Details, including dates and bag limits, for North Carolina’s 2026-27 waterfowl, webless migratory game bird, including dove, and extended falconry seasons are now available.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission announced the seasonal dates and associated regulations earlier this week. That information will also be published in the 2026-27 Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest in August.

While most seasons remain unchanged from the previous year, the commission notes that, subject to final federal approval, the bag limit for Canada geese in the Northeast hunt zone will increase from one to two birds.

Another notable change pertains to the regular light goose season, which will open on Nov. 7, two weeks later than last year, and close on March 10, 2027.

This fall, regulatory officials will determine the option for the 2027 light goose conservation order, one that will be published on the agency’s website when a final decision is made.

For more information, visit the Wildlife Commission’s Regulations webpage.

Featured Image

Two cottonmouths, aka water moccasins and known scientifically as Agkistrodon piscivorus, came face to face while foraging Sunday at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 6,000-acre North River Wetlands Preserve, with one rising up and the other backing down. One of six venomous snakes in North Carolina, the cottonmouth is the most aquatic, preferring wetter habitats. It’s a pit viper, having a pit on its face that senses heat. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission offers tips on how to coexist with snakes. Photo: Doug Waters

As tree pollen continues to dust outside surfaces and flowers take bloom this spring, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding residents to take precautions as native black bears become more active now through the fall.

The commission, in partnership with BearWise, encourages residents to look for potential bear attractants around their homes and in their communities.

“By being proactive in removing these attractants now, residents can avoid future interactions with black bears,” Wildlife Resource Commission BearWise Coordinator Ashley Hobbs stated in a release. “The majority of calls about bears to our NC Wildlife Helpline involve some form of unsecured food attractant. When bears have access to food attractants, they’re more likely to hang around our homes and communities. This puts people, pets and bears at risk.”

BearWise, an association of fish and wildlife agencies, provides a checklist of potential bear attractants around homes and in communities, including garbage and recycling, bird and other wildlife feeders, grills, pet food, and snacks and trash inside vehicles.

Residents are also encouraged to leash up pets and secure small livestock, including chickens, and their feed, during the spring.

“Dogs and bears don’t mix,” Hobbs said. “They often act defensively toward each other. Never allow your dog to harass, chase or corner a bear. Always keep your dog on a non-retractable leash. Leashes really do save lives and prevent injuries.”

Livestock owners, especially those with smaller animals, should consider bringing them inside a bear-resistant building at night, and install electric fencing around coops and pastures to keep bears away.

BearWise offers guidance on ways to ensure all feed and grain is locked up and out of reach of bears.

North Carolina’s black bear population stretches across the state, from the mountains to the sea.

The Wildlife Resources Commission offers assistance from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday through its wildlife helpline at 866-318-2401.

Featured Image

A brightly hued eastern bluebird peeks out from a knothole in a tree at the Dare County Arboretum and Teaching Garden in Kill Devil Hills. Male bluebirds tend to draw attention to themselves at their nest cavities in this way to lure potential mates, according to Cornell Lab. Dare County Extension Master Gardener volunteers maintain the arboretum garden at 300 Mustian St. Photo: Kip Tabb

And, we’re live!

With the expected hatch date just around the corner, the public now has 24-hour access to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s live cam, with audio, for Barn Owlet Watch 2026.

Watch all the action inside a nest box that’s housing six barn owl eggs for a chance to welcome hatchlings into the world sometime April 8-15.

“The Barn Owl Live Cam is our newest conservation adventure,” Wildlife Resources Commission Education Development and Evaluation Supervisor Sydney Brown stated in a release. “What began as a dream quickly grew, thanks to our incredible internal partners, into a 24/7 window into the secret life of barn owls for North Carolinians who may never see these birds in their own backyards.”

The nesting pair closely guarding their eggs are believed to have previously used the nest box the agency installed in western North Carolina in 2011.

After the pair returned to the nest last December, the female laid the first of her six eggs March 11.

Commission Conservation Biologist Joe Tomcho estimates the first egg will hatch April 12, based on a normal 32-day incubation period, according to the release.

“Usually once the first egg hatches, the others start hatching at about an every-other-day timeframe,” Tomcho said. “Barn owls typically lay around four to five eggs. Six eggs is an indication these are an experienced pair. It’s a really exciting experience to watch them hatch, but then to also watch them hop around in the nest as they prepare for life outside the nest.”

The nest box has been used by barn owls six times in the past 16 years, possibly by the same nesting pair, according to the WRC.

Man-made nesting boxes allow biologist to study nesting behavior, chick development and the species’ seasonal patterns.

In some regions of the state, the barn owl population has declined as a result of habitat loss and some agricultural practices. Barn owls are in the the commission’s Wildlife Action Plan, a comprehensive planning tool the agency developed to help conserve and enhance the state’s full array of fish and wildlife species and their habitats.

Solar-powered live cameras were installed at the nest box in August of last year “and, so far, have operated steadily since December with minimal interruptions,” the release states.

This is the commission’s first live camera experience, but officials hope to offer more in the future.

“We’re excited to keep expanding this project with fun educational content, conservation updates and plenty of owl magic,” Brown said in the release. “And we assure the public that owls are completely wild. We do not intervene or interfere with their natural behaviors or nesting process.”

Contact the commission’s wild observer program for more information about barn owls and nest boxes.

Additional information about barn owls is available on the agency’s website.

Featured Image

An American alligator sunning at North River Wetlands Preserve in Carteret County slides in for a dip recently as March temperatures rose. The 6,000-acre preserve is the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s project to return farmland back to its original state and to use the wetlands to naturally treat polluted runoff. The Coastal Federation publishes Coastal Review. Photo: Doug Waters

The Friends of the North Carolina Maritime Museum Beaufort is set to offer a two-week travel opportunity next year to see the birds, wildlife and natural history of Finland.

The nonprofit friends group is partnering with EcoQuest Travel for the trip, “The Birds & Mammals of Finland — Brown Bears, Wolverines and Boreal Birds,” May 16-29, 2027, with an optional six-day, post-trip extension to the Varanger Peninsula in the Norwegian Arctic.

“Finland is an extraordinary country, a throwback to an older wilder Europe,” the friends group said in a press release. “It is a land of great evergreen forests, rugged coastlines, shimmering lakes and stunning wildlife.”

The group said Finland is arguably the best country in Europe to observe brown bears and probably the best place in the world to see the enigmatic wolverine.

“We will concentrate our efforts on these two species, but we are traveling to Finland in the spring which will find us there at the best time to see owls, lekking grouse species and migrating shorebirds,” according to the release.

The tour will arrive in Finland’s capital of Helsinki and travel north to Savonlinna to search for the rare Saimaa ringed seal before heading farther north to the Koli, “our jumping off point for two very remote areas where we will use specially designed hides to look for Brown Bears and Wolverines,” according to the release. “Wolves occasionally show up at both hides and even the mysterious Eurasian Lynx sometimes makes a brief appearance. Being able to observe and photograph these iconic mammals of the north will be a rare and special privilege.”

From there, the group will travel west to Oulu and the Baltic Sea in search of owls, grouse, woodpeckers, songbirds, shorebirds and waterfowl.

Then for the final leg, it’s northeast to Kuusamo in the boreal forest to search for “specialty birds” such as the  willow ptarmigan, black grouse, capercaillie and boreal songbirds.

Those who do not depart for home head on to Arctic Norway to explore two new habitats with chances to see such iconic Arctic species as willow ptarmigan, bluethroat, Eurasian dotterel and long-tailed jaeger on the tundra; and king and Steller’s eiders, yellow-billed loon, Lapland longspur, snow bunting, gyrfalcon and huge colonies of alcids, or auks, on the Arctic Ocean.

For more information, contact JoAnne Powell at joannepowell1208@gmail.com.

The inaugural Wilmington Community Science Fest this Saturday aims to bring together the wide array of community science activities offered in the region for people to explore.

Festivalgoers can pop into lectures explaining the concept and importance of citizen science and hear about some of the more popular area projects, such as iNaturalist and eBird, and make the rounds between exhibitors who will explain how to connect with local community science efforts.

The first presentation, from 10:15 until 11:15 a.m., will cover the importance of community science, featuring Katie Kingston, Science Across North Carolina, and Sammy Calderon, who will provide an introduction to using iNaturalist.

The next presentation, held from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m., will include Kristen Holloman-Noe, who will present on FrogWatch USA, and Mason Randolph, who will provide an introduction to using eBird.

The final presentation, Journey Through Participatory Sciences, will be held from 12:45 until 1:45 p.m. and feature presenter Dr. Caren Cooper, who will share her firsthand experience in participatory sciences as a researcher and an instructor.

“Knowing that researching opportunities requires time and patience, we hatched the idea of creating one event where interested parties could browse projects and instantly move from wanting to participate straight into registering to participate,” Holloman-Noe, Fort Fisher Aquarium outreach coordinator and FrogWatch USA regional coordinator, stated in a release. “The support and enthusiasm we’ve witnessed in planning this event has truly warmed my heart.”

The festival is scheduled for 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Davis Center in Wilmington Maides Park, 1101 Manly Ave.

The event will include a number other headliners, such as Science Across NC, EcoExplore and Project Explore, Terrapin Talley of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve and N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C. Audubon shorebird surveys, Cape Fear Audubon and the University of North Carolina Wilmington Marine Mammal Stranding Program.

Volunteers will be there to help direct participants to the projects that interest them most.

Wilmington Community Science Fest is being hosted by the Fort Fisher Aquarium, Valerie Robertson, publisher of Cape Fear’s Going Green, and Savannah Lytle, North Carolina Environmental Education Certification candidate.

In an effort to restore and maintain wildlife habitat, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission conducts prescribed burns across tens of thousands of acres of state game lands each year.

To find out whether smoke you’re seeing on state game lands is from a prescribed burn, check out the commission’s prescribed burns dashboard mapping system.

To help support wildlife on most of the 2 million acres of state game lands used by hunters, anglers and wildlife watchers throughout the state, the agency sets about 200 to 300 prescribed burns across 20,000 to 30,000 acres ever year.

“Most of the prescribed burning on game lands occurs between January and March because the cool, humid air with minimal wind provides conditions for low intensity fires,” Commission Forestry Program Leader Casey Phillips stated in a release. “However, we will still conduct burns well into spring and summer, because growing season fires provides for better control of young hardwoods in certain habitats.”

Prescribed fires are more cost efficient than mowing and spraying because they reduce the use of hazardous fuels, such as leaf litter and pine straw, and improve biodiversity at a significantly larger scale than chemical or mechanical methods alone, according to the agency.

Maintenance burns are typically conducted in multi-year cycles to open groundcover for quail, grassland birds, deer and turkeys. Prescribed fires are also crucial for many of the state’s habitat-sensitive or rare species, including red-cockaded woodpeckers and Venus flytraps, which are adapted to fire or found only in fire-dependent habitat.

“Fire is a natural occurrence that native wildlife has adapted to,” Phillips stated. “We also use burning techniques intended to give animals time and room to escape. After an area is burned, we typically see new vegetation within a few weeks, which means the animals won’t be far behind.”

For additional information, view No Cause for Alarm and visit Prescribed Fire: What NC Citizens Need to Know.

Nominations are being accepted through March 30 for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee.

The committee advises the state Wildlife Resources Commission on nongame wildlife conservation matters and opportunities for North Carolina’s most vulnerable wildlife populations.

Its members also provide guidance on changes to the North Carolina protected species list, developing conservation plans for endangered, threatened and special concern species, and sharing conservation actions among partners to achieve common goals.

Members are state residents and stakeholders with scientific, academic, habitat and partnership expertise.

“This advisory committee provides valuable stakeholder insight to the NCWRC, expands our scientific awareness and helps grow our partnerships that support and protect North Carolina’s at-risk species and habitats,” Shannon Deaton, chief of NCWRC’s Habitat Conservation Division, said in a release. “The valuable role of an NWAC member is to foster a dialogue among N.C. stakeholders specifically targeted on the conservation of at-risk species, as well as implementation of the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan.”

The Wildlife Resources Commission’s board appoints advisory committee members based on credentials, expertise, affiliation and constituency at large.

Nominees for expert affiliate seats have to have extensive biological, regional, academic, scientific research and/or habitat expertise and experience in dealing with nongame wildlife conservation in the state.

At-large seats are held by professionals from representative organizations such as federal or state natural resource agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, universities, land trusts serving North Carolina, industries that operate in and/or manage landscapes and associated wildlife, or other organizations that provide a stakeholder voice in wildlife resources conservatoin.

Advisory members are asked to remain active participants throughout their terms.

The committee meets four times a year, usually at the Wildlife Resources Commission’s headquarters in Raleigh.

Nominations, including self-nominations, may be submitted on the online form and include information regarding affiliation and expertise, a cover letter and résumé if available.

The commission prefers electronic submissions, but will accept hard copies mailed to the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee, Attn: Shauna Glover, Wildlife Management Division, MSC 1721, Raleigh, NC 27699-1700.

For additional information about the committee or the nomination process, contact Shauna Glover at 919-707-0064.

This story has been updated to include a corrected description of land ownership. Information initially provided to Coastal Review had incorrectly identified the owner.

More people moved to North Carolina last year from different parts of the country than any other state in the nation.

North Carolina’s population grew by almost 150,000 people, trailing behind only Texas and Florida, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released last month.

As political leaders grapple with the demands that growth is placing on essential services like water and sewer, public safety and education, pressure is mounting on conservation groups to acquire, conserve and preserve land.

This month, more than 2,000 acres in coastal counties have been secured for permanent protection from development.

These newly protected areas are filled with natural landscape features that reduce flood risk, improve water quality, and provide habitat for plants and animals that are increasingly getting squeezed out by encroaching development.

In Brunswick County, one of the fastest growing in the state, North Carolina-based conservation nonprofit Unique Places to Save acquired land that serves as a corridor between two protected natural areas, bridging what amounts to nearly 10,000 acres of conserved landscape.

“We really want to be able to maintain large, connected natural areas for habitat for species and to maintain biodiversity of our natural areas,” Unique Places to Save Executive Director Christine Pickens told Coastal Review in a recent telephone interview. “And, particularly, in the southeast of North Carolina, we have some really cool endemic species and really wonderful habitats that you don’t find anywhere else.”

Within the 1,040-acre tract nestled between the towns of St. James and Boiling Spring Lakes are forested wetlands, Carolina bays, sandy pine and wet sandy pine savanna.

The tract, referred to as Boiling Springs Wilderness, specifically connects thousands of acres of privately conserved land including Orton with the North Carolina Boiling Spring Lakes Plant Conservation Preserve.

“When you connect these large areas, you’re connecting a mosaic across the landscape and there’s tiny variations of habitat availability,” Pickens explained. “What that does is allow species that use that area for habitat or refuge or migration to use those slight variations of habitat. When we experience extremes in weather, precipitation or drought or big storms, having just a little bit of wiggle room in terms of available habitat goes a long way to allowing species to be resilient to some of these extremes and some of these changes.”

Habitat that is free from being sliced up by ditches or roads is valuable to species that rely on that habitat, she said.

Take the red cockaded woodpecker, for example. These birds, which were reclassified in late 2024 from endangered to threatened, live in groups, or clusters, helping each other raise their young.

They depend on large, connected natural areas – typically anywhere from 125 to 200 acres – where living pine trees, preferably mature, longleaf pine forests, grow.

Boiling Springs Wilderness includes varying types of soils that support different sets of plants, trees, shrubs and forbs, more commonly referred to as herbs.

A good deal of pond pine and a “little bit” of young longleaf pine grace its landscape, Pickens said.

The headwaters of Orton Creek are within the project area, as are wetlands that blanket the Castle Hayne aquifer, a drinking water source for thousands of Brunswick County residents and tens of thousands in other coastal North Carolina areas.

“That’s a long-term way to protect water quality,” Pickens said. “The areas around streams act as buffers to absorb nutrients, runoff, excess components in surface water that soak in, and they get absorbed by the plants and the roots and the soils around streams. That prevents excess nutrients getting into waterways.”

Then there are the wetlands, which function like nature’s sponges, absorbing stormwater that might otherwise flood developed properties.

“Every chance we get to conserve wetlands is really important right now,” Pickens said.

That’s because state lawmakers decided to align North Carolina’s definition of wetlands with that of the federal government, which is in the process of changing the interpretation of waters of the United States that may omit protections for millions of acres of wetlands in the state.

“It may result in more wetlands being nonjurisdictional, therefore a lot more likely to be converted to uplands through ditching and draining. These conservation easements are perpetual. Once we protect it, that’s it,” Pickens said.

The Boiling Springs Wilderness project was funded through a $3.68 million North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant.

Unique Places to Save will own and manage the tract, while the state will hold the conservation easement. The Coastal Land Trust will steward that easement.

Last year, Unique Places to Save applied for another state Land and Water Fund grant to protect about 500 acres of predominately wetlands between the town of St. James and N.C. Highway 211.

“We’ve got a provisional award from the Land and Water Fund so if they have enough funding we may get funded this year for that effort,” Pickens said.

She touted efforts among other groups that work to conserve land throughout the state, including the North Carolina Coastal Federation, which publishes Coastal Review, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Plant Conservation Program, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, and Cape Fear Arch to name a few.

Tyrrell County parcel transferred

Last week, national nonprofit The Conservation Fund finalized the transfer of ownership of about 1,550 acres of coastal wetlands and forestland in Tyrrell County to the Coastal Federation.

“This partnership reflects years of careful conservation planning and cooperation,” Coastal Federation Executive Director Braxton Davis stated in a release. “This acquisition protects important coastal wetlands that help filter water, support fish and wildlife habitat, and provide natural flood buffering in on the of the state’s most ecologically significant regions.”

Portions of the Tyrrell County property, which is valued at an estimated $1.7 million, are in the Land and Water Fund’s Stewardship Program, one designed to establish, monitor and enforce perpetual conservation agreements.

The property will be included as part of the Coastal Federation’s Land for a Healthy Coast program, which focuses on protecting estuaries, reducing polluted runoff, buffering floods, and boosting long-term coastal resilience.

“Some lands are simply too important to risk losing,” Coastal Federation founder and senior adviser Todd Miller said in the release. “When a property protects water quality, supports fisheries, and strengthens the natural defenses of the coast, we believe it’s our responsibility to step forward and ensure it is permanently conserved and well managed.”

Thinking about what to do with that state tax return you’re expecting this year?

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has a suggestion for you.

Anyone filing a 2025 North Carolina state tax return may donate all or a portion of their refund to the N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund, which supports research and conservation management project’s for the state’s most vulnerable wildlife populations.

“Funds donated using the tax-checkoff program amplify those provided by a federal grant for species of greatest conservation need, including listed species in North Carolina,” Dr. Sara Schweitzer, assistant chief of NCWRC’s Wildlife Management Division, stated in a release. “A $100 donation is matched by $186 of grant funding—truly boosting wildlife conservation in North Carolina. Our dedicated and passionate biologists, agency partners and volunteers work tirelessly to ensure wildlife and their habitats will persist into the future for North Carolinians to enjoy. In western North Carolina especially, donations will help us address the immense impacts of Hurricane Helene on species such as the Eastern hellbender, bog turtle, gray bat, Carolina Northern flying squirrel and several high-elevation migratory birds.”

Funds support surveys and monitoring of rare species, including bog turtle, Hickory Nut Gorge green salamander, eastern hellbender, river frog, diamondback terrapin and northern gray treefrog.

Information collected on these species is used to target habitat restoration projects, including those especially needed in areas in the west affected by Hurricane Helene and areas impacted by drought in the state’s sandhills.

To participate, simply check Line 30 on your North Carolina state income tax form, or, if filing through an online tax preparation software, enter the contribution amount when prompted to N.C. Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Fund.”

Anyone that does not expect a state tax refund who would like to donate to the fund may make a direct donation online.

Additional information on projects supported by the tax check-off program may be found the Wildlife Resource Commission Wildlife Diversity Program’s quarterly reports.

Professional and self-taught artists with a passion for native plants have until March 30 to submit their handcrafted or handmade work to a nationwide, community art contest celebrating the often overlooked wildlife.

