A federal court decision Wednesday blocks the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from using a potentially harmful algaecide at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, a compound that environmental groups argued would endanger the waterfowl the refuge is supposed to protect.
Lake Mattamuskeet
Federal cuts lead to unease for state’s wildlife refuges
Amid dramatic funding cuts, leaders of the nonprofits that support national wildlife refuges in the northeastern part of the state fear what’s ahead for these protected lands.
Mattamuskeet’s invasive carp boycott carp-removal effort
“What we found is we’re not finding the carp numbers in the lake that we thought were there,” Kendall Smith, refuge manager at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, told the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan Core Stakeholder Team at a recent meeting.
Service agrees to pause Mattamuskeet algaecide project
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials have agreed to halt a planned algaecide experiment in Lake Mattamuskeet until next year.
Lake Mattamuskeet algaecide pilot study tied up in court
A lawsuit to stop a controversial pilot study to treat the cyanobacteria in the 40,000-acre freshwater lake has stalled both the plans and the funds.
Groups seek to block Mattamuskeet algaecide treatment
The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club, citing the threat to migratory birds, has filed a challenge in federal court to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from allowing an experimental algaecide treatment of Lake Mattamuskeet.
State issues certificate for Lake Mattamuskeet treatment
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality said Thursday its Division of Water Resources had approved a certificate of coverage to allow BlueGreen Water Technologies to conduct a pilot study of a treatment for cyanobacteria within a limited area of the state’s largest freshwater lake starting June 1.
Fish, Wildlife Service reveals project plans for $27.25M
The nature-based solutions announced Thursday for nine refuges and game lands in the Albemarle-Pamlico region include shoreline protection, improvements to water quality, climate resiliency, and wetland impoundment upgrades.
Officials see a future for historic Mattamuskeet Lodge
An estimated $14.4 million renovation is planned for the deteriorating former pumphouse, which was part of a failed project in the early 1900s to drain the lake for agriculture and a county landmark.
Civilian Conservation Corps workers of Bell Island
Historian David Cecelski gives a glimpse of the North Carolina coast during the Great Depression from the perspective of the young men in Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps.
Mattamuskeet carp numbers likely to be ‘a continual issue’
Refuge Manager Kendall Smith says the $1 million project to remove invasive common carp from the state’s largest freshwater lake will also require regular maintenance to restore vegetation and improve water quality.
Public meeting on Lake Mattamuskeet work set for Nov. 2
The meeting in Swan Quarter is expected to provide attendees with an overview of the work that has been completed over the past year to implement the Lake Mattamuskeet restoration plan and an opportunity to speak with each project partners.
USFWS plans to chemically treat part of Lake Mattamuskeet
The EPA warning label for an algaecide proposed for use in a trial project at algal-bloom-plagued Lake Mattamuskeet cites the product’s potential risks to birds.
Mattamuskeet carp removal project bidding ends June 20
Bids are due by 5 p.m. June 20 for a large-scale project to remove thousands of pounds of common carp from Lake Mattamuskeet.
Albemarle-Pamlico resilience gets $27.25 million boost
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced funding for the agency’s National Wildlife Refuge System for Albemarle-Pamlico restoration initiatives.
Inner Coast: Mattamuskeet project aims to restore ‘balance’
Wendy Stanton, acting refuge manager for Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, says Lake Mattamuskeet is “out of balance,” but officials behind the work say the community’s enthusiasm for cleaning up the lake continues.
