The sun sets behind a cloudbank Saturday as shown from above the Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge off Lola Road on Cedar Island in Carteret County that was established in 1964 occupies 14,494 acres on a peninsula jutting into southern Pamlico Sound, with N.C. Highway 12 slicing through and the 5,500 acres the state conserved in 2019 just to the east. Both offer opportunities to immerse one’s self into nature, such as hiking, paddling, birding and nature viewing, as well as numerous other activities. Photo: Dylan Ray
Carteret County
Marines to conduct training throughout remainder of August
Residents in areas near Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and its outlying airfields in Carteret and Pamlico counties and BT-11 in Pamlico Sounds can expect to hear aircraft and occasional explosions.
Amid moratorium hits, misses, shellfish growers seek leases
Latest in our series: As tensions grow among various users of public trust waters over site selection for North Carolina’s growing shellfish mariculture industry, new lease applications filed with the state would cover a combined 55 acres of bottom and water columns in six counties.
Squalls on the horizon, from way up high
Humidity fills the air west of the Jonathan Robinson Bridge, creating a series of summer squalls that shower eastern Carteret County. Forecasters with the National Weather Service on Tuesday advised of hazardous weather conditions, particularly for eastern Carteret County, Ocracoke Island and Hatteras Island with scattered strong to severe thunderstorms possible late Tuesday in advance of a cold front. Photo: Dylan Ray
NCSU, Carteret college OK aquaculture transfer agreement
North Carolina State University and Carteret Community College have signed an agreement designed to create a streamlined transfer pathway for students seeking to earn bachelor’s degrees in fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology.
Sunny surveillance
A lynx spider covertly watches as a pollinator bee forages on a sunflower blossom in a garden near Russell Creek in Beaufort. Photo: Dylan Ray
Audit reveals hundreds of potentially contaminated landfills
A state audit released Monday found that more than three-quarters of almost 700 identified landfill sites where municipal solid waste disposal occurred without regulatory oversight have never been investigated by state environmental regulators.
Pine Knoll Shores aquarium readies for ‘Birthday Splash’
With the North Carolina Aquariums celebrating 50 years in 2026, Coastal Review talks with Jay Barnes, the former Pine Knoll Shores site director about the early days of the facility, which is hosting two celebrations Saturday for the anniversary.
Drought creates feeding trough
The state’s ongoing drought is affecting water levels in the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s North River Wetland Preserve near Otway, where wading birds take advantage of conditions recently to feed on the fish, tadpoles, frogs and aquatic insects left with nowhere to go. Nearly the entire state was facing drought conditions at the time this was published, with most of the coast in moderate drought with increasing severity toward New Hanover and Brunswick counties and the western portions of most other coastal counties.
Two speaker series to look at relationships of people, place
Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center is now offering two different speaker series this summer, both of which delve into the relationship between people and place.
Scientific data: Understanding rising sea levels for anglers
Dr. Shintaro Bunya, a scientist at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Center for Natural Hazards Resilience, works with government agencies and communities to help them better understand and prepare for coastal flood risks, and here he does the same for anglers.
Early morning angler
Case Skinner, 4, son of Kathleen and Jeremy Skinner, fishes from his parents’ dock on on the Newport River in Mill Creek, an unincorporated community in central Carteret County. The young Skinner is also accomplished with a cast net. Photo: Jeremy Skinner
Joel Fodrie named director of Duke Marine Lab
Dr. Joel Fodrie is leaving his post as director of UNC Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City to lead Duke University Marine Lab in Beaufort.
Chancellor visits Institute of Marine Sciences, its researchers
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Chancellor Lee H. Roberts spent Tuesday in Carteret County meeting with researchers at the university’s Institute of Marine Sciences in Morehead City as part of his second summer tour.
Coastal Federation, The Conservation Fund protect 153 acres
The two nonprofit organizations partnered to acquire the more than153 acres situated along U.S. Highway 70 between East Carteret High School and the North River Bridge.
NCDOT ferry system adds summer routes for Pamlico Sound
The summer schedule for N.C. Department of Transportation ferries that cross the Pamlico Sound include additional routes.

