In its third year, PlantArte Native Plant Art Contest and Exhibit is a partnership of Arte Sana and GreenLatinos, two Latino-led nonprofits based in Texas, with the goal to use art to help prevent plant-awareness disparity, which is the human tendency to overlook or ignore plants that leads to less support for conservation

The contest “celebrates native plants through botanical art to: build awareness of the importance of native plants; promote native plant advocacy by empowering diverse communities to support conservation and restoration efforts; and honor the ancestral roots and shared ecoregions that connect plants and people,” organizers said.

Pay online via Arte Sana’s PayPal donation account or mail a check to be received before March 30 to Arte Sana, P.O. Box 1334, Dripping Springs, TX 78620.

A contest fee waiver is available for teen students or anyone who may need it to participate. Contact Laura Zárate, Arte Sana director and PlantArte coordinator, at plant.gente@gmail.com.

Handmade refers to items that are crafted entirely by hand, using no machinery or automation in the production process, and handcrafted items are made by hand using some tools or machinery. Organizers gave as examples a wood burner or a tattoo machine used to replicate an original design drawn by hand. Only hand embroidery is acceptable.

Judges will score the work on the quality, design, creativity, originality and overall clarity of the art submitted under the following contest categories:

• Endangered plants — Focus on either threatened or endangered plants.
• Wildflowers.
• Resilience — Focus on freeze and drought-resistant native plants.
• Plants & critters — Focus on native plants benefitting pollinators and wildlife.
• Plants of my people — Focus on native plants/herbs with personal or historical significance.
• Plants beyond borders — Transboundary native plants of neighboring lands.

The online art exhibit featuring the highest-rated submissions is to debut during National Native Plant Month in April.

Arte Sana (art heals) is a national Latina-led nonprofit based in Texas originally founded in 2001 to help bridge the gaps in victim assistance for Spanish speaking survivors of sexual violence. Arte Sana launched the Plants & People, or Plantas y Gente, initiative in 2022, and held the first art contest in 2024 in collaboration with local, state, and national native plant and environmental groups.

The first year of the Texas-born contest saw work from artists in Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma. In 2025, 60% of the art submissions came from Texas and the rest from states like Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York. Visit the 2025 PlantArte exhibit launched April 22, Earth Day, to see last year’s submissions.

This year’s contest is a partnership of Arte Sana and GreenLatinos, a national nonprofit of Latino leaders confronting environmental issues in the Latino community. Additional support is provided by Native Plant Society of Texas, Latino Outdoors, Hill Country Conservancy, Biodiversity Works, Defenders of Wildlife, and Native American Seed.

At first glance, the four, multi-colored snakes might be crawling across the cover of the long out-of-print paperback.

The chilling dead-eyes, the intricately patterned scales, the pointed heads and slender bodies are practically lifelike illustrations drawn by Donald R. Brothers, the same man who wrote “An Introduction to Snakes of the Dismal Swamp Region of North Carolina and Virginia” in 1992.

But what was then another modest nature guidebook, is now a remarkable collection of precise drawings created by a self-taught artist, a professional natural scientist and lifelong snake lover raised on the edge of the Dismal Swamp.

“Everyone that would see it would say, ‘Oh, man, this is so good to have,’” George Jackson, Brothers’ first cousin, said from his family’s cottage in Kill Devil Hills. As he showed off an old copy of the book, he added, “That’s what led to me pushing him to do it again.”

Jackson, 76, grew up with his older cousin in Elizabeth City, where Jackson still lives with his wife Blair. Brothers, 88, who is now retired and resides in Boise, Idaho, where he spent much of this career, was initially reluctant to do an update because of health issues.

“I said, I’ll do all the legwork. All you have to do is say yes, and I’ll make it happen,” Jackson recalled, adding he was relieved when his cousin agreed.

“I think one of the real jewels of this is that it’s written by a guy who was born here, lived here throughout his high school years, and this is when he developed this fascination with snakes.”

What’s also so impressive about his cousin, Jackson added, is that he had failed three years of school before he finally managed to graduate from high school, and it was only years later that he was diagnosed with dyslexia. Even more surprising to Jackson, he never saw his cousin draw, and had no idea he was such a talented artist. To him, the drawings provide the most unique value.

“If you’re trying to get straight on snakes, by looking at something — rather than it being a shot of a snake in the wild — it is from someone like Donald who just spent hours and hours and hours with a specimen, looking at it and drawing it,” Jackson said. “But there is an art form here that is important,” he added, not just for art’s sake, but as a depiction of nature as viewed by the artist.

When the Virginia state herpetologist J.D. Kleopfer, with the Virginia Division of Wildlife Resources, saw the drawings, he told him that he was amazed at Brothers’ accuracy in his illustrations. In fact, he said he had counted every scale on one of the snake drawings, and it was completely accurate.

In an interview, Kleopfer agrees that the book shines the most thanks to Brothers’ hand-drawn artwork.

“Biological illustrations are a kind of a thing of the past,” he said. “They’re a dying art form.” Elaborating on what he had conveyed to Jackson, Kleopfer was impressed at the beauty of the drawings.

“There’s such incredible detail with the scale count or the scale pattern on the head and on the belly and on the animal itself,” he said. “That’s really finite detail to have as a biological illustrator, and because photography, basically, you know, took over.”

After consulting with Kleopfer and other herpetologists, Jackson made relatively minor updates on species and taxonomy.

Although the information is accurate, the book, then and now, is intended for nonprofessional readers, or as the revision says, “a cultural artifact that provides a snapshot” of the snakes in the region, and the author’s relationship to them. Two appendices are included with details on snake name changes and identifying shed snake skins.

The 2025 book was published in August, with a suggested retail cost of $24 from select outlets or tidaltalebooks@gmail.com.

But Jackson, who is a semi-retired lawyer, admits he doesn’t particularly like snakes, and still remembers his revulsion as a kid when Donald Ray, as he was known then — the oldest of his eight cousins — had asked him to carry a burlap sack filled with live water snakes. And then there was his bedroom, smelling of formaldehyde, lined with big, snake-filled jars.

“At that age, snakes are like monsters,” he said. “But I just remember my grandparents letting me go in there and you didn’t have to be told ‘Don’t touch anything.’ I didn’t.”

Still, Jackson said he appreciates the importance of snakes in the natural world, and the value of a guide book on snakes in the region to all the nonscientific folks who enjoy the outdoors, or are curious about the snakes in their yard.

The guide is as thorough as any nonscientist could want or need. There’s information about the appearance, habitat, diet, behavior and even reproduction of numerous regional snakes, from worm snakes to rattlesnakes, and whether they’re venomous and how to identify them.

Brothers, who has six children, 24 grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren has been married to his wife Judy for close to 50 years. In addition to a full career in various natural sciences positions, the author, along with his wife, also managed to build a passive solar-powered home with a huge garden and numerous livestock they raised for food.

“We did the forming, framing, glazing, roofing, painting, plumbing, electrical, interior work and cabinets,” Brothers wrote on his website. “Only pouring the concrete, countertops and carpeting were done by others. Our home would be one of the first thermal envelope home build in Idaho.” 

As he described his youth, Brothers said he grew up about a 10-minute bicycle ride from the southernmost edge of the swamp — “a fine place to study snakes.”

In an earlier memoir Brothers wrote, “Swamp Water in My Veins,” he told how he began collecting articles about snakes when he was young and writing things down. But he continued to struggle in school, with one teacher reporting that “Donald is interested in snakes and not much else.”

“Dispelling false popular beliefs about snakes was one of the primary objectives of the book,” Brothers wrote, explaining why he wrote the 1992 guide. “This was important because such beliefs contribute greatly to anxiety and fear.”

A partial list: snakes are slimy, they can jump, their tongues can sting, they can hypnotize their prey, they don’t die till sunset, the hiss of a snake is poisonous and some can crawl as fast as horse can run.

“More education is needed to dispel false popular beliefs and appreciate these interesting and important creatures of the animal kingdom,” he said.

As someone who also loves snakes, Kleopfer, who has served as Virginia’s state herpetologist for 20 years, agrees that snakes are misunderstood.

“You know, snakes can be very polarizing,” he said. “Of course, you have the whole Garden of Eden story, which doesn’t help. There’s probably no other animal, group of animals that has more misinformation and folklore about it than snakes.”

But snakes eat lots of things we don’t want to deal with — such as carrion, he said.

“Snakes play an incredible role in the ecology of our ecosystems and controlling rodents and pests and stuff like that,” he said. “They’re also food for other animals as well.”

And snakes want nothing to do with people, so the best thing is to accept them and let them be.

“I always said that resolves 99% of all wildlife interactions, particularly with snakes,” Kleopfer said. “Just follow those four easy words: ‘Just leave it alone.’”

Even venomous snakes are not nearly as sinister as their reputations have them.

“Cottonmouths, or water moccasins, have a curiosity factor about them, but those things are big babies,” he said. “I mean, you really have to do something extraordinarily stupid to get bit by one. Yeah, they’re venomous, but they’re quite reluctant to strike.”

But all the better if Brothers’ well-illustrated book helps educate people about the value of snakes and basic science of herpetology.

It’s just a very cool historic document,” Kleopfer said. “It would be a nice addition to anybody’s literary collection if they’re into that kind of natural history or regional type of history.”

Though sleek and beautiful as they may be, he conceded, snakes fall short of the cute and winsome appeal of other animals that share their neighborhoods.

“They’re never going to be embraced like our furry and feathered friends are.”

As temperatures drop on the coast, the state is asking the public to report any cold-stunned spotted seatrout to the North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries.

Cold stuns can occur when there is a sudden drop in temperature or during prolonged periods of cold weather, making fish so sluggish they can be harvested by hand.

Spotted seatrout can be vulnerable to cold stuns during the winter when they typically move to relatively shallow creeks and rivers.

“Studies suggest that cold-stun events can have a significant negative impact on spotted seatrout populations as many fish that are stunned die from the cold or are eaten by birds or other predators,” fisheries officials said Friday.

No cold-stun events have been reported so far this season, but if there are concerning weather conditions in the upcoming weeks or months then a cold stun event could occur in coastal rivers and creeks.

Under the North Carolina Spotted Seatrout Fishery Management Plan, if a significant cold stun event occurs, the division is to close all spotted seatrout harvest in the affected areas through June 30.

A significant cold stun is determined by assessing the size and scope of spotted seatrout affected by cold stun, and evaluating water temperatures to determine if triggers of 41 degrees for eight consecutive days or 37.4 degrees during a 24-hour period are met.

The intent of a harvest closure is to allow surviving fish a chance to spawn before harvest reopens. Peak spotted seatrout spawning occurs from May to June, fisheries officials said.

Data loggers are deployed statewide to continuously measure water temperatures in coastal rivers and creeks that are prone to cold stuns.

Spotted seatrout cold stun events can be reported at any time to the N.C. Marine Patrol at 252-515-5507 or during regular business hours to the division spotted seatrout biologist Lucas Pensinger at 252-515-5638 or Lucas.Pensinger@deq.nc.gov.

Officials ask that the public provide the specific location, date, and time the cold-stun event was observed along with contact information when reporting a cold-stun event.

Registration is open for two programs in January that give bird enthusiasts an opportunity to see an array of species in eastern North Carolina during the winter months.

The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, is hosting Coastal Culture and Waterfowl Watching Excursion Jan. 7-8. Guides will lead the trip throughout Pamlico, Hyde, and Dare counties to observe wintering waterfowl at wildlife refuges and seashores.

The one-day option is scheduled for Jan. 15 to observe wintering waterfowl at Lake Mattamuskeet and Pungo Lake national wildlife refuges.

“This program gives people the chance to experience the beauty and diversity of our coastal ecosystems up close,” Education Curator Courtney Felton said in a statement. “It’s not just about birdwatching — it’s about understanding how these migratory species connect to the larger story of North Carolina’s maritime environment.”

During the excursion, attendees can expect to see a wide variety of birds from tundra swans to diving ducks like buffleheads.

“Winter is an extraordinary time along our coast,” Felton continued. “Some of these species are only here for a short window each year, and witnessing them in their natural habitat is something truly special.”

The fee for the two-day excursion is $95 per person, or $85.50 for members of the Friends of the museum, which sponsors the program. The cost covers the guided tour and transportation. Meals and lodging are the responsibility of individual participants.  

The one-day tour is $50, or $45 for Friends members.

The program primarily takes place outdoors and is not recommended for children under 12. Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Because travel is by the museum van, seating is limited. Advance registration is required. Visit ncmaritimemuseumbeaufort.com to register or call 252-504-7758 for more information.

The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust has transferred the Pasquotank River Preserve in Camden County to the state for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to manage.

The 303.5-acre property lies along 1.7 miles of the Pasquotank River, a blackwater system within the Pasquotank River basin, and part of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System. The preserve neighbors the commission’s North River Land Game.

Turning the 300-plus acres over to the commission will facilitate long-term coordinated conservation management of both properties, the Coastal Land Trust said.

“We’re proud to see the Pasquotank River Preserve become part of North Carolina’s public conservation lands,” Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Harrison Marks said in a statement. “This transfer ensures lasting protection for vital wetlands, wildlife habitat, and water quality in the Pasquotank River basin.” 

The nonprofit purchased the property in March 2008 with funding provided by what is now called the North Carolina Land and Water Fund.

“The Pasquotank River Preserve lies within a North Carolina State Ecosystem Enhancement Program’s Targeted Local Watershed and is considered to be a wetland of exceptional significance by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management,” the press release states. “The Preserve is also located adjacent to the Whitehall Shores Hardwood Forest State Significant Natural Heritage Area and southeast of the Shipyard Landing Natural Area, also a State Significant Natural Heritage Area.”

The nonprofit organization said that it has focused on conserving fish and wildlife as well as protecting the property’s extensive forested riparian buffer and bottomland hardwood forest from commercial logging and major soil-disturbing activities.

“This property protects important wildlife habitat beneficial to game species and for species of concern like the prothonotary and black-throated green warblers, and provides an opportunity to the public for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-associated recreation,” Commission’s Land Acquisition Specialist Crystal Cockman said in a release. “Thanks also to the NC Clean Water Management Trust Fund which helped provide funds for North Carolina Coastal Land Trust to acquire the tract originally. This is a great addition to our game land program.” 

Coastal Review will not publish Thursday and Friday in observation of the Thanksgiving holiday.

A group of volunteers spent peak visitor season this year under the blistering sun and swarmed by thick clouds of flying insects, all to make sure the wild horses, including the newborn foals, inhabiting Cape Lookout National Seashore and Rachel Carson Reserve were undisturbed by the thousands who make their way to the barrier islands that are only accessible by boat.

The volunteers are part of the Pony Patrol program, which trains the “Pony Patrollers,” as they’re called, to share with visitors how to safely observe the two herds. One herd is on Shackleford Banks, the national seashore’s southernmost island, and the other is on the reserve site that is across Taylors Creek from downtown Beaufort.

The National Park Service, Foundation for Shackleford Horses and reserve staff organize the outreach effort that just wrapped up its third year. The foundation is the federally designated co-manager with the park service of the herd.  

Rich Rehm, a volunteer who leads the program for Cape Lookout, explained that the goal of Pony Patrol for the park service is twofold. First is to make sure guests on Shackleford Island stay at least 50 feet from the horses and keep their dogs leashed. Second, as representatives of the National Park Service, is to answer questions visitors may have about the horses, the island, or the seashore.

Paula Gillikin, stewardship coordinator for the 10 reserve sites, has been the longtime manager for the herd at Rachel Carson Reserve, one of 10 protected sites along the coast managed by the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, under North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

“The Pony Patrol plays a vital role in supporting the Rachel Carson Reserve and our partners by helping us educate the public about the wild horse population that makes the reserve such a unique part of North Carolina’s coastal heritage,” Gillikin said. “When the public understands what the horses need to survive and be healthy, they are more likely to give the horses the space they need to thrive. This understanding also keeps our visitors safe.”

Foundation President Margaret Poindexter told Coastal Review that the 2025 season had been the largest “and undoubtedly our most successful,” despite its “very difficult start.”

What made 2025 special, she continued, was the determination and resolve of the close to 50 volunteers.

The rocky start began when the first foal of the year from either herd was born at the Rachel Carson Reserve in early May, Poindexter said.

“Her presence was immediately known — lots of eyeballs in Beaufort are constantly on that herd. Just a few days after her birth, and within days of the Pony Patrol season launching, a group of visitors got too close to the foal, the anxious stallion gathered up his mare to get away from them, and the foal was stranded on the oyster rocks unable to keep up with its mama,” she explained.

Though the reserve staff was able to intervene and reunite the two, the Pony Patrollers “were very disappointed that something so potentially tragic could happen so early into the season, before the real rush of visitors even started,” Poindexter said.

Then, on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, a newborn foal was found alone on the east end of Shackleford, on the oceanside. The foundation “made the difficult decision to remove it in order to save its life. Again, the Pony Patrollers were discouraged, afraid that perhaps human intervention had caused the foal to be separated from its mother,” she continued. 

Another foal on Shackleford was separated from its mother 10 days later, found in the mud on the sound side, likely as the result of a stallion fight. It too was removed to save its life, Poindexter said.

Volunteers Margo Hickman and Laura Palazzolo, both Carteret County residents, agreed it was particularly heartbreaking to see the foals removed from the island earlier this summer. Hickman said it was uncertain if they would survive.

“’The Americas’ TV episode about Shackleford was beautiful, but it drew a lot of attention — and with that came more pressure on the horses,” Palazzolo said. The first episode, “The Atlantic Coast,” of the NBC series dated Feb. 23 began with the wild horses at Cape Lookout.

“There were multiple incidents of visitors getting too close, trying to take selfies, or even attempting to pet the ponies,” Palazzolo explained. “We can’t say for sure why two foals were abandoned on the east end, but human interference could certainly have played a part.”

Poindexter continued that “Shortly after those incidents, a filly was born on the west end of Shackleford, in an area that receives significant visitation because of its close proximity to the ferry drop and the crossover to the beach. The Pony Patrollers committed themselves to ensuring the safety and survival of this little girl.”

The volunteers scheduled regular tours in the area around the pair and reported to each other after their shift about the whereabouts and well-being of the foal and her mother. “They intercepted numerous visitors who were curious about her, moving them away from her so as not to interfere with her nursing and nap times, but sharing insider information about her and her harem to create a unique and enhanced visitor experience,” Poindexter said.

Some of the volunteers that have been with the program since the first season, including retirees Hickman and Deb Walker, have been captivated by the filly.

Walker, who grew up in Newport and returned after retiring in 2015 from several decades as an educator in Mississippi, said a major highlight for her this summer was the newborn filly.

Hickman called the filly’s birth “the icing on the cake” for her. “We all became part of her family as her honorary aunts. We weathered heat and humidity and some god-awful mosquitoes daily to check on her.”

Fellow Pony Patroller Cindy K. Smith, who began volunteering in 2024, was the first of the group to spot the filly.

Smith, a Straits resident, said she was fortunate to be leading a tour that day in June when she spotted the foal shortly after birth. “Her little legs wobbled to steady herself against her Mama.”

Smith is photographer, naturalist and guide who has been visiting Shackleford and Rachael Carson for 30-plus years and joined Pony Patrol because, like so many others, she has a “fascination with the ‘ponies.’”

Smith said once realized the foal was a newborn, she began calling seashore staff and other patrollers.

“We were all elated,” Smith continued, adding that knowing that the Fourth of July week, and the associated influx of visitors, was near, the volunteers knew extra precautions would be needed to keep her safe and at a distance from human interaction.

The volunteers were given guidance from seashore and foundation staff to developed a plan to quietly watch from afar, Palazzolo said, adding they always kept a respectful distance. “At least one Patroller was stationed on the dunes, watching and ready to gently intervene if visitors wandered too close.”

Smith reiterated that the volunteers “went over and above for this little girl, perching on dunes, hiding behind bushes or whatever it took to make sure she would not be approached. Individuals went out on their own and watched over her even when it was not a shift. I think this camaraderie bonded us in a way that made each of us better and as a whole, a more cohesive unit.”

The foal is thriving now, Palazzolo explained, and along the way, “visitors got to experience something really special. We’d share what we’d learned from our reports — her habits, her routine — and people would sit quietly to watch. We’d tell them, ‘If you stay back and give her space, you’ll see her nurse, nap, or maybe even get the zoomies.’ It became this magical moment of connection — respectful and joyful all at once.”

