Oak Island homeowners who have watched across the street as the protective oceanfront dune created by beach nourishment washed away time after time are pleading with officials to bar houses from being built there.
development
Four-day fête honors Jockey’s Ridge State Park’s 50th year
Preserved from development by Carolista Baum, a mother of young children, who blocked a bulldozer, declared a National Natural Landmark and made a state park 50 years ago, an occasion recently celebrated by officials and throngs of visitors.
Save Sledge Forest rally planned for this month
The rally to support the conservation of New Hanover County’s last large expanse of old-growth trees is scheduled for June 21.
As Brunswick building booms, existing residents see effects
In the past decade, fast-growing Brunswick County has approved projects with nearly 50,000 new homes, most still being built, amid calls for a development pause and storms that have brought unprecedented flooding.
Dare County board tables action on Buxton zone of influence
Dare County Commissioners voted Monday during its regular meeting to table any decisions on an environmental zone of influence that borders Buxton Woods Reserve for 90 days.
Coastal commission OKs limited use of wheat straw bales
The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission has changed an oceanfront development rule to allow wheat straw bales be used under certain conditions as an alternative to sand fencing to try and fend off erosion, a move environmental and wildlife groups oppose.
Protective zone around Buxton Woods may be unenforceable
Dare County officials are now questioning the legality of the “zone of influence” buffer district the county enacted in 1988 to protect Buxton Woods Reserve from development.
Doomed to repeat history: What’s in future for NC wetlands?
Guest commentary: Ignoring the past guarantees a grim future for our coastal communities, as the fishermen of Rose Bay warned decades ago. Will we listen now, or once again pay the price for failing to protect our way of life?
Blue crab management plan revision runs into rough waters
Proposed limits on the commercial harvest of blue crabs faces critics who say the management plan amendment is based on a benchmark stock assessment using data from 1995 to 2016.
Judge restores state’s 30 erased coastal development rules
A judge has ordered that more than two dozen longstanding rules used to guide coastal development and protect resources be placed back into the North Carolina Administrative Code.
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.
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.
Brunswick County seeks input on development ordinance
Brunswick County community members may ask questions and provide input on updates to the county’s unified development ordinance this month.
Coastal geologist Orrin Pilkey, 1934-2024: An appreciation
“With Orrin, the stories never stopped,” writes author and Coastal Review contributor Gilbert M. Gaul of the acclaimed Duke University scientist who died Sunday. “Some of them were even true.”
Coastal commission lawyer: CAMA a 50-year ‘balancing act’
Coastal Resources Commission legal counsel Mary Lucasse, speaking during a recent legal symposium in New Bern, said the Coastal Area Management Act balances development and private property rights with protecting natural resources.
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.
