The N.C. Division of Coastal Management’s Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve is accepting applications through June 30 for local advisory committees of the state’s 10 coastal reserves.
Rachel Carson Reserve
Coastal Reserve local advisory committees meetings set
Potential applicants for local advisory committees that provide N.C. Division of Coastal Management’s Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve staff guidance and feedback about program activities and management of the state’s 10 reserve sites are encouraged to attend the upcoming spring meeting of their interest.
Registration opens for Rachel Carson Reserve summer trips
Register to grab a spot on the boat to take part in one of the free-of-charge public field trips being offered at the Rachel Carson Reserve June-August.
Coastal Reserve Manager Paula Gillikin to speak Feb. 26
The next installment of Morehead City Green Drinks, a casual monthly gathering for people who care about the North Carolina coast, will feature Paula Gillikin, a natural resource manager who coordinates stewardship activities across the 10 sites of the North Carolina Coastal Reserve.
Pony Patrol applications open through February
Online applications are now being accepted for the Pony Patrol, a volunteer program that helps raise awareness and protect wild horses on the Rachel Carson Reserve and Shackleford Banks.
Opinion: For whose benefit are barrier island horses?
Guest commentary: Invasive species pose a serious challenge for ecosystems that have not evolved alongside them, and such is the case with North Carolina’s crystal skipper and the nonnative horses allowed to roam the barrier islands that are the butterfly’s only habitat.
Pony Patrol marks three years of watchful eyes over herds
The third season for the persistently protective volunteers was off to a rough start with abandoned foals having to be removed from the herd, but summer turned around with a filly’s birth on Shackleford Island.
Coastal Reserve advisory meetings scheduled for November
Local advisory committee meetings of the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Reserve are scheduled to take place between Nov. 5 – 18.
Wild herd, long shadows
Wild horses cross tidal waters from Town Marsh to Bird Shoal along Beaufort’s barrier islands, which are part of the Rachel Carson Reserve, in Carteret County. The cluster of islands includes Carrot Island, Town Marsh, Bird Shoal, and Horse Island, and the horses are descended from those brought to the islands by a Beaufort area resident in the 1940s, according to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The state manages the horse population for its health and for the health of the environment, but the herd is otherwise left to fend and forage for itself. Photo: Dylan Ray
Coastal Cohorts cast off for 40th season with Carson tribute
Don Dixon, Jim Wann and Bland Simpson, collectively known as the Coastal Cohorts, are bringing “King Mackerel and the Blues Are Running” back for its 40th year and debuting their musical homage to Rachel Carson.