How Pony Patrol began

Poindexter explained that the first year in 2023 was truly a pilot, and began with around 30 participants.

“We only sent volunteers to Shackleford that first season. Rich Rehm, one of the seasoned volunteers at Cape Lookout National Seashore, stepped up and offered to be the program coordinator. Truly, without his willingness to fill that role, the program likely would never have gotten off the ground,” Poindexter said.

Rehm retired as an environmental consultant in the Research Triangle Park area and moved to in 2016 to Merrimon with his wife. He began volunteering with the seashore in 2017.

When Rehm was asked in 2019 to coordinate the program for the National Park Service, he said he passed on the opportunity. Then, the program was put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, he decided he would take up the role.

After that first year in 2023, the seashore “was pleased with the success of the program and we expanded the program to include Rachel Carson Reserve,” Rehm said. “In 2025, we expanded the program again to include the east end of Shackleford Island.”

Though the 2025 season wrapped up in late September, a call for volunteers will likely go out in the coming months from both the National Park Service and Rachel Carson Reserve ahead of the 2026 season. Gillikin, with the reserve, said Pony Patrol applications for both herds will likely be launched in January or February.

Poindexter said that those interested in joining the Pony Patrol should know that conditions are rough. “Walking over dunes, in sand, through mud and marsh, often in extreme heat and humidity, while being besieged by mosquitoes,” she said.

Despite the challenges like the heat, the bugs, the mud, and the occasional rude visitor, Palazzolo said the horses make it all worth it.

“There’s nothing like standing on those dunes, watching them go about their day. It reminds you that wildness still exists — and that it’s fragile,” she said. “I’m looking forward to checking on her this winter — and jumping right back in next summer.”

Rehm added, “If you can put up with the heat, the humidity, the bugs, and the storms by all means you should volunteer.”

Coastal Review will not publish Tuesday in observation of Veterans Day.

A white-tailed deer harvested in a northeastern North Carolina county popular for deer hunting has preliminarily tested positive for chronic wasting disease.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission on Tuesday reported the first presumptive detection of the disease in Edgecombe County on a 31/2-year-old male harvested by a hunter a few miles from the Pitt-Martin County line, according to a release.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratory is testing the sample to verify initial results. If that testing affirms those results, this would be the state’s 35th confirmed case of chronic wasting disease, or CWD, since 2022.

“We are certainly not happy to learn that we may have a new CWD infected area in the northeastern part of the state,” Wildlife Commission Game & Furbearer Program Assistant Chief Chris Kreh said in a release. “However, this is what our surveillance plan is designed to do — find areas where CWD is occurring as early as possible, so we can minimize its impact.”

Chronic wasting disease is a transmissible disease that afflicts deer, elk and moose and is always fatal. The disease spreads through infected body fluids, typically saliva, urine and feces, and the movement of infected carcasses and carcass parts.

During the early stages of infection, deer may appear healthy, so Wildlife officials urge hunters to take precautions when transporting or disposing of deer carcasses in an effort to minimize the spread of new infections of the disease.

Hunters in Edgecombe and surrounding counties are advised to keep whole deer carcasses and high-risk carcass parts in the county in which they harvested, or take them to a processor or taxidermist participating in the commission’s Cervid Health Cooperator Program for carcass disposal and test submission.

Hunters who kill game infected with CWD are advised not to eat the meat. To date, there has not been a reported case of CWD infection in humans.

Wildlife officials are asking hunters to submit deer harvested in Edgecombe and surrounding counties for testing. Hunters may use an interactive map for information on testing drop-off locations throughout the state.

Portions of carcasses that are not edible and not taken to a Cervid Health Cooperator should, when possible, be buried in the area the animal was harvested, double-bagged and disposed of in a landfill, or left on the ground where the animal was harvested.

Boned-out meat, caped hides, antlers and cleaned skulls, cleaned jawbones and teeth, and finished taxidermy products are safe to transport outside of Edgecombe County.

“We will continue, and potentially increase, our surveillance in this area and hopefully in a few years we’ll have a good understanding of how many deer are infected and how big the infected area is,” Kreh said.

The commission has collected and tested samples from nearly 3,000 deer for CWD in Edgecombe and surrounding counties during the past four years.

The closest confirmed case of CWD from this new suspected site is a little more than 90 miles away in Cumberland County.

Wildlife Resources Commission Management Division Chief Brad Howard said in a release that he did not expect this season’s hunting regulations or surveillance areas to change, regardless of the second test results. Any potential changes in Edgecombe and surrounding counties would be made during the 2026-27 deer hunting season.

“A mid-season regulation change would be very confusing,” Howard stated. “I’m confident our hunters can absorb this new information and help us take steps to increase our surveillance and awareness to the area.”

COROLLA — There’s a pond at the Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Sanctuary and Audubon Center, the Pine Island Club, just to the west of the clubhouse, with a troubled past.

Sometime in the 1940s, when the Pine Island Club was a hunting club, the membership dug out an existing pond, put in what was perhaps a 3 inches in diameter pipe to carry water from a canal off Currituck Sound and then bulkheaded the shore.

“They bulkheaded it so that they could have ducks in there all the time, so they could breed them,” said Audubon Center Senior Coordinator of Habitats and Facilities Sara Marschhauser.

The pond though, after more than 75 years, was no longer an inviting habitat for ducks, geese, or any of the species of birds, turtles or mammals that are part of the sanctuary habitat, longtime Sanctuary Director Robbie Fearn recently told the Coastal Review.

“The number of birds that I saw in it each winter went down as that pond was no longer serving the needs of wildlife,” he said.

Over the years, the water level had been falling, and “the water level was 2 feet below the bulkhead, so there was no soft side for turtles and smaller ducks. We saw little goslings (that) got stuck in there last year,” Marschhauser said. “We had to put something in there to get them out.”

That has since changed. As part of a $309,000 grant from the North Carolina Land and Water Fund, the pond, Marschhauser said, has been “restored back to its previous footprint.”

With the pond restored, wildlife came back almost immediately.

“Pretty quickly we had two wood ducks come out from the back side of the marsh and just hang out on the edge for a couple weeks,” Marschhauser said.

She mentioned that she had seen shorebirds, in this case a tri-colored heron, spotted sandpiper and great egret, standing side by side feeding.

“That means then there must have been a lot of food there. They don’t cooperate unless there’s food,” Marschhauser said.

Restoring the pond required considerably more than merely removing the bulkhead, smoothing the sides and digging out the bottom where silt had filled it.

The original pipes were much too small to provide enough water to maintain the pond’s depth, and, over the years, Fearn noted, “as sediment filled into the bottom of that pipe it got more and more restricted.”

The new pipe is significantly wider and will be much easier to maintain so that silt doesn’t restrict water flow. That extra volume of water can already be seen as it allows fish more access the pond.

“We’ve already seen increase in fish reproducing in this pond,” Marschhauser said.

What was clear from the outset of the project, however, was that simply bringing the pond back to its original shape and size and laying in a larger pipe would not be enough to maintain sufficient water levels.

The road from the clubhouse to the Currituck Sound dock passes through an open vista of marsh, trees and grasses. Songbirds are in constant motion. The dock itself is a haven for shorebirds and an occasional nutria.

About 25 or 30 yards from the dock, the canal that feeds the pond passes under the road. At one, the crossing was little more than a causeway over a ditch. “There were two little pipes … and that was it. You weren’t really getting much flow at all,” Marschhauser said.

To correct that, a low bridge now crosses the canal that is more open, allowing water to flow freely, “so that there’s not even a pipe that it has to go through,” she said.

An added bonus, Marschhauser continued, is that in high-water events, which results from any sustained wind from the west, “hopefully our bridge won’t flood.”

With a sustained flow of water, Marschhauser said she was confident the habitat will return to its original diversity.

“The hydrology is what’s going to bring in all the critters now,” she said.

Fearn agreed, noting how much more diverse the wildlife using the restored pond will be.

“By changing it back to a to a natural-edge pond where not just like diving ducks could use it, but (also) wading birds and bobcats and the otter, it becomes a buffet for everybody, rather than a small buffet for a limited number of species,” he said.

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund grant the Donal C. O’Brien, Jr. Audubon Center has received is the second substantial grant awarded to the center in the past two years. Last year a $3.05 million National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant “to fund innovative marsh restoration pilot projects” was begun with a number of those pilot projects ongoing.

At least one of the projects, Fearn said, “a thin layer sediment, putting silt and sand on top of the (marsh) islands, is cutting-edge for the state of North Carolina. So the process of working through it with regulators … is taking a little longer to get that permit.”

Other shoreline-stabilization projects have been completed and are being evaluated.

Fearn attributed Pine Island’s success in scoring major grants to simply listening.

“We’re listening to the landscape, and we’re listening to what the community needs, and then we understand the grants that we’re applying for and make sure they fit well,” he said.

Editor’s Note: Tabb’s Trails is a commentary photo-essay series with coastal reporter, photographer and hiking enthusiast Kip Tabb.

Driving along N.C. 12 Saturday, Oct. 18, it becomes quickly obvious that a nor’easter recently blew across the Outer Banks.

Traffic has stopped twice in the 4.5 miles to clear the road of sand and ocean overwash between the south end of the Basnight Bridge and the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, where a birding trip was scheduled as part of the 2025 Wings Over Water Wildlife Festival held Oct. 14-19. The trip, along with several others on federally managed lands, were canceled or modified because of the government shutdown that began Oct. 1 and continued at the time of this publication.

North Carolina Department of Transportation crews are hard at work, rebuilding the sand dune, but the evidence of the storms that had battered coastal North Carolina cannot be missed.

Standing water from overwash still covers the road in places. Sand on the roadway forces drivers to slow down even when there is no stoplight controlling traffic. Some dunes show clear signs of the waves that ran over them, their sand a darker color and more compact that dunes to the north and south.

Yet nature will abide, and at the visitor center, the North Pond is filled with images that no camera can truly capture. A flock of 200 or 300 northern pintail 150 or 200 yards long seems to be paddling effortlessly from the south to the north.

There are songbirds in the trees and foliage, and a yellow-rumped warbler darts by, too quick for the camera to focus. It’s a bird that is almost never seen in the summer in northeastern North Carolina but it is ubiquitous in the fall and winter.

As it turns out, it was a remarkable day on the half-mile North Pond Wildlife Trail that begins behind the visitor center, with rarely seen species making an appearance and migratory waterfowl filling the waters of the pond with color and sound.

Help protect native habitats and support local wildlife Sunday afternoon by lending a hand to remove the invasive Japanese stiltgrass from Merchants Millpond State Park in Gates County.

North Carolina Wildlife Federation‘s Wildlife Habitat Stewards of Northeastern NC has organized the hands-on volunteer effort from 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 19 to clear the invasive plant from along the park’s Coleman Trail.

“Japanese stiltgrass, originally from Asia, has spread rapidly across the eastern U.S. since its arrival in 1919. It crowds out native plants, offers little to no food for wildlife, and can produce thousands of seeds that linger in the soil for years,” according to the federation.

The state park in Gatesville is 10 miles south of North Carolina’s northeastern border with Virginia and centers on a 760-acre millpond more than 190 years old.

Parking and restrooms are available at the Coleman Trailhead. Register online for more details.

EAST LAKE — Red wolf populations in northeastern North Carolina are still far from recovered, but there are optimistic signs that the highly endangered species now has a solid chance.

More wolves are breeding, more pups are surviving, coyote hybridization has been cut, and there are fewer mortalities from vehicle strikes and gunshots.

While still modest, those successes reflect increased community engagement and renewed commitment from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its numerous partners.

“It’s kind of a small crew, but we’re really dedicated to what we’re doing here,” wildlife biologist Joe Madison, North Carolina program manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program, said during a virtual meeting held Sept. 23 to provide updates on the program. “We want to make this work. We want to work with landowners to make this work. We don’t want to impose it.”

Madison said that only about half of the red wolves roam within Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge land. The population, as of August, according to Fish and Wildlife data, totals about 30 red wolves, including 18 collared adults as well as uncollared juvenile wolves and a few other adults. This population roams the designated recovery area, 1.7 million acres of public and private land in Hyde, Dare, Tyrrell, Washington and Beaufort counties. Red wolves have been seen in all five counties

It is the only known wild population in the world.

Red wolves had once ranged over wide swaths of the U.S. mainland, including much of the Gulf Coast and Southeast regions, but after years of overhunting and habitat loss, the animals were declared extinct in the wild and added to the Endangered Species List in 1967. Twenty years later, four pairs of captive wolves, offspring of wild stragglers captured earlier in Louisiana, were transferred to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, headquartered in Dare County. Innovative management tactics led to steady population growth, reaching a height of about 120 red wolves by 2007.

In 2020, there were only about seven collared wolves.

But poor communication with landowners led to angry confrontations over wolves coming onto private lands, while coyote hunting regulations led to mistaken identities.  Political support and funding for the recovery program dropped precipitously, and more wolves were being shot, whether intentionally or by mistake. By 2015, proposals were introduced to drastically reduce or potentially eliminate the program. After a series of lawsuits by environmental groups, the recovery program was eventually restored.

As Red Wolf Recovery Program Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Emily Weller has acknowledged, the agency had to change the way it operated.

“Reintroducing a large carnivore into the wild had never been done before, and the focus of this program in the beginning was almost entirely biological,” Weller said, according to minutes of a management update meeting in September 2024. “But the social aspects, the community engagement, and human dimension — those were the cracks in our program’s foundation.”

Now the concept of “collaborative conservation” is viewed as critical to the survival of the red wolf, she said recently. 

“We cannot recover this species on our own,” Weller said during this week’s virtual update. “Our work depends on a pretty complex network of organizations, agencies, communities and individuals.”

That network includes veterinarian care at North Carolina State University and local veterinarians, staff with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and assistance from numerous nonprofit and nongovernment groups.

“The science tells us what’s possible,” Weller said. “But it’s the relationships, the trust, the collaboration, that really determine what’s achievable.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service also now works with “Prey for the Pack,” a habitat-improvement program that engages with private landowners in eastern North Carolina wolf recovery areas in mutually beneficial habitat programming.

The Red Wolf Recovery Program also works closely with 52 zoo and wildlife centers across the country as part of the Saving Animals From Extinction, or SAFE, program, an initiative of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, which currently cares for 280 captive red wolves. Part of the program’s goal is to increase the SAFE population to 400.

“They are a critical piece of this program in that they support the establishment of wild populations in maintaining genetic diversity,” Weller said.

Much care goes into choosing captive wolves to transfer to the recovery program in hopes of future pairing, as well as deciding which pups to place into dens with similarly aged pups for wild mothers to adopt, Weller noted.

“We rely on universities and academia for research and data to guide and base our decisions, and we’re using it constantly to adapt our management,” she said. “And then we need close coordination and communication with local landowners and community members to understand and incorporate their concerns and hopes for their community, as they have the most direct bearing on conservation and recovery, since they are the ones that live with the red wolves.”

Weller said that, other than a period of time when spending was frozen or restricted, the current funding for the Red Wolf Recovery Program had not been reduced.

Ultimately, she said, success will be when red wolves can be delisted — when they don’t need human help to survive — which is expected to take about 50 years, if all goes as planned.

Criteria that meets that goal include measurable thresholds: three viable populations, distributed to maximize redundancy and protect from catastrophic loss; one population of at least 180 and two with a minimum of 280 wolves, each with high gene diversity. Populations must be stable or growing for a decade with minimal human help and have a 95% probability of persisting for 100 years.

And finally, there must be long-term commitment that the sustainable populations can be maintained into the foreseeable future without Endangered Species Act protections.

“Red wolf recovery is about far more than just saving the species,” Weller added. “It’s about restoring ecosystems or landscapes to their natural balanced state and creating healthier environments that benefit plants and wildlife, including game species, and people.”

Every December, the red wolf program issues a release strategy for the coming year, that sets out a plan of how many captive wolves to release into the wild population that will best enable genetic diversity and sustainable growth. Changing conditions will be considered in any necessary revisions.

“It is also important to recognize that the ability to execute many of the releases is highly dependent on numerous on-the-ground factors,” according to the 2024-25 plan. “These factors include, but are not limited to, the ability to successfully capture specific wild Red Wolves, the correct timing of birth, and size of wild ad captive litters, to allow for pup fostering, and the survival of individual wild Red Wolves included in the scenarios.

“Given the myriad of factors that influence the different scenarios, the Service’s actions described in this strategy require real-time flexibility and the ability to adapt to changing factors on the ground and situations; thus, they require management discretion in the field to maximize the chances of success.”

Madison said that the team depends on having that flexibility to make judgment calls and adjust management tactics. During the update meeting, he elaborated on numerous and highly complex strategies that go into pup fostering, proper wolf-human interactions and handling — as little as possible — and wolf feeding – frozen, wild, small mammals like rabbits, raccoons, nutria and fresh frozen roadkill, like deer — and matchmaking (wolves are picky and fickle, too).

But Madison seemed quite pleased with the improvements in pup population survival, an obviously critical component of species recovery.

The pup survival rate to one year is typically about 50%, he said, but after two complete litters didn’t make it in recent years,  the recovery team determined that the likely cause was canine distemper.

“So this year when these pups were in an acclimation pen, and they were five weeks old, we went in the pen, recaptured them, and we gave them their first round of vaccines,” Madison explained. “Also, we implanted them with abdominal transmitters so we would be able to track them after they were released.”

So far, so good, he said. A family group that was released into the wild in May seems to be thriving.

“We may go into the season with a great plan, but then, you know, stuff happens out there,” Madison said. “And we have to adjust and make do with the best we possibly can.”

Featured Image

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

Guest Commentary

To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues.

Note: National Estuaries Week is Sept. 20-27

When most people think about fighting climate change, they think about cutting tailpipe emissions, swapping coal plants for solar panels, or driving electric cars. But there’s another powerful tool right in front of us: coastal habitats like salt marshes and submerged seagrass meadows. These living ecosystems are not just fish nurseries, wildlife havens and storm buffers — they are also massive storehouses for carbon, helping slow the pace of global warming.

Nature’s Carbon Vaults

Every blade of marsh grass and every seagrass frond pulls carbon dioxide out of the air and water through photosynthesis. Some of that carbon goes back into the atmosphere when plants die and decay — but much of it gets buried in the wet, oxygen-poor soils beneath. Think of these habitats as nature’s deep freezers: once carbon is locked in the muck, it can stay there for hundreds or even thousands of years.

This storage is so effective that acre-for-acre, coastal wetland ecosystems can hold several times more carbon than forests on land. That’s why scientists call this “blue carbon.”

Beyond Storage: The New Science of Carbon Flux

For years, we assumed the carbon benefits of these habitats came mostly from how much carbon they locked underground. But new research — including work my colleagues and I have been doing — shows that the story is bigger.

Wetlands and seagrass beds aren’t closed systems. They interact constantly with surrounding waters, exchanging organic matter and nutrients in what scientists call lateral flux. In plain English: tides, currents, and groundwater move carbon in and out of these habitats.

Here’s the exciting part: the more we study this flux, the more we see that coastal habitats are exporting “good carbon”— forms that stimulate carbon storage in seawater or reduce greenhouse gases in the water column. In other words, their climate benefit isn’t just what they store in their soils, but also how they influence the chemistry of surrounding waters.

Early estimates suggest this added benefit may be as large, or even larger, than the carbon stored directly in the soil. That means we’ve been dramatically underestimating how valuable these habitats are for slowing climate change.

Research Coming to North Carolina

This fall, I’ll be bringing this research to North Carolina, where salt marshes play a defining role in both the coastal landscape and economy. With support from the North Carolina Coastal Federation, my team and I will be monitoring marshes in the state to measure their carbon values. These field studies will help determine just how much carbon is being stored and exported — and how that compares with other places along the East Coast and nationwide.

By putting real numbers on the carbon services provided by North Carolina’s salt marshes, we can give policymakers, landowners, and communities the science they need to make smart investments in protecting and restoring them.

More Than Just Carbon

Of course, carbon storage is only one of many economic and ecological gifts coastal wetlands and seagrasses provide. They buffer shorelines from storms, filter pollutants, support fisheries, and provide nurseries for countless species. Protecting and restoring them is not just smart climate policy — it’s smart coastal policy, period.

