North Carolina Division of Coastal Management officials are in the process of determining priority areas for the 2026-2030 cycle of the Section 309 Assessment and Strategy, and are asking for public input.
wetlands
Gateway to Down East
A maze of creeks cuts through the salt marshes north of the Commissioner Jonathan Robinson Bridge and the gateway to Down East Carteret County. Photo: Dylan Ray
Judge Boyle rejects preliminary injunction in wetlands case
District Court Judge Terrence Boyle last week denied Robert White’s motion for a preliminary injunction in the Pasquotank County man’s challenge to Clean Water Act enforcement against him.
Wildlife groups seek to intervene in Pasquotank man’s case
The National Wildlife Federation and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation say Robert White’s dispute with the EPA and the Corps of Engineers could result in further narrowing of wetland protections with devastating water quality and economic effects.
A million new acres: Cooper sets lofty conservation goals
Environmental advocates are calling the governor’s latest executive order to conserve and restore forests and wetlands and plant 1 million trees in urban areas “ambitious and important.”
EMC to hear recommendations on wetland rules action
The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission is set to hear recommendations Thursday on changes to the state’s wetland rules.
Brice’s Creek Nature Preserve to become nature park
The 172-acre Brice’s Creek Nature Preserve in New Bern the Coastal Land Trust transferred to Craven County this week is to become the county’s second public nature park.
Five years after Florence: A look back at resilience efforts
Guest commentary: The effects of Hurricane Florence in 2018 linger today, and though progress toward resilience has been made, the recent loss of wetland protections will come to bear after future storms.
Decades of water quality safeguards erased, advocates say
Groups that have for more than 40 years led the fight for clean water say the public may not be fully aware of the potentially devastating effects the latest federal rule could have for NC wetlands.
New federal rule puts 2.5 million acres of wetlands in peril
The Clean Water Act rule issued Tuesday redefines “waters of the United States” and leaves unprotected wetlands with no surface connection to navigable water bodies.
Coastal Federation gets $1.6M to restore Carteret wetlands
The North Carolina Coastal Federation received $1.6 million to restore 1,100 acres of timberland to wetlands within the Newport River watershed.
Legislature overrides veto of bill cutting wetland regulation
The General Assembly has voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the Farm Act, a measure that opponents say eliminates state protections of 2.5 million acres of state wetlands.
Cooper vetoes bill curtailing state protection of wetlands
Language in Senate Bill 582 would repeal state protections for an estimated 2.5 million acres of wetlands, Cooper said.
Pilot program relies on volunteers to collect wetlands data
A volunteer-dependent program to monitor wetlands that is going into its second year may be the answer to gaps in wetland data across the state.
Supreme Court strikes down EPA’s wetlands definition
The 5-4 decision means that the definition, “waters of the United States,” or WOTUS, applies only to wetlands that have “continuous surface connection.”
Wetlands restoration focus of next ‘Science on the Sound’ talk
“Coastal Wetlands in a Changing World: Life, Loss and Restoration in Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary in Corolla and the Florida Everglades” is set for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Coastal Studies Institute on the ECU Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese.
