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.
Outer Banks
Panel takes new look at beach erosion-control structures
Special report: As beach erosion alarms sound up and down the North Carolina coast and Outer Banks houses continue to fall into the ocean, policymakers are once again eyeing the science behind the state’s longstanding hardened structures ban.
Dare A250 Faire to Be Held in downtown Manteo April 18
Tickets are on sale now for the Dare A250 Faire, taking place April 18 in downtown Manteo and Roanoke Island Festival Park.
Hearing on proposed Hyde shellfish leases March 18
A public hearing on three proposed shellfish bottom and water column leases in Hyde County is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, at Hyde County Courthouse in Swan Quarter.
New cost report puts proposed Mid-Currituck bridge at $1.2B
A new analysis of two revenue options has cast doubts on the project’s future, with serious concerns raised about the latest estimated construction costs that hover around $1.2 billion.
‘Science on the Sound’ to dig into 16th-century Hatteras
“The Smoking Gun?: New Radiocarbon Dates and Hunting Practices Linking Hatteras Island to Fort Raleigh in the Sixteenth Century” is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, March 26, at the Coastal Studies Institute on the East Carolina University Outer Banks Campus.
Coastal commission holds off changing septic system rules
The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission is holding off on amendments to oceanfront septic tank rules to give the state’s environmental and health departments time to collaborate on the rulemaking process.
Work to begin on fire-damaged light station quarters
Once repairs are completed at the Bodie Island double keepers’ quarters, which was damaged in January 2025 in an electrical fire, new exhibits will be installed on the building’s ground floor.
Opinion: After 31 houses fall into the ocean, a viable way out
Guest commentary: As the Atlantic claims more than 30 homes since 2020, it’s past time to shift from the cycle of federal subsidies and reactive cleanups toward insurance reforms and proactive retreat programs.
Dare chairman to deliver state of the county later this month
Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard is scheduled to deliver a state of the county presentation in Buxton March 21, three days after making the same presentation to a full Kill Devil Hills audience.
NCDOT to expand Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry schedule
With daylight saving time little more than a week away and spring temperatures on the horizon, state transportation officials are adding more departures to the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route.
Outer Banks summer camp registration to open March 2
Online registration for summer camps at Coastal Studies Institute at the ECU Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese opens March 2.
Dare students can enter essay, art contest for America’s 250th
Students in third through 12th grade are encouraged to enter the committee’s essay contest and student art exhibit, both “designed to celebrate local history, highlight student talent and support innovative learning in the lead-up to the Dare A250 Faire” on April 18.
How this famous Outer Banks cook made ‘Banker’ fish cakes
To taste a fish cake in the style of coastal North Carolina “Bankers,” the name locals use for the ancestral residents of these islands, is to take a bite of history.
Recreational Gulf flounder season to open in March
A two-week recreational fishing season will open for Gulf flounder in ocean waters between the north end of Portsmouth Island to the South Carolina line next month.
With court relief, work resumes on Virginia offshore wind
Dominion Energy’s 2.6-gigawatt Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, which was ordered by the Trump administration to stop work in December, is now on track for completion by early next year — but at a considerably higher cost.