A Call to Action

We’re still learning just how much carbon benefit these habitats provide, but one thing is clear: Every acre we lose is a lost opportunity to fight climate change and protect coastal communities. Protecting and restoring degraded marshes and seagrass meadows is one of the rare win-win strategies that helps people, wildlife, and the planet’s climate at the same time.

As new science on lateral flux continues to emerge — and as fresh fieldwork in North Carolina fills in key data gaps — we’ll have an even stronger case for investing in these natural climate powerhouses. Protecting coastal habitats isn’t just about saving pretty places — it’s about giving our coastal communities and working lands a fighting chance against rising seas and extreme storms.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Coastal Review or our publisher, the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed on Thursday listing the southern hognose snake as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

The Center for Biological Diversity claimed the listing as a legal victory, but said the proposed listing decision exempts logging and herbicide use and fails to provide critical habitat for these snakes.

Southern hognose snakes live in the coastal plains of Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, but they already have disappeared completely from Alabama and Mississippi, according to the center.

“It’s good that one of the South’s most distinctive and imperiled snakes will receive protections they urgently need, but I’m troubled by the loopholes in this proposal,” said the center’s Southeast director Will Harlan. “The Fish and Wildlife Service needs to remove the exemptions for logging and pesticides and designate critical habitat to give these snakes a fighting chance.”

The snakes are named for their distinctive upturned snouts, which help them burrow underground, where they spend most of their lives. When threatened, they will often puff up dramatically or play dead, opening their mouths and letting their tongue hang out.

Southern hognose snakes live in the longleaf pine ecosystem, a fire-dependent forest habitat that once covered 92 million acres in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast regions. By the 21st century, 97% of longleaf pine forests had been lost to forest clearing and fire suppression.

The snakes’ remaining populations are threatened by a number of stressors, including habitat loss, urbanization, climate change, collisions with vehicles, invasive species, disease, human persecution and collection for the pet trade.

The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2012 to protect the species. Despite agency scientists predicting that three-quarters of its populations would be lost in the near future, the agency denied protection to the species.

The center successfully challenged the denial in 2023 and required Fish and Wildlife to issue a new decision.

“We will keep fighting for these extraordinary snakes and their longleaf pine forests,” said Harlan. “These snakes cling to survival in uniquely Southern landscapes that are vital to our own health.”

EAST LAKE — In the sadder, more gruesome labor of wildlife conservation, a new count of dead wildlife on the asphalt of two strips of highway within Alligator River Wildlife Refuge continues to reflect the merciless decimation of living creatures by vehicular traffic.

A new report, “US 64 Roadkill Monitoring Survey Year One Interim Report,” released Aug. 13 by the nonprofit Wildlands Network, counted more than 5,000 vertebrates representing 144 species, as well as 1,050 snakes, 1,186 turtles, and 1,529 frogs dead alongside the highway or flattened on the pavement. The first year of the two-year study covered Aug. 1, 2024, to July 31, 2025.

“It’s pretty remarkable carnage, and we’re sure that’s an underestimate, because some things get removed by vultures,” Ron Sutherland, the conservation group’s chief scientist, told Coastal Review.

The updated information will be valuable to planning for proposed wildlife crossings under sections of U.S. Highway 64 and nearby U.S. 264, a need highlighted over the years by numerous vehicle strikes of critically endangered red wolves. Huge bear and deer that run into the road are also increasing hazards to human life, especially at night. 

Although the red wolf had once roamed much of the Southeast, the only wild population of about 30 red wolves, including about a dozen pups, is currently managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Alligator River and Pocosin Lakes refuges within a five-county recovery area in northeastern North Carolina, a good portion of which is intersected by the two highways. 

“One happy surprise is we didn’t see any red wolves,” Sutherland told Coastal Review. “One of the reasons we set out to do the project, one of our goals, was to keep the road clean of roadkill.”

Vehicle strikes, in addition to gunshots, have threatened recovery of the species.  Wolves have been known to be drawn to the highway to eat the dead animals, and tragically suffer the same fate as their would-be meal.

“Research is an important step in the construction of wildlife crossing structures,” the report states. “In order to be cost effective, it is imperative to know where hotspots of wildlife road-crossing activity occur so the sites can be chosen that are most effective both in mitigating wildlife road collisions and maintaining habitat connectivity.”

The study route was chosen to inform planning efforts by North Carolina Department of Transportation, Fish and Wildlife, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission to develop proposals for wildlife crossings and fencing installations on U.S. 64, the report stated, “with the immediate goal” of reducing wolf strikes.

“We also realized that providing more recent roadkill data would be essential as a fresh baseline for evaluating any future wildlife crossings that were installed on the highway,” according to the report.

Earlier roadkill surveys along U.S. 64 were completed between 2008 and 2011 as part of the North Carolina Department of Transportation planning for a proposed 27.3-mile-long widening and bridge replacement project. The road-widening plans, which had included numerous wildlife crossings, have since been dropped, but construction of a replacement bridge connecting Dare and Tyrrell counties over Alligator River is underway. Construction plans include wildlife crossings and under-road tie-ins at both ends of the bridge.

Sutherland said that the survey team chose to drive at a less pokey pace, about 35 mph or so, and skipped weekend surveying, due to the increased amount of traffic now on the highway. Wildlife officers were informed about large carcasses such as bear so they could be promptly removed, and smaller creatures were scooped up and tossed into the woods. Not pleasant, but unfortunately dead animals along the road are not unusual.

“Overall, you know, I’ve had a lot of years of experience working down there and seeing the wildlife before we started the survey,” Sutherland said. 

While he wasn’t shocked by the continued high numbers of roadkill, he said he didn’t expect to see so many birds. In one period of time, after a rare snowstorm, the technicians found hundreds of deceased yellow-rumped warblers alongside the road, many of which were apparently struck while seeking patches of grass without snow cover. It may not prove Darwin’s theory of natural selection, but intelligence matters even for birdbrains.  As Sutherland noted, of the 68 different types of dead birds — totaling about 800 — there were only three crows, the geniuses of the bird world.

“We know how to keep all these other wildlife species from getting hit on the road, because you can build crossings under or over the road, with fencing to steer them to the right places,” he said. “And it works for basically everything, but the birds. That’s going to take some work to figure out.”

Last December, U.S. Federal Highways’ Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program awarded a $25 million grant to build crossings on U.S. 64 by Buffalo City Road, a red wolf “hot spot” in East Lake on the Dare County mainland where the animals often cross into the refuge. Wildlands Network teamed up with the Center for Biological Diversity, another conservation nonprofit, to raise an additional $4 million in private donations for matching funds, Sutherland said.

If all goes as hoped, Sutherland expects that construction of the crossings could start in late 2026

“It’s expensive because they’re having to raise the road up to be able to put underpasses underneath,” he said, adding that design details are still being worked out.

With the project construction including what he described as a kind of “big ramp,” there will be opportunities to also put small crossings and tunnels on each side for the little crawling, slithering and hopping species, hopefully allowing a total of six to 10 crossings.

“But that’s going to be kind of a win-win situation, because that way that at least part of Highway 64 is going to be elevated,” Sutherland said. “And with sea level rise and storms and hurricanes and so forth, it’s going to be a good for climate resiliency, too, to have the road elevated.”

Featured Image

A male luna moth, or Actias luna, finds a perch in the branches of a Japanese maple near Russell Creek in Beaufort. The easily identified species flies mostly at night and is found statewide this time of year in and near hardwood forests, wooded residential areas and, on North Carolina’s barrier islands, in maritime forests. Adult luna moths do not feed and live off food they consumed as caterpillars for the moths’ seven- to 10-day lifespan.

The Currituck County Sheriff’s Office has identified the driver of the vehicle that struck and killed a young stallion earlier this week.

Trevor Odell Belcher of Greenville, Tennessee, was driving a 2010 Chevrolet, traveling south on Sandfiddler Road, which is not paved, when he struck the horse that was crossing in the path of his vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.

Belcher stopped his vehicle and called 911 for assistance. His vehicle was not drivable.

Related: Driver strikes, kills 10-year-old stallion in Currituck County

No drugs or alcohol were involved and the driver was not charged, according to a sheriff’s office report.

The incident occurred at about 5 a.m. Monday.

The horse was a 10-year-old stallion named Francisco.

Staff with the Corolla Wild Horse Fund ask that motorists drive carefully and be aware of surroundings at all times, and obey traffic regulations on the four-wheel-drive beach area

Cape Hatteras National Seashore and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission are planning to host a public workshop in Ocracoke Village on the behavior and biology of coyotes.

Scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 27, in the Ocracoke Community Center, attendees will have the opportunity to learn laws and regulations regarding coyotes, and practical methods to prevent or reduce conflicts with the species of canine native to North America.

Though similar in appearance to red wolves, coyotes are smaller and usually dark gray but can range from blonde, red and black, with a long, bushy and black-tipped tail. The wild canine has pointed and erect ears, and a long, slender snouts, averaging about 2 feet tall at the shoulder and 4 feet in length. Adults are about the size of a medium-sized dog, weighing between 20 and 45 pounds, according to the commission website.

“Coyotes are not new to the Outer Banks, but the frequency of observation has increased in recent years,” because of the animal’s “unique ability to adapt to a wide range of habitats, including suburban environments, along with the loss of their own habitat due to rapid human population growth across the state,” according to the National Park Service.

As a result, visitors and residents to the Outer Banks may spot coyotes wandering populated beaches and neighborhoods, the park service continued. “Coyotes are not going away; therefore, we must learn to coexist with the animal in a safe manner.

Correction: The incident occurred on Sandfiddler Road, not nearby Sandpiper Road, as originally reported.

A driver struck and killed a stallion early Monday on the four-wheel-drive area of the beach in Currituck County, according to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund staff.

In a post on the organization’s Facebook page, staff said the horse was struck in the 2000 block of Sandfiddler Road in Corolla at about 5 a.m. Monday.

The driver called 911 to report the incident.

A spokesperson with the Currituck County Sheriff’s Office said late Tuesday that an incident report was not yet available.

The horse was a 10-year-old stallion named Francisco.

“He was an otherwise healthy, young stallion with a harem of four mares, a yearling colt, and a four-month-old colt,” according to the fund’s staff, who noted that the colts’ parentage had not been verified by DNA. “After examining the body, our veterinarian determined that Francisco sustained the following fatal injuries: complete fracture of the radius and ulna, ruptured eye with periocular fractures, fractured ribs with subcutaneous emphysema, and likely ruptured diaphragm with pneumoabdomen.”

The staff had observed the rest of the horses in the harem behaving normally and said there was no reason to be concerned for their safety or well-being.

Motorists are asked to drive carefully and be aware of surroundings at all times. Staff emphasized the importance of obeying all traffic regulations on the 4WD beach area.

“These tragic incidents can be avoided through vigilance and personal responsibility,” staff said.

Cape Lookout National Seashore officials plan to hold its annual duck blind permit lottery through the National Park Service’s official reservations website later this month.

The permit allows duck hunters to place and leave temporary duck blinds in the park from Sept. 12 to March 31, 2026.  Construction of permanent duck blinds is illegal, and the temporary blinds must be removed by the permittee no later than March 31, 2026.

The lottery will open on recreation.gov at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, and close at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 28. There is a $10 registration fee to enter the lottery.

Lottery slots are a limited in number. Those who want to enter the lottery are encouraged to create an account before the lottery opens.

After the lottery closes, the lottery order will be randomly selected from the pool of applicants and a time assigned for the required in-person, 15-minute appointment sometime between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12. Those selected will be notified by email.

During the appointments in the visitor center at 1800 Island Road, Harkers Island, lottery winners will be able to select where their blinds will be located, complete the permit paperwork and pay their permit fees.

Hunters are limited to two blinds. There is a $50 permit fee for the first blind, and a $25 fee for the second blind, or $75 for two blinds. The fees are used to administer and monitor the program. 

Applicants must bring a valid driver’s license or identification card, a North Carolina hunting license, and a signed federal duck stamp or federal e-stamp.

“If you arrive for an in-person appointment without ALL these documents, you will not be issued a permit and will forfeit your scheduled lottery appointment,” rangers said (their emphasis).

Those not selected during the lottery or who can’t make their scheduled appointment time are welcome to go to the visitor center to be seen on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Sept. 17.

Hunting is authorized within the national seashore, subject to State of North Carolina hunting regulations and federal law. 

Hunters are advised that failure to obtain a permit or failure to remove blinds at the end of the permit period may result in penalties, a bill for the cost of removing the blind, and exclusion from the program in future years. Illegal duck blinds found in the park will be removed without notice and the cost of removing illegal and abandoned blinds significantly adds to the cost of the program and may have to be passed on to the hunters in future years.

Commercial hunting or fishing guides must obtain a permit to conduct commercial activities in a national park.  To obtain a Commercial Use Authorization, or CUA, permit, guides should contact park business manager Katherine Cushinberry at 252-838-8899. 

Guides with a CUA permit may advertise that they are an authorized hunting guide for Cape Lookout National Seashore. Those caught guiding without a CUA permit may be prosecuted and lose lottery and hunting privileges for a minimum of two years.

For more information regarding the 2024-25 Duck Blind Lottery at Cape Lookout National Seashore, contact Ranger Evan Knight at 252-838-8929.

Nominations are being accepted through Friday for one of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s most prestigious awards.

The annual Thomas L. Quay Award recognizes a person who makes outstanding contributions to the state’s wildlife diversity and considered a leader in wildlife resource conservation for nongame species, which are animals that do not have an open hunting, fishing or trapping season.

Dr. Reid Wilson Laney of Raleigh received the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission’s 2024 Thomas Quay Award in Raleigh in February for his work with Atlantic sturgeon and American eel and for mentoring future biologists. 

If you know someone you would like to nominate for the 2025 award, you may submit a nomination form and essay no longer than two pages detailing the person’s contributions to wildlife conservation. Essays must be composed on 8½- by 11-inch paper, with 1-inch margins, single spaced, and 12-point Times New Roman font. Anything over two pages will be disqualified.

The commission encourages that a nominee’s resume or CV be included.

Nominations may be submitted electronically by filling out an online form and uploading supporting documents, via email to Shauna Glover at shauna.glover@ncwildlife.gov, or by mail to N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, Division of Inland Fisheries, c/o Shauna Glover, 1721 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1700.

This year’s nominees will be considered along with nominations submitted in 2023 and 2024. Nominations submitted before 2023 will be considered upon request to Glover.

The honoree will be announced at a wildlife resources commissioner meeting by February next year.

Guest Commentary

To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues. 

It was a losing battle from the start, watching the inevitable rising and receding of the waves simultaneously fill up the hole I had been digging, and swiftly erode the accompanying pile of sand I had dug.

Perhaps it is an intrinsic childhood need to move sand from one location to another. As Sisyphean as the task may seem to an adult, sand is an all-encompassing playground; a place to dig in, sink into, and even to create your own tide pool/hot tub as the waves accentuate your enjoyment.

My first exposure to the sand with every beach trip was the arduous trek (for a young child) up the stairs of the public beach access point down Heverly Drive in Emerald Isle.

I would pause in equal measure to catch my breath and take in just how cool it was to be atop the dunes, peering down on the crashing Atlantic Ocean below. But my expeditions into the dunes as a child were limited to exactly this: brief crossings on established wooden traverses. The landscape of the dunes was dotted with sign after sign stating, in no ambiguous terms, to keep off of their sea oat-covered crests. 

Folks from all over North Carolina and beyond flock to the Crystal Coast to experience the sensation of warm sand on their toes, the waves crashing on top of them, and perhaps a shrimp burger (or 10). Whether or not they realize it, visitors and residents pass through several distinct ecosystems as they stroll toward the beckoning ocean. The first ecosystem is the maritime forest, where hardy Live oaks and Wax myrtles make their living despite the sandy soil.

Then you reach the dunes, where crystal skippers eke out a living amongst the stalwart grasses that stitch the Bogue Banks in place against the ravages of the wind and waves. Afterwards comes the open beach, which might seem like a domain reserved exclusively for beachgoers but is also one that provides critical habitat for nesting least terns and loggerhead sea turtles.

Lastly before the ocean, the area where the waves first crash on the beach is known as the swash zone, where sanderlings, a small wading bird, can be frequently observed searching for bivalves. All of these ecosystems are within sight of each other, and yet their differences can be felt the moment one no longer has a delicious sea breeze standing behind the dunes. 

Flash forward to the present day, and I am a member of a team of scientists tasked with flaunting each and every one of these signs, looking straight at passersby as we rock our highlighter yellow vests and our sweat and sunscreen-streaked faces. We catch our breath and explain to these folks the nature of what we are doing.

“We are researchers with NC State and the North Carolina Aquarium, studying a butterfly endemic to this area called the crystal skipper,” we repeat to various folks taking an interest in our work.

One of the most underappreciated skills required of us is the ability to clarify what terms like “endemic” mean or to satiate people’s curiosity about the subject while being fully conscious of just how bad we smell after a day of traversing the hot and humid dunes.

What is it like to walk through the dunes? In a word, or several, hot, breezeless, and saturated with ankle-seizing smilax. One step takes the energy of three normal steps as the sand inevitably gives way on your ascent. The dunes blocking the sea breeze is likely important ecologically for our skippers, but that perspective is hard to maintain as the stifling air quickly dishevels and frustrates us. For nature nerds like myself, the presence of snakes and wheel bugs as well as the opportunity to study a rare species are well worth the effort. 

To answer that aforementioned question about what “endemic” means, it’s a term used in biology to refer to an organism whose range is restricted to a very specific place. Marine iguanas are endemic to the Galapagos Archipelago, lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, and the crystal skipper is endemic to our own coastal North Carolina.

North Carolina’s barrier islands are famous for how thin they are, and the crystal skipper’s range spans a mere 30 miles of said barrier islands. We as researchers are fairly fortunate in that this range encompasses not one, but two state parks: Hammocks Beach and Fort Macon. This means that we have a considerable amount of public land to study this species on.

True to the moniker of the Bogue Banks, the species can be identified by the distinctive white “crystals” speckling its brown wings. If you are fortunate enough to see a skipper, however, in some cases you might see black markings on their wings. Those are the codes that we have written onto their wings as a part of our mark-recapture study, where we endeavor to estimate the population of skippers in a given area based on the percentage, we are able to recapture.

But our research isn’t limited only to the adults, we spend substantial time looking through the seaside little bluestem, which is the grass the skippers are dependent on, to find and track the development of eggs and caterpillars as they stitch the grass around them into tents that would make the Spanish architect Gaudí proud.

This is all in addition to studying the habitat itself, which encapsulates everything from collecting nectar samples to taking seaside little bluestem samples back to the lab to assess desiccation. 

One of my favorite things about our work is that we find ourselves with equal frequency in the backcountry of the Crystal Coast in remote areas such as Bear Island, part of Hammocks Beach, as often as we find ourselves in the backyards of, at times, residents and unsuspecting tourists. This seems to encapsulate the essence of both conservation and preservation in our project.

One of the most fortuitous happenstances in the preservation of the crystal skipper is that roughly half of its range is already protected within Hammocks Beach State Park in the Swansboro area, which encompasses some of the undeveloped dune habitat in the state outside of its two national seashores. This land offers researchers a chance to observe the crystal skipper in an area of land that is wild and remote.

While we hope that our work will help ensure the population remains robust, the lives of individual adult crystal skippers are not very long. All skippers emerge during two time periods: April through early May and July through mid-August. Insects as a rule are very short-lived, and the crystal skipper is no exception with a lifespan of only one to two weeks.

The nature of our line of work means that multiple cycles of technicians such as myself will study the crystal skipper over summers as ephemeral as the butterfly itself. And while the crystal skipper is immortalized through passing on its genes, we hope that our legacy in the dunes is immortalized in others taking up this work after we have gone. And yet, at the same time, the crystal skipper is always here in the dunes with us, even when passers-by cannot see it.

The caterpillars are going about their business eating, making tents, and growing as they wage an often-unseen struggle for survival against the ravages of hurricanes and the myriad predators of the insect world. This is a struggle unseen by most passers-by in the dunes, and yet forms of the crystal skipper are always present in and around these select islands. It was here before our study of it began, and hopefully it will be here long after, both ever-present and ever-ephemeral. 

The Crystal Coast is many things. From the least terns laying their eggs on the beach to the deft slithering of eastern glass lizards to the skips and flutters of our beloved crystal skippers, nature permeates the man-made structures of the Crystal Coast. It’s an area where the natural world and the human history of the islands are both preserved and lived-in.

