños también les rotaron en seis pequños  grupos  en una de las tres estaciones al lado del centro de visitantes del parque. En cada estación, una maestra voluntaria habló de un tema vinculado a uno de los tres libros costeros que habían leído.

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Los niños Latinos del Condado de Dare van a una excursión a la playa para conocer por primera vez todas las criaturas babosas y que viven en el agua.

Un programa se centró en el buceo a un pecio que la National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tiene previsto para finales de este mes en Hatteras. Eso tuvo una relación relevante al libro “Un día en la profundidad”. Michelle Clower, la socia de la federación, enseñó a los 10 niños sentados en una mesa de picnic bajo la sombra un experimento.  El fin era ayudar a los buceadores demostrar el efecto de la presión bajo agua sobre los buceadores y la experiencia de bucear.

“Se siente algo como que el mundo te está presionando,” Clower dijo a los niños, describiendo la sensación de estar bajo el agua muy profunda. “Es como si una vaca se iba a sentar encima de ti.”

Los niños usaron rotuladores de colores para dibujar lo que quisieran en un vaso de plástico y poner sus nombres. Los buceadores de NOAA llevarán los vasos bajo el agua en su expedición de buceo. Más tarde, los vasos serán devueltos a los niños, que podrán ver hasta qué punto la presión aplastó sus vasos.

“Probablemente va a ser más de una vaca – van a ser como 20 vacas de presión”, dijo Clower, mientras que los niños escuchaban atentos, con plumas preparadas. “Así que se van a reducir mucho”.

El programa de verano de ocho semanas es esencialmente una continuación del programa de alfabetización de Mano al Hermano, dijo Kay Minis, la directora de educación familiar para Mano al Hermano. Los maestros dijeron que habían notado una disminución de las habilidades de lectura cuando el programa se suspendió durante el verano.

Minis dijo que comenzó el programa de educación familiar en el año 2013 para ayudar a los niños entre las edades de educación preescolar hasta quinto grado tener éxito en la escuela, quedarse en ella y graduarse. Alrededor del 15 por ciento de los niños en las escuelas del Condado de Dare son latinos, dijo.

Los voluntarios ayudan con la tarea, leen a los niños y ayudan con otras necesidades de la escuela. Visitando hogares y estableciendo las relaciones pueden fomentar confianza.

Todos sos niños en el programa son ciudadanos americanos y bilingües, dijo Minis, pero sus padres a veces no tuvieron educación en su país de origen y eran muy pobres. Algunos son indocumentados y temerosos, y no hablan Inglés muy bien. Como resultado, el programa de alfabetización se ha convertido en un enlace vital entre las escuelas y las familias latinas.

Con sólo unos 30 voluntarios disponibles, dijo Minis, en la actualidad hay cerca de 40 familias en lista de espera para el programa.

Minis dijo que está intentando recaudar fondos para ampliar el programa y ayudar a los padres con los asuntos de la escuela, crianza de hijos, y conocimientos de inglés. En algún momento también le gustaría ampliar el programa de educación familiar en Hatteras.

En última instancia, el objetivo del programa es romper el ciclo de la pobreza, ofreciendo ayuda temprano, antes de que los niños se vuelvan amargos y desanimados y abandonen la escuela.

“Para mí es emocionante estar justo al nivel del comienzo,” dijo Minis. “Creo que tenemos una mejor oportunidad de ayudar ahora, en lugar de crear ese problema más adelante.”

De vuelta en el estrecho, Hallas explicó que las pequeñas criaturas detenidas en el cubo tendrían que ser devueltas al océano porque el agua va a perder el oxígeno y los animales no sobrevivirían.

En ese momento, hubo una explosión de actividad y chillidos.

“¡Oh Dios mío! Es una serpiente! “Un niño muy animado con la cabeza llena de rizos negros gritó. “La agarré!”

Llevaron el cubo a Hallas, y un grupo emocionado se estacionó alrededor, mirando la criatura negra deslizarse arriba y abajo de los lados del cubo, tratando desesperadamente salir. Hallas les informó que se trataba de una anguila americana, no una serpiente.

“Lo tengo!”, El niño, Rodrigo Calletano, recordó con orgullo a Hallas. “¿Es una anguila eléctrica? ”

No, Hallas repitió suavemente. Pero el ochoañero, Rodrigo – sus amigos le llaman

“Burrito”, dijo – no mostró decepción, y rápidamente agarró una red para encontrar más criaturas.

“Es un proyecto asombroso”, dijo Jimmie Johnson, coordinador de hábitat costero para la asociación Albemarle Pamlico, que estaba observando a los niños en el agua y tomando un vídeo. “Conectar con la comunidad latina es una parte muy importante de la ecuación. A veces pasan desapercibidos.

“Obviamente es una experiencia nueva para muchos de ellos”, agregó. “Ellos simplemente no tienen esta oportunidad.”

Warm Cranberry Bacon Dressing

In a few quick minutes, you can have this sweet ’n tangy dressing stirred up to brighten up holiday leftover vegetables, dress a bright green salad or a fall cabbage collard slaw.

