The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting nominations for the annual Thomas L. Quay Award through Friday.
Wildlife
Tales from the dunes: Butterflies in science, sentiment
NC State and North Carolina Aquarium researchers have traipsed across sand to study the crystal skipper, a butterfly known for its white speckled wings that can only be found in the Bogue Banks area.
Wildlife agency releases draft species management plan
Public comments will be accepted through July 5 to the draft update of the North Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan, which identifies and prioritizes species of greatest conservation need in the state.
Shorebirds among species in steepest decline in latest count
Audubon’s 2025 State of the Birds Report shows East Coast species such as least terns, American oystercatchers and piping plovers are diminished in numbers with shorebirds most heavily represented among those at a perilous tipping point.
Tabb’s Trails: Jockey’s Ridge State Park celebrates 50 years
The 426-acre state park in Nags Head is a harsh environment but rewards with self-guided trails taking hikers through dunes, foliage and by flowering plants swarmed by pollinators.
Cape Lookout to begin Horse Sense and Survival tours
Cape Lookout National Seashore’s Resource Manager Dr. Sue Stuska will lead this year’s Horse Sense and Survival tours June 21, July 20, Aug. 3 and Sept. 20.
State reminds visitors to maintain distance from wild horses
As tourism season ramps up, visitors to coastal areas where wild horses roam are reminded to keep a safe distance.
‘GatorWise’ advises how to live responsibly among alligators
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has joined the near dozen other southeastern U.S. states that American alligators call home by launching GatorWise.
Decapitated dolphin found in Pender prompts criminal search
An investigation continues into the intentional decapitation of an 8-foot-long bottlenose dolphin found on Lea-Hutaff Island’s shore.
Sam’s Field Notes: Migratory owls and climate change
Naturalist Sam Bland and his wife Bright, while in western Wyoming, recently trekked into the night to observe a researcher who specializes in capturing, banding and monitoring the movements of northern saw-whet owls, a threatened species here in North Carolina.
Harbor seal spotted in Beaufort: anomaly or harbinger?
The harbor seal spotted this spring swimming in Beaufort’s Taylors Creek has inspired a team of researchers to reconstruct the timeline of this species in North Carolina.
Holden Beach Turtle Patrol readies for summer programming
Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program, also referred to as “Turtle Patrol,” is planning to offer educational programs throughout the summer starting June 18.
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.
Bald Head Island’s abundant deer spur management talks
The village council is in discussions on how to manage the growing number of deer that populate the Brunswick County island.
Sierra Club to celebrate Earth Day, hold plant walks, talks
N.C.’s Sierra Club’s Croatan Group is to host an Earth Day celebration on April 22, and have planned two walks to see carnivorous plants, and a talk with a master gardener about native plants to take place over the next month.
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.