The islands of the Bogue Banks are narrow and yet flanking both sides of the narrow dividing roads are natural wonders and all the facets of human life. We, the human race, are locked in an existential struggle trying to figure out how to balance our own needs with those of the natural world.

Existential crises are often easier to face when we can break them into bite-sized pieces, and I believe that by learning to harmonize human life with the natural world here in the living laboratory of the Bogue Banks, we can help create a template for how to do so in the world at large. All of that is reflected in the rare and humble crystal skipper, a butterfly that is uniquely our own.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Coastal Review or our publisher, the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting public comments on its 2025 draft management plan that identifies and prioritizes animals and plants of greatest conservation need in the state.

Comments will be accepted through July 5.

The North Carolina State Wildlife Action Plan also establishes research and management priorities for other fish, wildlife and plant species in the state and describes 40 types of habitats important to those species.

The plan is designed to prevent a species from being listed for federal protection under the Endangered Species Act.

“This comprehensive Plan is meant to chart a course for conservation actions with detailed priorities to protect and conserve species and habitats,” Wildlife Resources Commission Habitat Conservation Director Shannon Deaton said in a release.

Deaton said the plan “captures the threats and impacts being faced today and for the next 10 years.”

Following input from agency partners, officials now want to hear from residents and academia. This includes their concerns, suggestions and desires for wildlife and habitats, whether related to development, protected areas, research interests and needs and how they can participate, from a broad or localized level.

“People can pick and choose chapters they wish to provide feedback on, or they can provide input to all of it,” Deaton said, adding that state residents “should be able to visualize themselves participating in the implementation of the plan.”

The draft is an update to the 2015 plan and includes new research, biological knowledge, survey findings, improved conservation actions targeted at resiliency, and a stronger understanding of impacts from changing weather patterns, according to the release.

The changing climate, which is resulting in more historical weather events, including Hurricane Helene, an uptick in the number of extremely hot days, more frequent flooding, sea level rise and associated saltwater intrusion into freshwater and inland habitats, are impacting wildlife resources. Compounding those impacts is the increase in the state’s population.

“We are seeing an increase in climate-related impacts to aquatic species that require cold-water habitats,” Wildlife Action Plan Coordinator Cindy Simpson said in the release. “Helene devastated extensive acres of forested habitats, including riparian areas that provide shade for cold-water streams. Storm debris added additional barriers for aquatic species to be able to move upstream as previously cold waters are now warming. Our coastal regions are also at a high risk of habitat loss due to climate change, characterized by intensified storms that lead to increased saltwater intrusion, resulting in the emergence of ghost forests.”

The agency is working with various partners, organizations, stakeholders and interested residents providing input during the revision of the plan. The state’s first plan was published in 2005.

“Now we need your assistance to make sure we have comprehensively addressed the conservation priorities for species of greatest conservation need and at-risk habitats. We look forward to your comments to finalize this document so that it can be used as a guide for conservation actions,” Commission Executive Director Kyle Briggs said in the release.

Comments on the draft may be submitted online and, anyone who would like to submit additional written comments after filling out the online survey may email cindy.simpson@ncwildlife.gov with the subject line “2025 Draft SWAP comments.”

Additional comments may also be mailed to: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Attn: 2025 Draft State Wildlife Action Plan, 1721 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-1700.

As the weather and water warm, beachgoers will flock to the North Carolina coast just as many of the native shorebirds and seagoing avian residents begin to nest.

Piping plovers skittering up and down the sand with the surf, gulls loitering for picnic castoffs and tossed fish bait and pelicans soaring overhead or skimming the swells are all well-known and welcome sights for tourists to the North Carolina coast.

The annual nesting sanctuary closure window from March 1 to Sept. 15 helps both early and late-season nesters like brown pelicans and black skimmers. Least terns have already begun their courting and nesting rituals and American oystercatchers have started hatching chicks.

While almost any sandcastle builder, surfer or fisherman can expect to share the shore with these birds, almost all of them are in steep decline from habitat loss, rising sea levels, pollution and other threats, a new study led by the Audubon Society shows.

The 2025 State of the Birds Report shows sharp declines in shorebirds and other species along the Atlantic Coast, including least terns, American oystercatchers and piping plovers. In North Carolina, black skimmers have also seen a drop in documented nests, leading to their designation as a state-threatened species.

“The issues facing shorebirds are complex,” Audubon North Carolina spokesperson Brittany Salmons told Coastal Review. “The combined effects of sea level rise due to climate change and how we respond to that by choosing natural solutions versus shoreline hardening play a central role in the long-term hope for these species. Development brings more people and more alterations — like dredging, beach nourishment, terminal groins — to the habitats birds need. For shorebirds in particular this can be catastrophic. Having inlets with natural oscillation and broad flats are critical, along with water quality and prey abundance.”

If shorebirds can rise above all of that, many species also have to endure lengthy, challenging migrations from their nests on the Arctic tundra to wintering grounds in South America and places in between. The quality of each of the habitats they will encounter on their multi-thousand-mile annual odysseys is critical to their survival and ability to return to their nesting grounds to breed once more, Salmons said.

Nationally, about a third of all bird species – Audubon kept count of 229 individual species from coast to coast – are considered of high or moderate concern because of declining populations.

Of those, 42 species are listed as red-alert tipping point species, or “birds with perilously low populations and steep declining trends.” Another 37 species are considered orange-alert, populations that show long-term population losses and accelerated declines within the past decade. Thirty-three species qualify for yellow-alert status, showing long-term population losses that have stabilized in recent years yet still require conservation to sustain that tenuous recovery, Audubon said.

All of those species, regardless of their color coding, have one thing in common: They have each lost more than half of their measurable populations in the past 50 years.

“Some of these species lack sufficient monitoring to thoroughly investigate losses,” states the report. “Tipping point species require focused scientific research to pinpoint drivers of declines, paired with fast action on conservation measures to bring these birds back.”

As a group, shorebirds fared worst among the bird populations outlined in the report. Since 1980, shorebirds have suffered a 33% decline in overall population, which the report characterizes as “widespread declines with accelerating losses.”

Of 28 species of shorebirds measured, 19 showed “definitive negative population trends,” with 18 of those showing accelerated losses in recent years. Shorebirds are most heavily represented among the species listed as at a tipping point.

“Surveys show steep shorebird declines at migratory staging sites along the Atlantic Coast from North Carolina to Nova Scotia, as well as the Gulf Coast,” the report says. “Conservation actions to restore these critical coastal habitats will protect shorebirds, people and property from storms, flooding and sea level rise.”

Targeted efforts needed

Targeted conservation efforts are needed to protect shorebirds along the North Carolina coast and elsewhere along the Eastern Flyway, Audubon said. The report highlights efforts to protect the American oystercatcher, the black, white and brown shorebird notable for its thick, sturdy orange bill.

Fifteen years ago, the oystercatcher was in serious decline throughout its Atlantic Coast range. In 2009, Manomet Conservation Sciences, in partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, launched the American Oystercatcher Recovery Initiative composed of state, federal and private groups across 16 states all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The coordinated conservation effort has resulted in a 43% increase in oystercatcher populations, from about 10,000 individuals in 2009 to nearly 15,000 in 2023, according to the report.

Targeted management and monitoring along the coast, including protecting areas for oystercatcher use paid off, the report says. Remote islands and portions of public beaches were also roped off to keep the public from interfering with the birds’ natural behavior and reproduction.

“This coordinated, multi-state effort saved this iconic, orange-billed bird from irreversible loss,” Audubon Coastal Biologist Lindsay Addison said. “People visiting the coast this summer can do their part by respecting posted sanctuaries and keeping a safe distance from beach-nesting birds. We’ve already limited available habitat with development, the least we can do is share the shore.”

Seabirds – gulls and similar species that spend much of their time soaring over ocean waves – were also found to be in freefall. Audubon characterized seabird populations as suffering “cascading declines, but recovery efforts show great promise.”

Seabirds face numerous threats

Rising sea levels coupled with booming coastal development have wreaked havoc on natural seabird habitat and roosting sites, the report says. Seabird colonies on low-lying islands, like North Carolina’s barrier islands, are flooding more often. Marine heat waves are shocking their food sources.

Ravenous invasive species consume seabirds and their eggs in many coastal areas. They also become bycatch in many coastal fisheries and fall prey to plastic pollution and infectious disease, Audubon says.

“Protected nesting colonies and marine foraging areas can provide refuges for seabirds during extreme storm events,” the report says. “Policies that reduce fishing bycatch and plastics pollution can help mitigate direct human-caused stressors.

Most of the shorebird species highlighted in the report are long-distance migrants, which face a somewhat different set of challenges than temperate-nesting, shorter distance migrants like the American oystercatcher, Salmons said.

“To get between breeding and wintering grounds, these long-distance migrants must navigate a series of steppingstone sites where they stopover before continuing on,” Salmons wrote in an email. “Many of these are impacted by human presence on the coast, be it from beach renourishment or other coastal engineering projects that degrade habitat quality and prey availability.”

Waterfowl and waterbirds — ducks, rails, egrets, heron and the like — showed some of their long-term population gains level off but have fared better than their seaside cousins, according to the report.

In general, duck populations have grown 24% in the past half century and waterfowl were the only group of birds in the report that showed population gains. Of 20 species of duck measured, 14 were found to be increasing in population while one was stable and just five are declining.

Large-scale conservation policies and efforts from legislation like the North American Wetlands Conservation Act and the Duck Stamp program are partially responsible for the health of duck species in particular.

“But today, this legacy is in jeopardy,” the report said. “Loss of wetlands and grasslands is accelerating in key regions for waterfowl and wetland protections are being weakened. Environmental land-use changes are driving recent duck and marsh bird declines in many areas.”

Declining bird populations were laid bare in a 2019 study published in the journal Science that showed a net loss of 3 billion birds in North America over the past half-century. The 2025 State of the Birds report shows those losses are continuing.

But, Audubon stresses, conservation works. Coastal restoration, conservation ranching, forest renewal and seabird translocations “show how proactive, concerted efforts and strategic investments can recover bird populations,” the report says.

“The science is solid on how to bring birds back,” according to the report. “Private lands conservation programs, and voluntary conservation partnerships for working lands, hold some of the best opportunities for sparking immediate turnarounds for birds.”

Share their habitats

Policies aimed at reversing bird population decline can also benefit humans who share their habitats by creating healthier agricultural land, cleaner water and natural landscapes that better resist flooding, wildfire and drought, Audubon says.

Birds are also the natural foundation for a soaring outdoors industry. Around 100 million Americans are avid birdwatchers, not to mention hunters and anglers, all activities to which healthy bird populations are a keystone feature, Salmons said. Audubon puts the total economic impact of birding activity at $279 billion annually.

Regular folks can help support healthy bird populations by giving them room this summer, as they roost and lay their eggs along the North Carolina coast. Getting too close to a nest can scare parents away from eggs or hatchlings, Salmons said.

Human disturbance, in which recreational or other activities disrupt shorebirds’ survival behaviors, she said.

Such activities include people walking through resting or foraging flocks and allowing dogs or children to chase birds which wastes their energy and makes otherwise suitable habitat unavailable for their use. Repeated disturbance has a cumulative impact on birds at the coast.

“Just as running once to catch the mailman won’t cause a person to be too exhausted to cook dinner and clean the house but doing it all day can, being repeatedly disturbed over and over impacts the health of shorebirds,” Salmons said. “Compounding these challenges which relate to the heavy development and recreational use of coastal sites are issues related to climate change, such as impacts to Arctic nesting grounds, timing of resource availability, and other factors.”

Second in commentary photo-essay series, Tabb’s Trails, with coastal reporter, photographer and hiking enthusiast Kip Tabb.

It was a close thing, whether Jockey’s Ridge would be leveled for a development five decades ago.

If you find yourself at what is now the 426-acre Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Dare County, head north out of the parking lot and up one of the steepest dunes there.

In about a quarter mile, the disintegrating asphalt of a 50-year-old road is stark evidence that, if the late Carolista Baum had not stood in front of a bulldozer on Aug. 15, 1973, to prevent the sand dune system from being developed, a truly unique geological treasure would not exist today.

The North Carolina State Park System in 1975 established Jockey’s Ridge, what it calls the tallest living sand dune system on the Atlantic Coast. The Friends of Jockey’s Ridge State Park has organized a four-day, family friendly event starting Thursday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the state park. The friends group supports the state park in Nags Head.

Related: Take a hike Saturday to celebrate National Trails Day

Details and the itinerary for all programs being offered at no charge can be found on the nonprofit organization’s website.

Jockey’s Ridge is a remarkably complex environmental wonder.

It is a harsh environment. Where the sand is deepest and most active, nothing grows. But one of the ironies of what is left of the road is the roadbed stabilized the sand, and as the asphalt cracked, opening the soil to the elements, small thickets of pine took root.

There are self-guided trails in Jockey’s Ridge State Park.

The Soundside Nature Trail is a 1.2-mile loop that begins at the main parking lot by the visitor center, and the Tracks in the Sand Trail is a 0.6-mile loop trail beginning at the Soundside parking lot.

Depending on where the hike is going, the conditions can be strenuous. Hiking conditions are fine sand and steep inclines. It’s not necessary to be an athlete, but reasonable physical condition is important.

Visitors can explore all areas of Jockey’s Ridge State Park, but there are some things to know while there.

Take water with you, especially in the summer as conditions can be extremely hot and there is no drinking water anywhere, and insect repellant is a good idea.

When hiking in the thicket at the base of the main dune, be respectful of nature. There are a surprising number of trails and no need to create a new one.

Among the dunes where the soil has stabilized, flowering plants thrive and insect life is abundant.

There are a surprising number of flowering plants that flourish in Jockey’s Ridge, perhaps none as spectacular as a mound lily yucca.

As the flowers come into full bloom this time of year, pollinators and other insects swarm to the plants, such as the trumpet vines, which are prolific on the hillocks throughout the park.

The trumpet vines are just one of many flowering plants in Jockey’s Ridge where pollinators can be spotted, including red-spotted purple butterflies.

As the foliage thickens in spring and into summer, the sound of songbirds, like the gray catbird, is a constant chorus. Usually deep in the foliage, they are heard but not seen, but sometimes they’ll make an appearance.

Following a prescribed burn in April of this year, the largest thicket, which could almost be considered a small maritime forest, is showing signs of regeneration as summer approaches.

The wooded area on the Roanoke Sound is in the wind shadow of the largest dune in Jockey’s Ridge, and extends a little over a half mile from the parking lot and recreational beach at the southeast corner of the park.

The colors of a blue grosbeak spotted on a branch in the burn area, according to Cornell University’s All About Birds website, indicate a breeding male. The species is “uncommon but widespread across the southern United States.”

If the hike is going to be fairly long and include the Roanoke Sound shoreline, there is considerable underbrush and walking through while barefoot can be painful.

Waterfowl are a frequent sight as well. In a cove off the trail, two mallards shared a quiet moment. The drake kept bringing its foot to its head in what appeared to be an attempt to scratch something by his beak.

The North Carolina Mountains-to-Sea Trail crosses the state, connecting the eastern terminus in Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks and the western terminus in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Cape Lookout National Seashore’s first Horse Sense and Survival tour for the year is slated for the morning of Saturday, June 21.

Leading the tour is seashore’s Resource Manager Dr. Sue Stuska, who will explain the relationships, behavior and survival of these wild horses on Shackleford Banks.

“This is an excellent opportunity for visitors to witness and begin to understand the wild horses,” Cape Lookout Superintendent Jeff West said in a release. “The Shackleford horses are truly a unique aspect of what makes Cape Lookout National Seashore a special place.”

The program is free, but space is limited to 20 participants. Reservations are required and can be made at CALO Wild Horse Reservations. For reservations and to ask questions, call the park at 252-728-2250, ext. 0.  

After reserving a spot with the park, reserve a ferry tickets, which are $24 for adults and $17 for ages 3 to 11, at www.islandexpressferryservices.com or by calling 252-728-7433.

Participants will need to gather at the Island Express Ferry Service depot in Beaufort by 8:15 a.m. June 21. The ferry will depart at 8:30 a.m. and head toward the soundside shore of west Shackleford Banks to walk a moderate-level trek off the beaten path to find horses to watch from a distance. The ferry will return around 12:30 p.m.

Seashore staff recommend visitors arrive prepared for a day in the sun, climbing dunes, walking through brush, and navigating in deep sand. Shoes that protect your feet and stay on in the mud are required. Participants should bring water, snacks, bug repellent, sunscreen, sun hat, binoculars, and camera with a telephoto lens in a daypack or shoulder bag.

Additional tours are scheduled for July 20, Aug. 3 and Sept. 20. October and November programs will be announced. For more information, including meeting places, times, and ferry costs on the tours planned for later this year, see http://go.nps.gov/horsewatch.

Visitors to the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort are being reminded to keep a safe distance from wild horses that call the reserve home after human disturbance led to a foal being separated for hours from its mother earlier this month.

A 6-day-old foal was separated May 10 from its mother “following disturbance by humans on foot and boats,” according to a North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality release.

Several days after the foal was reunited with its mother, the young, wild horse and its social group were coaxed by a visitor on the reserve.

“Although these visitors likely did not mean harm, their behavior is illegal and can be dangerous for both the horses and visitors,” Paula Gillikin, the division’s horse herd manager for reserve, said in the release. “In particular, survival of foals can be compromised by disruptions to their natural behaviors such as nursing and resting. The first few years of a wild horse’s life are critical to their long-term survival.”

Visitors to the reserve should maintain a lawful distance of at least 50 feet away. More distance is recommended when a foal is present. Similar rules apply around wild horses roaming Shackleford Banks.

“We realize visitors and boaters are excited about seeing the new baby, but we need your help to ensure it can survive,” the reserve posted on social media.

Beaufort also has an ordinance prohibiting the harassment of wild horses and coming within 50 feet of the animals.

“While these instances are occurring more and more and being posted to social media, the most effective way to immediately address this situation is to contact my staff by call 252-726-1911,” Beaufort Police Chief Paul Burdette said in the release. “Timely identification is critical in not only protecting the horses, but for effective enforcement up to and including the issuance of citations.”

The presence of horses on the Rachel Carson Reserve goes back to the 1940s, when a local resident brought the animals to the area, where they eventually became wild, living primarily on saltmarsh cordgrass. They dig for fresh water.

Coastal Reserve staff and volunteers continually monitor the wild horse herd. Locals help protect the horses by reporting harassment, educating visitors, and participating in the volunteer Pony Patrol program.

Visitors who witness a violation on the Rachel Carson Reserve or Shackleford Banks are encouraged, if it is safe, to take a photo of an incident, including boat registration numbers, and report to the Beaufort Police Department.

Nowadays it’s not uncommon to hear about human-alligator encounters in southeastern North Carolina.

That’s why the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission this week launched “GatorWise,” an informational outreach initiative to educate the public on how to live responsibly with alligators.

Most calls about alligators to the agency’s Wildlife Hotline come from New Hanover and Brunswick counties, coastal counties that experienced exponential development since American alligators were delisted in 1987 from the federal endangered species list, according to the commission.

“As development continues to expand into once-remote areas where alligators live, we need to become GatorWise in order to safely share the land with this species,” commission Wildlife Biologist Alicia Wassmer said in a release.

“Urbanization is projected to increase at exponential rates in areas where alligator habitat occurs,” Wassmer continued. “This continuous conversion of natural spaces, coupled with a constant influx of newcomers who may not know that alligators are here or aren’t familiar with alligator behavior, have amplified the need for state wildlife resource agencies to proactively connect residents and visitors with vital information on how to coexist responsibly with the alligators that live in these communities.” 

American alligators live in 11 southeastern states, including North Carolina, which is the northern-most region in which they reside in the United States.

Wildlife agencies in all of those states on Monday launched the program, which emphasizes following six GatorWise Basics:

• Assume alligators are present in water bodies.
• Do not discard fish or food scraps in those waters.
• Never feed, harass, capture or handle an alligator.
• Supervise small children near water and keep pets leashed and away from the water’s edge.
• Always observe warning signs when you are in or near the water.
• Avoid swimming in areas with dense vegetation and swim only in daylight.

Additional information is available on the commission’s website.