4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled, drippings reserved

1/2 cup cranberry sauce

4 tablespoons reserved bacon drippings

1/4 cup good balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons juice (apple, apple cider, orange)

1 clove grated garlic

1 pinch salt, pepper, thyme and cinnamon

Warm cranberry sauce with drippings in microwave or stovetop until liquefied. Whisk in vinegar, juice, garlic and seasonings.

Note: If too thick for your preference, add a bit of your favorite salad oil for desired consistency.

Turkey Pot Pie

Who hasn’t said that after seeing those holiday leftovers one more time?  Take what you have left and throw together a crowd-pleasing pot pie. You can also make smaller pies to freeze and enjoy in the cold weeks to come. Measurements here are approximate and ingredients can vary. Just use what you have to work with. For example, if you have leftover corn, add corn. If you have green beans but not casserole, just use the green beans.

3 cups  shredded turkey

1 cup gravy

2-3 cups leftover green bean casserole

1 cup garden peas

1 cup cooked carrots

2 cups leftover sweet potatoes or sweet potato casserole. Any sort will work. White potatoes work too.

2 cups leftover turkey dressing/stuffing

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a skillet or two-quart baking dish (or, make several pies in smaller foil pans to freeze for later).  In bowl, mix together turkey, gravy and vegetables.  Spread into baking dish.  Gently fold together sweet potatoes, dressing, cheese and butter.  Dollop on top of turkey mixture.  Scatter with more cheese if desired. Place pie into heated oven. Bake for about 25 minutes until hot and bubbly.  This will make about 6-8 servings.

Butterscotch Pecan Skillet Pie

Cooking and serving pie from a skillet just seems to make it taste better. This pie just says fall with the toasty pecans and richness of the butterscotch.  Top with Sweet ‘Tater & Molasses Ice Cream and get ready for accolades all around for your delicious dessert.

Serving Size: 8

1 1/2 cups N.C. pecan pieces

2 tablespoons flour

3 large local eggs – beaten with whisk till slightly frothy

1 11-ounce bag butterscotch morsels

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter — melted, cooled

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 unbaked pie crust (your recipe or store bought)

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 10- or 12-inch cast iron skillet; place crust into prepared pan. It will naturally “ruffle” as shown in picture.

In medium bowl, mix pecan pieces with flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.  Pour into pie shell and bake at 350-degrees for about 40-45 minutes.

Let pie cool before slicing as it is easier to cut at room temperature.

Serves eight.

Recipes © Wendy L. Perry Inc. May be shared with credit cited.

Lifetime Achievement Award:  Patti Fowler of Beaufort, chief of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Shellfish Sanitation and Recreational Water Quality Section, for her lifelong devotion and dedication to keeping coastal waters safe and clean.

Northeast Coast

Dewey Hemilright of Wanchese, a spokesman for the commercial fishing industry, for outstanding contributions to education and outreach programs.

Don Twyne of Manteo, captain of the N.C. Marine Patrol’s District 1, which patrols sounds and rivers from Ocracoke to the Virginia line, for his leadership and dedication since 2013 involving the federation’s derelict crab pot cleanup project.

Sara Mirabilio of Manteo, a fisheries specialist with N.C. Sea Grant, for her leadership with federation initiatives. During the past two years, she has assisted the federation in successfully coordinating its regional crab pot cleanup effort, oyster workshops and summits.

John Thomas of Grandy, for his many years of volunteer contributions to the federation, including repairing doors at Manteo office, bagging oyster shells and leading kayak trips.

Central Coast

Paul Donnelly of Swansboro, superintendent of Hammocks Beach State Park, who has helped the federation in its mission of coastal restoration and education for more than 10 years. He has approved a number of partnership projects at Jones Island, which is part of the park, in addition to working alongside federation staff, filling oyster shell bags, loading them onto boats and putting them in the water to build oyster shell bag sills. He has planted thousands of marsh grass plugs to restore eroding shorelines and has transported hundreds of volunteers and school children by boat to remote locations for the federation’s environmental education programs.

JoAnne Powell of Gloucester for her volunteer contributions to the federation’s education program. She’s a member of the federation’s Central Region Advisory Committee, an environmental educator aboard the federation’s birding cruises each spring and fall and an environmental education volunteer.

Ronald Sutherland and Fred Cubbage, for outstanding grassroots leadership of the campaign to save the Hofmann Forest.

Southeast Coast

Rick Shiver of Wilmington for contributing expert research and strategic guidance in the Stop Titan Cement campaign.

Rep. Rick Catlin, R-New Hanover, of Wilmington, for his leadership as an advocate for the coast. As a professional geo-hydrologist, Catlin has provided guidance and expertise related to water resources in the southeast region, specifically focused on the protection of critical groundwater and water-use issues.

Ralph and Tanner Konrady of Konrady and Son Construction LLC of Wrightsville Beach for the company’s efforts and partnership in the relocation and renovation of the Fred and Alice Stanback Coastal Education Center in Wrightsville Beach.

Brunswick County Habitat for Humanity of Southport for its partnership with the federation to implement low-impact development practices on Habitat homes.

Jim and Bonnie Swartzenberg of Jacksonville for their commitment to protecting and restoring coastal water quality and oyster habitats.