The death and decapitation of a bottlenose dolphin found on the shores of Lea-Hutaff Island in Pender County remains under investigation.

The decapitation has been determined to be intentional, which is a violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to a criminal conviction or civil penalty of the person or people responsible, according to a NOAA release.

The dolphin was found by a member of the public April 15 near marker 105 of the undeveloped barrier island and reported to the Southeast Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline.

NOAA’s stranding partner network, the University of North Carolina Wilmington, responded to the call and found the 8-foot dolphin, according to the release.

“They determined that someone intentionally removed its head between April 16 and April 18, after they received the initial stranding report,” the release states.

An initial health assessment of the dolphin indicates the animal was carrying a bacteria called Brucella, which can be transferred to humans through direct contact. Results of a necropsy, or an animal autopsy, are pending.

Anyone with information leading to the successful identification and/or arrest, conviction or civil penalty assessment of those involved may call NOAA’s enforcement hotline at 800-853-1964. Tips may be left anonymously, but to be eligible for the reward a name and contact information must be provided with the hotline.

Violators may be punished for up to $100,000 in fines and up to one year in jail.

Editor’s Note: After Sam Bland retired from his position as superintendent at Hammocks Beach State Park, he joined the staff of the North Carolina Coastal Federation. While a coastal specialist in the 2010s, he would periodically write about his time in the field for Coastal Review. Now traveling the country, Bland drops a line every once in a while to share a new adventure with his readers, such as the following:

With the silent curtain of darkness kissing the horizon, we rode down the dusty ribbon of a remote dirt road in western Wyoming. The departing sun left a thin orange glow on the horizon, hanging low like a colorful fog. Straight ahead in the sky, a sliver of the waxing crescent moon grinned sideways like Lewis Carroll’s Cheshire cat.

Following the directions, we turned off the road and on to an eroded washboard of rocks and stones. With silent glances, we wondered if this was the right way to go. Soon, the path ended in a clearing where we parked the car. Stepping out, we immediately heard the clear sharp song of the northern saw-whet owl piercing the cool clear mountain air. Over and over, it called, beckoning.

Cautiously, we headed down the ankle-twisting cobble path, our flashlights leading the way. In the distance, we could see a faint glow of light suppressed by the walls of a nylon tent. Not far from the tent, a stand of fir trees stood tall, silhouetted against the evening sky. The door flap of the tent swung open and we were greeted by Noah Price, his face illuminated red by a filtered headlamp.

A contracted field biologist, Noah specializes in documenting the migration of small forest owl species such as saw-whets, boreals and flammulated owls. Stepping inside the dimly lit tent, there were a few chairs and a table. Neatly arranged on the table was all the accouterment necessary to band owls. A digital scale, rulers, clipboards thick with data forms, a tool box filled with banding supplies, clamping pliers, and a variety of short PVC tubes were at the ready. We — my wife Bright, and I — had ventured to this secluded location for the opportunity to observe the banding of northern saw-whet owls.

Saw-whets are one of the smallest owls, standing at only 8 inches. It is a fluffball of feathers weighing a scant 5 ounces, at the most. Although diminutive, it is a solid-looking bird with a large facial disc and stunning yellow eyes. With deadly talons, it flies the night skies searching for prey.

Even though it is rarely seen, it is one of the most common forest owls within its northern range, which includes the entire width of North America. Its breeding range includes the northern and western states, southern Canada as well as central Mexico. During the winter months, they can be found to venture into central and southern states.

In North Carolina, they have been documented in 31 counties and have been found wintering along the islands of the Outer Banks. High in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, there is a small breeding population as well. It is listed as a threatened species in state by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

Northern saw-whet owls were long thought to be nonmigratory and remained permanent residents within their northern range. But in the early 1900s, a number of saw-whets were found dead after a severe fall storm in an area where they were not thought to exist. This was a light-bulb moment and ornithologists realized that these owls might indeed be migratory.

Many ornithologists were skeptical of their migratory movement and it took decades before research proved it to be true. To study migratory patterns and routes, banding programs were established. Using fine mist nets to capture the nighttime migrants, they banded the owls as they moved south during the fall months. The results concluded that saw-whet owls were indeed migratory.

In the mid-1960s, banding stations started using an audio lure to attract the birds. It was a game changer. Like a moth to a flame, the amplified song of a male saw-whet proved irresistible in attracting the owls. The capture rates were so impressive that this is now the go-to method for increased banding success. This was the flute-like song that we heard when we first arrived at the banding station, a recorded saw-whet song playing on a continual loop.

With their migratory nature more well-known, researchers are trying to unravel the mystery about the biology of these secretive owls. Being strictly nocturnal, these birds are experts at hiding during the day. They will seek out dense vegetation and blend in within the branches looking as if a knot on the tree.

Ornithologists have become enamored with these cute and charismatic birds with their big bright alluring eyes. Their large facial disc makes them look like a child’s cuddly stuffed animal.

Remember in 2020 when the nation fell in love with Rocky, a saw-whet owl that was roosting in a spruce tree that was cut down for the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and trucked to New York City? Its charm undeniable, the unwittingly abducted owl became a star. The owl inspired the center to designate an owl mascot, Roxy, as their official ambassador. The plight of Rocky is also depicted in the Disney animated film “An Almost Christmas Story” as well as a number of children’s books.

Research on these owls has really accelerated over the past 30 years with the formation of Project Owlnet, a collaboration of researchers dedicated to the study of saw-whet owls. The project established standardized protocol and data collection methods to keep the research uniform for scientific integrity.

As we wait in the tent, Noah steps out into the darkness and walks toward a stand of fir trees where the mist nets are located. About 15 minutes later he returns with a saw-whet owl snuggly confined in a plastic PVC sleeve. As a cavity nester, saw-whets are familiar and comfortable in confined spaces. His headlamp creating a reddish aura, Noah went about examining the owl. Under his gentle touch, the owl calmly endured the inspection as if at a doctor’s appointment.

Each fall and spring, hundreds of researchers like Noah participate in capturing, banding and monitoring the movements of these tiny owls. In addition to banding the birds, their overall condition is evaluated. A lightweight metal band, with its own unique engraved number, is applied to the leg. The birds are then examined to record weigh, wing length, sex, age, fat deposits, and molting progress. Isotope analysis is also conducted to help determine specific nesting areas.

After the birds are released, as time goes by, information is gathered through sightings, recapture and mortality. The information is archived with the United States Geological Survey’s Bird Banding Laboratory where the data, along with recapture data, is available for researchers studying the birds.

As the most banded owl in North America, it is estimated that 400,000 saw-whet owls have worn the silver bracelet over the years. The banding helps ornithologists determine migration routes, when they migrate, peak migration, and how fast they migrate. It also establishes where they overwinter, overall population numbers, lifespan, and reproduction and survival rates. This information is essential for targeting habitat preservation along migratory corridors and wintering and nesting areas.

The data is also crucial when calculating the impact of climate change not only for the saw-whet, but for all owls. The North Carolina coastal plain is permanent residency to the great horned, barred, eastern screech and American barn owls. The short-eared owl is a winter resident while the long-eared owl is a rare winter visitor. Snowy owls are rare winter visitors during irruption years and burrowing owls are extremely rare as they have only been documented a hand full of times in the state.

Long-term variations in climate can result in more frequent severe weather events, hotter temperatures, habitat changes, drought, flooding and persistent wildfires. The impact these changes have on wildlife can be measured by what has been termed as “climate change vulnerability.” This is the risk associated with exposure to changing precipitation, temperature and severe weather events. For example, nests of ground nesters, such as burrowing and snowy owls, are destroyed by heavy rain events and melting permafrost.

Owls that are dependent on niche habitat might be forced to abandon part of their range destroyed by wildfires. It also includes their dependency on certain habitat types and their sensitivity to changing conditions along with their ability to adapt to these changes.

Some of these owls may simply adapt by transitioning to a different habitat, developing a taste for new prey or simply relocating to cooler northern regions. However, this may create a butterfly effect of competition that is detrimental to other species. Overall species populations may not decline rapidly, but they will be slowly chipped away as their habitat shrinks.

Eventually, if their ranges shift, they might be considered invasive if they out compete native species in that range. This is already happening with the expansion of the barred owl into the northwestern states and their competition with the Northern Spotted owl.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has concluded that their movement was significantly influenced by human activities decades ago. As such, they must be killed by the hundreds of thousands. Is this the fate that awaits other owls that might be displaced due to climate change? Historical ranges might need to be reconsidered and management practices revisited.

Since it is anticipated that owl species will be pushed further north with rising temperatures, biologists recommend that conservation practices be proactive. Conservation strategies should be directed to preservation, protection and restoration of prime habitats now rather than later. Even put out a welcome sign and embrace new diversity to the neighborhood.

Animals are adaptable, but it may just come down to how fast and intense changes occur in the future and their ability to adjust. Importantly, for the fitness of owl populations, is the impact of climate variations on their food sources. Will prey items such as rodents, insects, birds and reptiles be abundant in the changing landscape.

Under the illumination of his headlamp, Noah is finishing his checkup on the feathered patient. He blows a small puff of air onto the breast of the owl and a fine mist of powder down explodes into a crimson fog that hangs in the air. Startled, the bemused owl looks up at Noah and the two appear to share a laugh. As the feathers part, exposing the breast, Noah can determine a fat score that indicates fat reserves. Kind of like checking the gas gauge and how many snacks are in the car during a road trip.

Noah wears his passion for these birds on his sleeve like an epaulet. Enduring two months of long cold nights, Noah’s research station banded 321 saw-whet owls along with 68 boreal owls and three long-eared owls. With the owl in one hand, Noah finishes scribbling the data on a clipboard.

The wide-eyed owl stands straight, patiently awaiting its release. As we step outside, Noah asks if I would like to release the bird. I humbly accept this once-in-a-lifetime offer. Placing the owl on my hand, it holds firmly onto my finger, as if on a tree branch. I can feel its tiny talons gripping into my flesh.

Face to face, the deadly eyes of this fierce hunter shoots daggers into my soul anchoring a lasting memory. In an instant, it launches from my hand and lands on a low branch of a nearby fir tree. It gathers and composes itself, then flies off into a dark and uncertain future.

A gaggle of excited students and staff stand at the seawall, peering across the Beaufort Channel. Chatter ebbs and flows as people come up with possible explanations of what they’re seeing. Is it a sea turtle? A log? A lump of plastic? Finally, the silhouette moves, revealing its true identity. Excitement rushes through the crowd — it’s definitely a seal! 

While commonplace in the Northeast, this seal was 600 miles south of Boston in Beaufort, North Carolina. The animal, a harbor seal, was repeatedly sighted in the Beaufort area the week of March 24, swimming in Taylors Creek and hauling out at the Rachel Carson Reserve. 

Miriam Sutton, owner and director of Science by the Sea Eco-Tours, heard about the seal and set off on her paddleboard to catch a glimpse. She knew the seal was in the area but didn’t know it was so close. Sutton turned around and, “it just kind of caught me off guard,” she said. 

Ava Kocher, a sophomore at the Duke University Marine Lab, was part of the gathering that spotted the seal from the seawall. “It was a time where I wished I could have walked on water so I just could have gotten a little closer,” Kocher said. 

Luckily, Brantley Acree, chief mate aboard the Marine Lab’s R/V Shearwater, pulled up to the seawall in a skiff and offered to take students closer to the seal. Mindful to keep at least 50 meters, or 164 feet, between themselves and the seal, students took photos of the seal and noted its behavior. 

The seal was big news. “There was a lot of talk from the people who had been at the Marine Lab for so long, for so many years, and had never seen one, that if they hadn’t seen one in all of their time here, there must be something wrong with this one and you must be like a penguin in the North Pole, seriously lost,” Kocher said. 

Sutton has lived in the Beaufort area for 31 years and had yet to see a seal. “That’s the first one I’ve actually seen … certainly not this far south,” she said. 

Originally from Massachusetts, Kocher noticed a big difference in how people talk about seals here. “I’ve seen so many harbor seals, and when you see them on Cape Cod, you’re not even excited about the seals. You’re thinking about, ‘Oh, there’s seals on the beach. There must be sharks in the water’ … And so then to go from that to here in North Carolina, where that harbor seal is so much more rare and of an occurrence, then that suddenly was a huge anomaly.”

“It was exciting to see that something that was commonplace in one region of the world could be groundbreaking or indicative of a pattern in another place, and it just feels like you’re not learning what’s going on in the world. Because if the world is always changing, there’s always something new to be learned,” Kocher said. 

While seals are rarer in North Carolina than in Massachusetts, this one wanderer is closer to an established harbor seal colony than you might think. Harbor seals have been hauling out in Oregon Inlet, on the Outer Banks, for at least 10 years. 

As for when the Outer Banks population first popped up, “we don’t know a lot about its origins and when harbor seals were first seen regularly there,” said Dr. Andy Read, Stephen A. Toth Professor of Marine Biology, director of the Duke University Marine Lab and co-author of a scientific article about the Oregon Inlet harbor seal population. 

Read said we’re likely to see more harbor seals in this area “because the population of harbor seals has been protected since 1972 as the result of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and has been protected largely in Canada now, but also as a result of habitat exclusion by gray seals, which were also recovering and maybe squeezing harbor seals out of their former range.” 

Seals may have been in the area historically. A harbor seal specimen from the North Carolina Museum was found in Ocracoke Inlet in the 1930s, and there is some evidence that they’ve been seen in the intervening decades. 

Read is one of the leaders of a Duke Bass Connections Team that will attempt to dig into this in the next academic year. The team of doctoral, master’s and undergraduate students will pore through stranding records, newspaper articles, archeological information, scientific literature and other sources to reconstruct the timeline of harbor seal abundance in North Carolina. 

Dr. Vicky Thayer, the North Carolina Aquarium’s Marine Mammal Stranding coordinator and adjunct professor for North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine, has gotten many calls about seals in the area over the years. North Carolina has the highest diversity of any state in the country when it comes to strandings and sightings of marine mammals with four species of seals, 35 species of cetaceans, and manatees reported stranded or seen off of the coast. 

“We get the northern limit of the tropical species and the southern limit of that temperate species. And it’s such an exciting place to work. We learn so much from stranded specimens. We never know what species, will wash ashore next,” Thayer said. 

Thayer received numerous calls about the recent harbor seal in the Beaufort area. Procedure dictates that the stranding team gives seals for 24 hours before responding because they need to haul out and rest.

“As long as the seal is resting in a place that seems that people will not harass it or obstruct its access to the water,” Thayer said, “then we attempt to educate people and let them know that observing from a distance is fine. We post volunteers and set up a perimeter if the seal is in a heavily trafficked area.”

On March 28, Jillian Daly of Beaufort was kayaking in Taylors Creek after work when she saw a “large gray lump” in the marsh. 

“I’d heard there was a seal hanging around the Rachel Carson Reserve, so I quickly realized that’s what I was seeing,” Daly said, “I zoomed in with my camera and saw bile pooled around it’s open mouth, a cut under its neck, and noticed it didn’t seem to be breathing.”

It was the same seal, now dead. 

Daly reached out to Thayer and with her location and photos of the seal. 

“It was so sad,” Daly said, “I’ve never seen a seal in Beaufort and I wish I’d seen it alive and well. However, I’m glad I was able to locate it before animals or other folks came across it so Vicky could retrieve it and perform a necropsy.” 

Thayer, N.C. Aquarium Veterinarian Dr. Emily Christiansen, and Bonehenge Whale Center Director Keith Rittmaster were able to recover the seal that night and perform a necropsy, an animal autopsy, a few days later.

The initial necropsy report found that the animal was a thin out-of-habitat subadult harbor seal. The seal had a cataract in its left eye, lesions on its tongue, and was missing a tooth, all of which may have made foraging difficult. There were also parasites in its stomach, intestines, lungs, and airways, which also could have contributed to its thin condition.

Even though there’s now a colony in North Carolina, this seal is still considered a straggler, out of its habitat. “The weather here isn’t really great for them …The climate is too warm and getting warmer, and so it’s not a good option for long term survival, for high numbers,” said Thayer. 

“The climate is shifting and the prey and the population numbers are changing, and so that’s causing species to expand their ranges, maybe, and it’s not always good for long term survival of individuals.”

We might never know why this seal was down in Beaufort, adding yet another question to the long list of things we don’t know about seals in North Carolina. “What are they doing here? What are they eating? How long are they staying? What’s their body condition? Like, what age and sex classes are here? Are they interacting with human activities like fisheries?” Read asked. 

Harbor seals are a conservation success story; they beat the odds and recovered from extirpation across their range. But without answers to these questions, the perception of seals might not be so positive. However, the unknown is also exciting; there’s so much left to discover. 

If you see a seal in North Carolina, stay at least 50 yards away. “The seals need to rest, and you shouldn’t obstruct their path to the water and stay away from them, because they carry diseases and they can bite,” Thayer said. Please call 252-241-5119 to report live and dead seals and manatees, and stranded whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

“If they’re not stressed, they can fight off disease better. People approaching them can stress them, and if they are sick, but might be able to recover with rest. People may be preventing their recovery by approaching them too closely and they carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans and dogs,” said Thayer.

Thayer and Read both expect to see an increase in the number of seals in the Beaufort area in the future. Only time will tell if this lone seal was a random occurrence or a harbinger of the future. 

Volunteers with the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program are getting ready to offer weekly educational sea turtle programs this summer.

Often called the “Turtle Patrol,” the program was founded in 1989 to monitor and protect the sea turtle population on Holden Beach, a seaside town in Brunswick County. This all volunteer, nonprofit conservation organization operates under the authority of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The family-oriented Turtle Talks are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. June 18 and be held each Wednesday until Aug. 13. A volunteer will speak, a slideshow and film will be shown, and the night will close out with a time to ask questions.

The evening program “focuses on the life cycle of the sea turtle and how the Turtle Patrol aids in the preservation of sea turtles, a volunteer will speak about nesting sea turtles, what to look for when visiting the beach, and current nest information,” organizers explained in a release.

The first Children’s Turtle Time for the summer is scheduled for 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 25, and is to take place every Wednesday through Aug. 6.

“The program introduces young children to the world of sea turtles through hands-on play, games, books and puzzles,” organizers said.

This program is designed for two age groups, 3-4 and 5-6. An adult should remain with their child during the 45-minute program. If a family has two or more children that fall within both age groups, organizers advise that two adults attend.

Volunteers are available to speak to clubs, classrooms and organizations to promote awareness during the educational outreach program “Turtle Talk on the Road.” Contact theoutreach program coordinator by email at outreach@hbturtlewatch.org for more information or to schedule a program.

Sea turtles nest on Holden Beach from mid-May through August, and their nests hatch July through October. When the 2025 turtle season began May 1, Turtle Patrol members started patrolling the island each morning looking for signs of a nesting sea turtle crawl on the beach.

For details about these educational programs, number of nests, and recent news, www.hbturtlewatch.org.

Coastal towns and large homeowner associations representing beachfront properties now have the choice to install a controversial alternative to sand fencing on ocean-facing shores.

The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission last week amended a rule to allow those entities to apply for a permit to place wheat straw bales on ocean shorelines as a means to protect and build up beachfront dunes.

The rule, which will now go to the state Rules Review Commission for final approval, limits the use of wheat straw bales to government organizations and HOAs with more than 1 mile of oceanfront shoreline.

Use of wheat hay bales is restricted to those groups until the state gains a better understanding of their impacts to wildlife, including sea turtles, shoreline environment, and their efficacy.

In a 7-5 vote in favor of the rule, some on the Coastal Resources Commission, or CRC, reiterated concerns that have been repeatedly raised in recent years by wildlife officials and environmental organizations.

Those groups, including the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C. Audubon, North Carolina Wildlife Federation and Southern Environmental Law Center, argue additional studies need to be done to understand the potential impacts of wheat straw bales to shoreline habitat and the animals that rely on that habitat.

“I just would like to say I think we’re opening ourselves up to a lawsuit,” Commissioner Lauren Salter said during the CRC’s April 30 meeting in Manteo. “I think Southern Environmental Law Center is going to definitely pursue it based on the comments that we received.”

The effectiveness of wheat straw bales on an oceanfront shore was initially tested as an alternative to wooden sand fencing in 2015 on Figure Eight Island, a privately owned island north of Wilmington.

The North Carolina Division of Coastal Management issued a Coastal Area Management Act permit to two properties to initial a pilot study on the New Hanover County island.

The bales eventually became covered with sand, but, within a few months, they were washed away in a storm, according to the division.

Wheat straw bales were not allowed on a North Carolina beach again until 2023, after Ocean Isle Beach officials requested approval to place them on a portion of the town’s oceanfront shore.

Ocean Isle Town Administrator Justin Whiteside reminded commissioners last week that the town made the request because sand fencing was hard to acquire in the months following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Town officials noted the pilot project on Figure Eight Island and wanted to mimic it, he said.

“It was successful in some areas,” on Ocean Isle, Whiteside said. “Then we did have a storm and some of it washed away. Others, it’s still covered up and, as far as I’m aware, it’s still there just all covered up with sand.”

Division officials have said they do not expect a significant uptick in the use of straw bales because they tend to cost more than traditional sand fencing and they would need to be replaced more frequently than fencing.

Coastal Resources Commissioner Jordan Hennessy last week said that his position on the rule amendment remained the same as those he had expressed during a previous meeting.

Hennessy questioned whether the rule, by omitting private property owners from being able to apply for a permit to install wheat straw bales, is constitutional.

“I’ll be voting against the rule because I don’t believe it’s constitutional,” he said.

The CRC’s legal counsel, Mary Lucasse, advised that the rule amendment is not unconstitutional.

“I don’t see anything unconstitutional that’s jumping out on me, and I don’t actually understand your argument, commissioner, as to why you think it’s unconstitutional,” she said. “We do a lot of rulemaking that focuses on situational things, and we sometimes try things, as we did with (wheelchair-accessible) mats, with local governments being able to do it first, and we have not drawn any challenges to that based on constitutionality or other things, and I don’t see an issue in that.”

Under the amended rule, wheat straw bales cannot impede public or emergency vehicle access or be installed in a manner that endangers nesting sea turtles, which is similar the sand fencing rule.

Installation of wheat straw bales will require consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the state Wildlife Resources Commission through permit application review. Ties or bindings on bales must be removed to reduce debris and the possibility of wildlife entanglement.

Straw bales will be limited to 10-foot-long sections, which is the same requirement for sand fencing, and can be no wider than 2 feet or higher than 3 feet. Bales can not be more than 10 feet waterward of the first line of stable, natural vegetation, erosion scarp or toe of a frontal dune.

Sections of straw bales, sand fencing, or Christmas trees, which may also be used to trap sand, must be spaced 7 feet apart. Nonfunctioning, damaged bales or stakes that have moved from their alignment must be repaired or removed from the shore.

It won’t be long before baby fawns are born into the white-tailed deer herd on Bald Head Island.

In the weeks between May and June, the Brunswick County island’s deer population will most certainly rise as pregnant does give birth this spring. By how much? No one can be certain.

The latest white-tailed survey on the island estimates the population at 221 deer. That number has crept up and over the island’s target population, one determined to be “healthy” for white-tail, habitat and people on the island.

On land where deer have no major predators, hunting is not allowed, and the habitat serves up a lush buffet of plants, saplings and grasses. Nature cannot be depended on to manage the herd.

Five years have passed since the last round of contraception was administered to a number of female deer on the island and, as evidenced by the rise in white-tail there, the drug appears to be wearing off. And more years have lapsed since the island last contracted a company to thin the deer population through a process called culling, which is selective hunting.

Now village officials are once again faced with balancing the deer population through a means, and budget, island residents will approve.

Dr. Chris DePerno, a North Carolina State University professor and wildlife biologist whose expertise includes population ecology and management, works with local governments in other states that manage deer populations each year through culling.

He recently met via the web with the village council to discuss their options.

From a management standpoint, DePerno said, 100 to 120 deer seems a reasonable number of white-tail on the island.

“Understand that deer are reproductively efficient,” DePerno said during the council’s April 11 meeting. “They’re good at it and as soon as you’re down to the 120, the next reproductive season, you’re going to be over that. So, I always recommend going a little bit heavier on any culls than you think you might want.”

Even if the decision is made to go with immunocontraception, it will be necessary to cull between 75 and 100 deer early next year to bring down the number of white-tail on the island, village officials say.

Culling was introduced on the island in the early 2000s, when the deer population tipped into the 300s. Annual culls occurred on and off from 2003 on, before a grassroots organization introduced the idea of a nonlethal means of management to the Bald Head Island Conservancy.

One of the roles of the nonprofit, which sponsors and facilitates scientific research, is to oversee and administer deer management projects on the island. The conservancy does not advise the village on which management methods it should choose.

In 2014, the village introduced immunocontraception as a means of managing the island’s deer population, a move that kicked off what became a research study of sorts in testing the efficacy of the federally-approved drug in a wild deer population.

Immunocontraception is labor-intensive and costly management method at about $4,000 a deer.

After a female deer is successfully hit with a tranquilizer dart, she’s given a health check and a sample of her blood is collected before she is injected with the contraception. She’s then tagged and fitted with a tracking collar.

The process takes about an hour from start to finish, “if everything goes according to plan,” Dr. Beth Darrow, chief scientist with the Bald Head Island Conservancy, said in a telephone interview. “They might be able to get maybe three deer in a night if everything goes well and they find their target deer.”

Each female needs two injections, one initial shot and one the following year.

“If everything went according to plan and the deer got both doses, it was 86% effective at preventing pregnancy in the next year,” Darrow said.

That percentage can increase, she said, but the question is how long will the drug last.

“We know basically now that it’s been five years since any deer has had any (injection) and we’ve seen a lot of deer who’ve had it previously with fawns. So, we’re pretty sure that it’s almost completely inactive five years later,” Darrow said.

Does can birth one to two, and in rare cases, three fawns a year. And, they have the potential to have twins.

“If you put those two together, it’s like each mom is more than replacing herself,” Darrow said. “If she survives, then it’s kind of an exponential population growth.”

And Bald Head Island has ideal habitat for deer. The Bald Head Island Club golf course offers acres of nice, healthy grass. There’s the oceanfront dune environment as well as the many “edge” environments throughout the island.

“We have transitions from forest to dunes and forest to marsh and we’ve seen (deer) in all of these areas and using all these areas and eating plants in all these areas,” Darrow said. “So, I do think it’s possible that Bald Head Island can support a higher density of deer in a healthy way than other places might. I think it is very healthy habitat for them.”

That being said, the island also has dozens of acres of sensitive, rare maritime forest that must be protected “from getting mowed down by a hungry deer population,” she said.

The conservancy is in the process of surveying the forest to try and determine whether the deer population is damaging that habitat. Darrow said they hope to conduct a study beginning next year with a forest expert from N.C. State.

In the meantime, village officials are expected to continue discussing deer management at the council’s May 16 meeting.

DePerno told village council members earlier this month that he understands they are “trying to walk the line between doing a cull” and immunocontraception.

“I think you’re trying to make everyone happy and I appreciate that and I’m not being negative,” he said. “I’m just telling you that, in my experience with the communities I’ve worked with, they take on this fight relating to culling and, once they battle it and it becomes a norm within the community, they don’t have these types of discussions. They just remove 40 individuals every year or 50 individuals every year and that helps your budget. It helps your discussions and deer management because it’s consistent.”

Should village officials decide to use immunocontraception to manage the island’s deer population, that would not take place until the next budget, which kicks off July 1, 2026.

Sierra Club North Carolina‘s Croatan Group has several outreach events planned for this spring.

The environmental organization is to host an Earth Day celebration this week at Carteret Community College, as well as two hikes to see carnivorous plants on nationally protected lands, and a talk on native plants in early May.

Earth Day Learn and Play is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Bryant Student Center on the Morehead City campus. There will be hands-on activities and information booths, a time to “talk trash,” review native plants, and view the living shoreline.

Talks are scheduled on the hour during the Earth Day program, starting with “Wind Energy in NC” at 11 a.m., “Rooftop Solar 101” at noon, “Solar Users’ Experiences” at 1 p.m. and “Training the Workforce of Tomorrow” will close out the day at 2 p.m. Visit the Sierra Club’s website for a full schedule. The college’s Energy and Conservation Committee is partnering with the Croatan Sierra Club on the event.

The nonprofit group is offering the first of two walks to see carnivorous plants in the Croatan National Forest from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 26. The second walk is from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 24, both starting off N.C. Highway 24 in the Newport area.

“This area is dominated by pocosin bogs and large tracts of well maintained longleaf pine forests and savannas, an ecosystem that once covered millions of acres of the Southeast but has now nearly disappeared because development, logging and fire suppression,” organizers said.

The trip will consist of short, easy walks from various parking sites.

Attendees will be able to see at least 13 species of carnivorous plants, including the Venus flytrap, a variety heaths, orchids and other rare wildflowers, “We are holding two such excursions a month apart, as we expect to find different suites of wildflowers in bloom each time,” such as pitcher plants, organizers continued.

There is no cost to participate but participants must sign a waiver. Participants should wear long pants and substantial footwear. Nonmembers are welcome to join the walks. To register, contact Ralph Tramontano at rrtramon@gmail.com. Specific instructions on how to get to the first site will be given to participants when they sign up.

Gardeners wanting to incorporate native plants will have a chance to learn how from a master gardener starting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, at the Unitarian Universalist Church at 2900 Bridges St. in Morehead City.

During “The Power of Native Plants,” Carol Peoples is to talk about how to create a more welcoming habitat for birds, butterflies and bees. in addition to being a master gardener in Carteret County, Peoples is a co-leader of the Central Coastal Plain Chapter of the North Carolina Native Plant Society and serves with the Coastal Landscapes Initiative, a public-private collaboration led by North Carolina Sea Grant.

SWAN QUARTER — Turns out that those million big, invasive fish that were supposed to be swimming in Lake Mattamuskeet didn’t show up, as contractors conducting a mass removal project that began last year reevaluate the estimated population of common carp in the state’s largest natural freshwater lake.

“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.

“So far we have not detected any aggregations of fish. We are finding concentration, places where you find more fish than others, but nothing that would be considered an aggregation,” he said.

Smith explained that the refuge will continue to work with the contractor during the year to review other techniques, assess the issues with the carp’s habits and reproduction, and determine the next approach.

“We’re learning a lot about their movements, confirming whether or not they do activate in the wintertime or early spring,” Smith continued.

But reduction of carp, aggressive bottom feeders that are blamed for much of the lake’s turbidity, is just one of the multiple challenges being tackled. The team, made up of folks with local, state and federal expertise, including representatives from governments, nonprofits and landowners, is proving to be as resilient and adaptive as the lake itself.

“Like anything worthwhile, it’s the hard stuff you’ve got to pay attention to,” local farmer and former refuge biologist Kelly Davis told Coastal Review, “because the easy stuff works itself out, right?”

A member of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Davis, along with her late husband Blythe, for decades farmed 2,000 acres of farmland in Hyde County, of which about 150 acres drain into Lake Mattamuskeet.

In her observation, the lake’s biggest issue in restoring the submerged aquatic vegetation, or SAV, is the haziness of the water, to which the carp contribute by churning up the lake bottom.

“Whatever’s killing the grass,’ she said, “it’s sedimentation. It’s cloudy waters.”

 Often referred to as a jewel of Hyde County, Lake Mattamuskeet, the centerpiece of the refuge, is 6 miles wide, 18 miles long and averages 2 feet deep.

The 40,000-acre lake, expansive and often shimmering, is famously photogenic. Serene cypress swamps along its border could be described convincingly as habitat for elves and gnomes.

But its beauty belies its environmental vulnerability. It is situated on low land, surrounded by pocosin forests and rich farmlands, intersected by gated canals that drain water, sediment and nutrients into the lake.

In addition to nearby rivers, the vast Pamlico Sound, to the lake ecosystem’s benefit and detriment, contributes some of its marine life and waters, whether pushed in by wind-driven tides or flooding. 

Since the 1990s, the submerged aquatic vegetation in the lake had gradually then suddenly disappeared, depriving the hundreds of thousands of waterfowl along the Atlantic Flyway that had stopped over for food and shelter.

Once Hyde County’s community hub, the lake, the refuge and the long-closed Mattamuskeet Lodge, which the county plans to restore and reopen, is still supporting hunting, fishing and farming activities. And ducks, swans and geese still alight at Mattamuskeet, but now mostly at the seasonal duck impoundments created around the lake.

Since 2017, the stakeholder team has been focused on solutions to the lake’s water quality problems, including loss of SAV and persistent algal blooms, as well as flooding and drainage of the surrounding land.

Guidance for the work has been provided by a watershed restoration plan facilitated by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, in partnership with Hyde County, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. The Coastal Federation is the publisher of Coastal Review, an independent online newspaper that covers coastal issues in North Carolina.

Despite uncertainty with staffing and funding concerns related to recent cuts in the federal government, work at the lake and surrounding land is ongoing and planned for upcoming months, according to a discussion during the Jan. 30 team meeting in the Hyde County Government Complex.

Five projects, funded by a $16.86 million Regional Conservation Partnership Program grant awarded to the North Carolina Coastal Federation, are designed to enhance water quality within the Lake Mattamuskeet watershed.

Project planned are improvements in the Fairfield Drainage District including installing a pump station to reduce drainage into the lake and enhance crops, restoring 1,000 acres of wetlands on converted agricultural land, constructing a 4,506-linear foot living shoreline to protect a Natural Resources Conservation Service dike in Swan Quarter and other critical infrastructure, facilitating agricultural best management practices to mitigate discharge of agricultural runoff into the lake, and outreach to aquaculture producers in an effort to boost participation in oyster restoration.

The Coastal Federation is currently working to finalize a partnership agreement with the Conservation Service, according to the federation’s coastal advocate Alyson Flynn, the meeting’s moderator. She also said that the federation has contracted with consultant Jonathan Hinkle to assist in the design and modeling of the large-scale restoration projects.

Part of the work, which has a four-year timeline, with a potential 1-year extension, involves diverting, pumping and draining water on the land in a way that would avoid adding sediment or nutrients to the lake, a hydrology challenge to engineer and a problem when there may be divergent goals. Drainage improvements also include cleaning out major drainage canals.

 “We all agree that the lake is in poor health, and we want to help fix it, but what that looks like seem to change,” Flynn said in an interview, referring to the proposed Fairfield project. “And so, yes, by diverting that fresh water up into the north, we’re hoping that the lake water will naturally filter out through that designed wetland before it gets to the Intracoastal Waterway in the north, with the assistance of pumps.”

Davis, who attended the stakeholders meeting informally as an area landowner, said that water is affected by changes in sea level and by wind tide, and there’s no choice but to work with the conditions, whatever their whims.  

“There will be times where some of that water movement is hampered until the wind shifts and blows the sound back out, but that’s part of water management in Hyde County, or really on the peninsula,” Davis said. “Whether the water body is the Pungo River, the Intracoastal Waterway, the Pamlico Sound, or Lake Mattamuskeet, the whole idea is to try to get the sediment trapped somewhere before it hits that water. And as the water slowly move through wetlands, the slower you can move the water, the more time it has for the sediment to fall out, and the more what you’re sending to the water bodies is mostly just water.”

What is important, she added, is that all the projects’ stakeholders are engaged and involved — and patient.

“They’re big projects, but they’re also projects that should have decades of value. The projects don’t have to be perfect,” she said, adding that every challenge that is addressed at the time makes a difference. “Because the needs are now, and they will be in the near term and the long term, and the wind still blows the sound out.”

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting nominations for members of an advisory committee that oversees operations of the state’s new nongame and endangered species program.

Eligible nominees for the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee include North Carolinians who may contribute scientific, academic and habitat expertise to advise the state Wildlife Resources Commission on nongame wildlife conservation measures for the state’s most vulnerable wildlife populations.

The committee provides guidance on changes to the North Carolina protected species list and advises in the development of conservation plans for endangered, threatened and species of special concern.

“This advisory committee provides valuable stakeholder insight into the NCWRC, expands our scientific awareness and helps grow our partnerships that support and protect North Carolina’s at-risk species and habitats,” the agency’s Habitat Conservation Division chief Shannon Deaton said in a release. “The primary role of an NWAC member is to provide expert input, particularly with the state’s listed species process as well as the North Carolina Wildlife Action Plan revision process, and on other agency nongame and endangered wildlife initiatives.” 

Nominees for the commission’s expert affiliate seats must have extensive biological, regional, academic, scientific research and/or habitat expertise as well as experience with nongame wildlife conservation in the state.

Professionals from representative organizations such as federal or state natural resource agencies, non-governmental conservation organizations, universities, land trusts serving the state, industries that operate in and/or manage landscapes and associated wildlife, or other organizations that provide “a stakeholder voice in wildlife resources conservation,” are eligible for nomination to the committee’s at-large seats.

The committee meets quarterly, typically at the commission’s Raleigh headquarters.

Nominations may be made by completing an online form and including a cover letter and résumé, if available. Self-nominations are welcome.

Though electronic submissions are preferred, hard copies will be accepted by mail to the Nongame Wildlife Advisory Committee, Attn: Shauna Glover, Wildlife Management Division, MSC 1721, Raleigh, NC  27699-1700.

Nominations will be accepted through April 18.

Glover may be contacted at 919-707-0064 for additional information about the nomination process or the committee. 

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is seeking public comments on the 2025-26 migratory game bird hunting season.

Comments on hunting season dates for waterfowl, webless migratory species and extended falconry will be accepted through 5 p.m. March 2.

Dates being considered include compensatory days for waterfowl and webless migratory species, according to a commission release.

Comments may be made at the agency’s online comment portal.

All online comments will be considered at the wildlife resource commissioners’ April 17 business meeting in Raleigh. Details about the meeting will be posted on the agency’s website when available.

More information for the 2025-26 season are available online at the following links:

• Extended Falconry Guidelines
• Gun Season Frameworks
• Goose and Ducky Hunting Zones

North Carolina Maritime Museums officials are bringing back the overnight tour of wildlife refuges and seashores throughout Pamlico, Hyde and Dare counties to observe wintering waterfowl.

The Coastal Culture and Waterfowl Watching Excursion, a two-day adventure through the wildlife refuges and seashores in Eastern North Carolina, will be offered Jan. 8-9, 2025, and again Dec. 9-10, 2025, through the system’s Beaufort facility.

The program had been on hiatus for the past four years primarily because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taking place mostly outdoors, museum guides will travel with participants throughout Pamlico, Hyde and Dare counties to observe wintering waterfowl.

“This is a unique opportunity to see some species of birds that are only in North Carolina for a limited amount of time each year,” Museum Education Curator Benjamin Wunderly said in a statement. “There’s great diversity in the winter waterfowl we see, everything from large tundra swans to small diving ducks like buffleheads.”

Participants under 18 must be accompanied by an adult, and is not recommended for children under 12.

The fee is $95 each, or $85.50 for members of the nonprofit Friends of the Museum, program sponsor. The fee covers the guided tour and transportation by museum van for the overnight adventure. Meals and hotel accommodations are the responsibility of individual participants.

Seating is limited and advance registration is required. To register, visit ncmaritimemuseumbeaufort.com or call 252-504-7758.

​Second of two parts. Read Part 1.

By the time Chase Luker pointed the headlights of his king cab truck down a narrow country road that returned to Columbia, nighttime blanketed rural Tyrrell County.

A hunter safety specialist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Luker had spent his evening with Coastal Review meandering along farm tracks on private land, with permission, and the dirt lanes of the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, to catch a glimpse of American black bears.​

As the unofficial tour of Tyrrell County came to a close, Luker said that he’d never met anyone who hates bears.

“Everybody loves bears, but the people that love them the most are the people that hunt them,” Luker said, adding the hunters “care a lot about the bears and what they can do to protect the species.”

Bears also seem to be a source of pride for Tyrrell County residents and businesses. During an early dinner at the Mexican grill downtown earlier that day, two locals shared photos of bear sightings.

A longtime hunter, Luker manages the 13-county District 1 that spans from Currituck to Carteret County and Greene County is the farthest county west. He also enjoys writing, carving decoys and, when he has time, guiding private hunting tours.

Luker noted that 150 years ago “we didn’t use canola oil, butter, we used bear fat, bear grease, rendered down.” He said there are numerous layers involved in what draws people to bear hunting. There’s a lot of legends surrounding black bears, and it’s “part of our American fabric.”

Black bear hunting heritage in North Carolina dates back to early Native Americans and was adopted by early colonial settlers, “Bear hunting continues to be an important tradition in North Carolina, bringing together friends and families, providing food for the table, and teaching outdoor and naturalist skills, the commission’s Game Mammals and Surveys Supervisor Colleen Olfenbuttel told Coastal Review recently.

She was the black bear and furbearer biologist, when she was responsible for managing and conserving black bears and 17 furbearer species, from 2007 until earlier this year, when she took on her current role.

“For decades, most bear hunters used the assistance of trained hounds to pick up the scent of a bear and track it,” Olfenbuttel continued. “In fact, the official state dog of North Carolina is the Plott hound, which was bred for hunting bears in North Carolina starting in the early 1800s.”

For a long time, the state’s black bear population suffered. “Black bears were once restricted to remote areas and reached very low population levels in the mid-1900s,” according to the agency. Hunters and conservationists pushed for bear hunting regulations beginning in the 1930s and for the state to establish a wildlife resources agency to manage wildlife and enforce wildlife laws.

Hunters joined in the conservation effort when the commission began managing the species in the 1970s, she said. The bear hunting community contributed by providing data needed to make science-based management decisions, and helped fund conservation and research efforts through hunting license sales and the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, which imposes an excise tax on firearms and ammunition.

Olfenbuttel added that “The restoration of black bears is also due to the reforestation that occurred, starting in the 1930s, and due to changes in human attitudes toward bears, as well as the remarkable adaptability of black bears. Black bears have adapted well to urbanization, human development and habitat fragmentation,” she said.

Public response

The North Carolina Bear Hunting Association, which formed in 1985, and past hunting clubs have worked with the agency over the decades, including on designating more thousands of acres of black bear sanctuaries, according to a March 2023 letter on its social media page.

In the letter, the organization notes that it has taken issue with how the agency has handled past investigations into illegal poaching, and the fact that the commission has online public hearing because “the anti-community has learned to take advantage of on-line public hearings and meetings.” The online meetings were in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the 2021-22 session, those who are against bear hunting announced their support of a bill to “disapprove a rule of the Wildlife Resources Commission allowing hunting of bears in certain areas previously managed as bear sanctuaries.” The bill had a first reading but didn’t go anywhere after being referred to the house rules committee.

The bill was in response to the commission changing in February 2022 the title of “designated bear sanctuaries” to “bear management areas” and allow permitted bear hunting in three western lands previous off limits.

The commission made the choice to open up a permitted season to stabilize the growing bear population in the western part of the state.

Bear Defenders said on its its website that on Feb. 25, 2022, “Despite the overwhelming public opposition that included 2,744 comments, 86% percent in opposition, and our petition with over 7,600 signatures, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) voted unanimously to open up the Pisgah, Panthertown-Bonas Defeat, and Standing Indian Bear Sanctuaries to bear hunting and hunting with dogs. In addition, they approved a regulation that changed the term ‘designated bear sanctuary’ to “‘designated bear management area.'”

During a public comment hearing in January 2022, Olfenbuttel said that with a restored and increasing bear population coupled with a diverse and increasing human population and their associated development, “the Commission recognized the need to change from restoration efforts to management efforts to ensure the long-term viability of the bear population as well as assure  and maybe even increase acceptance and support for the restored bear population to do so require developing a statewide Black Bear management plan.”

She added that the bear population had nearly doubled in size between 2005 and 2022, and one reason the commission has not been able to stabilize the bear population is that areas in the mountains where hunting is not permitted are increasing largely due to development.

In Defense of Animals said in a press release at the time that, “Despite public outcry, North Carolina has approved the violent killing of black bears in three of the state’s bear sanctuaries. With few exceptions, black bears have been protected throughout their natural habitats in North Carolina for decades. Thankfully, a new bill has been introduced to stop these shortsighted plans. We must urge North Carolina legislators to support House Bill 1072 to save vulnerable bear populations to agonizing deaths.”

Regulated bear hunting

With the state bear population recovered, Olfenbuttel said the commission’s objective is to stabilize the population so that growth is no more than 0-1%. “Basically, we want to maintain the number of bears we currently have on the landscape, with the bear population neither increasing or decreasing.”

She said that regulated bear hunting is an effective way to keep the bears healthy and reinforce a bear’s natural fear of humans, while allowing the animal to be used, particularly for its meat.

A survey of hunters shows that 99.6% use the bear meat​ they harvest, Olfenbuttel explained. Mostly they feed their household, share the meat or donate it.

“I estimated that the annual regulated bear hunting season provides over 610,000 plates of food for people, which is especially helpful for those North Carolinians that live in food deserts or who are on fixed incomes and have limited financial resources to purchase meat from a store,” she said. Adding that doesn’t account for other ways hunters use a harvested bear, such as rendering the fat, eating the organ meat, and using the bones to make bone broth.

She said that with the commission’s success in recovering the bear population, “we are seeing increased interest from all over North America, and beyond, to hunt bears in North Carolina, partly due to the number of black bears we have, but also due to the size of our bears.”

And bear hunting in eastern North Carolina has definitely grown in the last five or six years.

Luker has led guided hunting tours in the past. “There’s not much to do in Hyde and Tyrrell counties” and he stumbled across the opportunity. Though he enjoys guiding, he said the commission is his priority and “really believes in what the agency does.” In a quick exchange last week, he mentioned that he hasn’t had time to lead any tours this year.

While Luker drove during that recent evening through miles and miles of uninhabited, protected lands, he said that coastal North Carolina wasn’t even on the radar as a destination for black bear hunting until the last five or six years.

Some influential hunters were invited to the area, had a successful trip and put it on social media, and the industry has grown.

There are several outfitters that offer guided hunts on the coast, costing anywhere from $2,000 to $15,000 per person, and in some cases more. The amount depends on the company, length of hunt – usually from one to five days — and what is included in the package like lodging or meals.

Luker said the rates haven’t always been that way, just in the last four or five years, but seem to be leveling out. The guided hunts bring in what he called “high-net-worth” clients who “want to do something that they can’t do anywhere else in the world.” It’s becoming an economic driver.

“They contribute so much money to the local economy here,” he said.

License, e-stamp required

Luker reiterated that the hunter needs a big game license, which can be purchased through Wildlife Resources Commission, and a bear management electronic stamp, or e-stamp.

The license holder is only permitted to take one black bear a season. The bear must be more than 75 pounds and sows, or female bears, with cubs are off limits. The hunter must notify the commission of their take by calling 1-800-I-Got-One.

Bear hunting isn’t like deer hunting, though. “It’s not tricky,” he said. “Bears have a great nose, but they can’t see. Camouflage is not an important aspect of the hunt. You’ve got to wear blaze orange, and you have got to bring a firearm that’s capable of taking the animal clean.”

Luker said that for most hunts offered by an outfitter, the guide usually brings five to 10 hunters to approved land early and gets them ready to hunt by 30 minutes before dawn, when hunting is allowed to begin.

Some outfitters have a processing facility where they can weigh and dress the animal, though sometimes a hunter will remove internal organs on-site before moving the bear to make it lighter.

The hunt must be in a designated bear management area and the hunter must use approved methods only during bear hunting season, which is usually announced about nine months before it starts. Once the guides know the dates, the clients are contacted and told what to expect and what to bring.

“Generally, about every 10 years, our agency will do a bear management plan and make recommendations,” Luker said, but staff use data from year to year to establish the season.

Olfenbuttel is an author of the management plan, the most recent written while she was black bear and furbearer biologist from 2007 to 2024, and in the game and furbearer program.

She said the program works to ensure the long-term viability and sustained harvest of 71 game and furbearer species by providing the best possible scientific information on the status and management of each species and its habitats so that regulations and management are based on objective data and participate in planning and coordination of management directives based on sound science.

“For eastern North Carolina, that means monitoring the bear population using various metrics and surveys, such as harvest rates, age-at-harvest, sex ratio of harvest, number of vehicle-bear collisions, number of human-bear conflicts, as well as conducting bear research,” she said.

The commission is currently estimating the density and population of black bears across the 37 counties making up the Coastal Plain Bear Management Unit, which Olfenbuttel said is the first time the agency had conducted a study of this scale in eastern North Carolina for data to inform future bear management.

“The program uses all the data collected from multiple sources to monitor the status of the bear population and make informed, science-based management recommendations,” Olfenbuttel continued.

Because of regulated hunting, Olfenbuttel said the commission is meeting bear population objectives in eastern North Carolina, but as development increases, people and bears are living more closely together.

“Since bears can easily adapt to living near or in communities and neighborhoods, it will become increasingly common for people to see a bear in their neighborhoods and towns,” she continued. “This is normal, but people can do their part to live responsibly with bears by following the BearWise Basics, which mainly involves securing bird feeders, garbage, and not feeding or approaching bears.”

Note: Coastal Review will not publish Thursday and Friday this week in recognition of the Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day holidays, respectively.

First of two parts.

The American black bear population is healthy on the North Carolina coast, but that hasn’t always been the case.

The species was in jeopardy in the 1900s for multiple reasons, but particularly habitat loss, and by the mid-1900s, bears could only be found in the most remote coastal swamps and mountains, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, which manages the species.

Since the commission stepped in 50 years ago, the population has been restored to nearly its historic range, Game Mammals and Surveys Supervisor Colleen Olfenbuttel recently explained to Coastal Review.

“The successful recovery of North Carolina’s black bear population was primarily due to conservation and research efforts implemented by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission from the 1970s to present,” she said.

The only kind of bear in the state — and in eastern U.S. — these omnivores are mostly found in the mountains and on the coast. In eastern North Carolina, bears usually prefer uninhabited lowland hardwoods, swamps and pocosins.

Where bears outnumber people

After an early dinner at the Mexican grill in Columbia and chat with the locals about bear sightings, Coastal Review met with Chase Luker, a hunter safety specialist with the commission, at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge visitor center.

The goal was to cruise around the refuge, which has one of the largest concentrations of black bears found in the United States, according to its website, and some farmland, with permission, with the hope to see bears in their coastal habitat.

Luker, as he steered his king cab truck out of the parking lot and toward the refuge, said “this is Tyrrell County, where bears outnumber people two to one, but there’s only about 3,500 people in the county,” and it’s the same story for Hyde County. The bears probably outnumber people there two to one, as well.

Dusk is the best time of day to see a bear because, “Bears are smart,” Luker said. They have an aversion to humans because humans “mean trouble,” and “just try to avoid confrontation. But late in the day, you’ll see bears starting to come into these fields. They’ll stay in them as long as they possibly can, and will make their way out around daybreak.”

Luker is originally from Alabama, but has been in eastern North Carolina for decades. He has managed youth programs in the region and is currently specialist for the hunter safety program’s 13-county District 1, which covers the northeastern quarter of the state, from Currituck County south to Carteret County and Greene County being the farthest west. The program provides free firearm safety courses while it emphasizes ethics and responsibility, conservation and wildlife management, wildlife identification, survival and first aid, specialty hunting and tree stand safety, the website states.

Luker cruised down a narrow country road before turning onto a wide gravel lane that seemed to stretch for miles. As dusk crept over the refuge, he expertly maneuvered his truck along the network of bumpy dirt paths, taking turns only a local would know. His familiarity with the area also is in part because he’s led hunting tours on nearby private land for an outdoor experience business.

He stopped every 15 to 20 minutes to check out the different paw prints on the dirt tracks, or slow down with hopes to catch a bear as it pops out of the woods or skitters down a tree.

During one of these stops, he nodded toward a stretch of land the size of a few football fields and explained that the breeding season for black bears is in May and June. During that window, bears are everywhere. He added that when people spot a bear limping, it’s usually not because the bear has been run over or been caught in a trap. That bear has most likely been defeated in a fight.

“When they fight, they fight with their front feet, and they bite and chew,” and it takes them a few months to heal, he said.

After breeding, the sows, or female bears, have delayed implantation, which means the egg is fertilized but doesn’t begin to develop until late fall. The bears give birth in January or February, according to the agency.

Species management

The Wildlife Resources Commission manages all aspects of the species, including conservation measures, hunting regulations and seasons, as well as research, which has focused on bear habitat use and home ranges, procedures for estimating bear populations and reducing vehicle collisions.

Olfenbuttel helped write the agency’s current bear management plan that outlines how regulated hunting is key to achieving and maintaining black bear population objectives.

The current stated goal for the agency is to “use science-based decision making and biologically-sound management principles to manage black bear populations in balance with available habitats and human expectations to assure long-term existence and hunting opportunities.”

Olfenbuttel has been in the wildlife profession for nearly 30 years. Before taking on her current supervisor role earlier this year, she had been the black bear and furbearer biologist since 2007. She earned her bachelor’s in wildlife biology from Ohio University and master’s in wildlife management from Virginia Tech, and has been in the wildlife profession for nearly 30 years.

The commission has several rules the hunter must follow, which are listed on the commission’s website. Among those is a prohibition on taking sows with cubs or bears weighing less than 75 pounds.

Hunters must have a bear e-stamp, in addition to a hunting license and big game hunting privileges. “Bag limit is one bear, you must report your bear, and you must submit the premolar (tooth) from your harvested bear to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, in addition to other requirements and restrictions,” Olfenbuttel said, adding that there are further restrictions on game lands for hunting bears.

The commission determines rules and dates for hunting season, which is this time of year but exact dates vary by county. The commission allowed hunting for a few weeks earlier this month in Camden, Chowan, Pasquotank, Currituck, Gates, Perquimans, Beaufort, Bertie, Craven, Hertford, Jones, Martin, Washington, Dare, Hyde and Tyrrell counties and will reopen the season Dec. 14-29.

For Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico Pender, Robeson and Sampson counties, season is Nov. 11 to Jan. 1.

“Unlike other causes of bear mortality, such as vehicle collisions or disease, we can regulate levels of hunting mortality,” Olfenbuttel said, adding that regulated hunting is the primary cause of bear mortality, “and that is good, as we can control harvest levels based on our bear population objectives, plus the bear can be utilized by the hunter, hunting is a quick and humane death, unlike disease or starvation, and a bear dying from vehicle collision may also result in a person being injured or killed.”

When the commission began managing the bear population in the 1970s, there was “direct cooperation and help from bear hunters,” Olfenbuttel said.

Hunters help fund conservation and research efforts through hunting license sales and the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, which imposes an excise tax on firearms and ammunition, as well as contributed data needed to make science-based management decisions.

Bear hunters also advocated for increased regulations on bear hunting, such as establishing bag limits, season lengths, minimum weight limits and license requirements, to assure the sustainable harvest of the bear population for generations to come.

Most recently, bear hunters joined the commission in calling for the state law that now requires hunters to submit the premolar tooth from their harvested bear, so that agency can use the data to determine its age at harvest and monitor bear population growth trends, Olfenbuttel said.

Luker said that “Hunting is the most reasonable conservation tool. Hunters are citizen-scientists on the ground, they know what’s going on out here. When they harvest a bear, they’re more than happy to send any hair samples, teeth samples, whatever’s needed.”

While bear hunting helps conserve the population, it also helps farmers.

Black bears in eastern North Carolina can cause tremendous agricultural crop damage and financial losses to a farmer, Olfenbuttel said. Regulated hunting allows farmers to offset their financial losses and address crop damage by having licensed hunters pay to access their land and harvest some of these bears.

“The regulated hunting season and the hunting leases that bear hunters are willing to pay landowners and farmers, helps maintain tolerance for bear populations on the agricultural landscape,” she explained.

Visible damage

As Luker guided his truck along the well-worn paths, he pointed out several times during that evening just how much destruction a bear can cause to crops.

“That was corn right there,” he said while pointing out the window to where bears had obliterated several rows of the crop. The closer the land was to the bear sanctuary, the more corn the bears ate.

“Bears typically don’t eat beans but they love corn, and as that corn grows, bears will move into the fields and not leave until the corn is picked,” he said. “It’s shaded. There are no bugs in there because of the pesticides and when they eat the corn, they get all the moisture they need, all the water they need.”

It’s a point of contention.

“Farmers can’t stand it, and I can understand why. Sometimes you can expect up to 20% loss.” For example, if a farmer plants 100 acres of corn, and expects to yield 200 bushels an acre at $5 a bushel, a 20% loss is substantial.

“The margins aren’t super high in farming, and bears literally eat into it,” Luker said.

He said many of the regional outfitters have working relationships with landowners who allow guided hunts on their property.

Next in the series: Bear hunting as heritage, conservation

Note: Coastal Review will not publish Thursday and Friday this week in recognition of the Thanksgiving and Native American Heritage Day holidays, respectively.

Featured Image

Fall colors, the reds, yellows, browns and copperheads. An eastern copperhead crosses a path recently at the New Bern Civil War Battlefield in Craven County. Watch your step! Photo: Doug Waters

A marketing campaign to highlight the birth of six Asian small-clawed otters at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher was given national recognition.

“Whole Lotta Otta” is one of the 28 projects recognized in September during the Association of Zoos and Aquariums annual conference held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The aquarium earned the Excellence in Marketing Award for a campaign with a budget under $175,000.

“Whole Lotta Otta” tells the story of parents Leia and Quincy welcoming two litters of three pups in less than a year as well as work of the aquarium to save this vulnerable species.

These otters are native to Southeast Asia, southern India, southern China, Indonesia and the Philippines. The aquarium is working to save them through the AZA Species Survival Plan Program.

The marketing campaign featured the otters on static and digital billboards, buses, shuttles, social media posts and digital ads to raise awareness about the otters at the aquarium and share their story of survival. 

“We were thrilled to bring home the AZA top honors marketing award as the Aquarium team has embraced the conservation focus and engaged the community in the individual action they can take to save this species. The excitement over having two births in less than a year gave us the idea for Whole Lotta Otta and the opportunity to shine a light on how critical it is that the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is saving species through our work with the AZA,” said Deyanira Romo Rossell, communications manager at the aquarium.

Watch Asian small-clawed otters, alligators, and even Maverick the bald eagle frolic this fall as “Spooky Seas” takes over the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher.

Aquarium staff has planned Halloween-inspired enrichment for the animals for 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, to Friday, Nov. 1. Included with regular admission, reservations are required for entry and can be made online.

“By engaging the community in a spirited way, the Aquarium team fulfills its mission to inspire appreciation and conservation of our aquatic environments. Visitors will see the passion that the animal care team has for conservation of the many species at the Aquarium, with all staff and volunteers sharing their story,” organizers said in a release.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher is just south of Kure Beach on U.S. 421.

Admission is $12.95 for 13-61, $10.95 for ages 3-12, $11.95 for those 62 and older or military with valid identification; and $3 for EBT card holders: Admission is free for 2 and younger, N.C. Aquarium Society members and N.C. Zoo members.

Nearly two dozen organizations have filed a petition seeking federal protection for the only coastal estuarine-dependent turtle species in the world.

Diamondback terrapins, living mostly in coastal marshes from Massachusetts to Texas, have been killed off by the tens of thousands over the past few decades, making it one of the most endangered species on the planet, according to a 130-page petition filed last month with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.

The nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity and 20 other organizations have partnered to petition NOAA Fisheries to list diamondback terrapins as endangered under the Endangered Species Act, a move supported by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a global environmental network of scientists, environmental experts, governments and civil organizations.

“We talked with every diamondback terrapin biologist out there, dozens across a 15-state range, from Massachusetts to Louisiana,” said Will Harlan, Southeast director and senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. “It was clear from talking with all the biologists that they are very concerned about this species. We’ve seen 75% declines across most of their range and several complete extirpations of populations in certain places, so they’re declining and not recovering.”

That’s despite efforts to bring attention to the plight of these elusive turtles, identifiable by the diamond-shaped patterns on their shells, in coastal states along the Eastern Seaboard and across the Gulf of Mexico.

While development and rising seas are depleting the diamondback terrapins’ habitat — up to 60% of their coastal marsh habitat is expected to be wiped out by the end of this century — their greatest threat today is the crab pot.

Each year, an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 terrapins drown in crab traps, Harlan said.

Terrapins are air-breathing reptiles that may climb through a crab pot’s funnel-like entrance to get to bait or simply because they are inquisitive animals. Once inside, a terrapin, like a crab, cannot get out of a trap.

“Their natural curiosity can cause a domino effect, whereby Terrapins may follow each other into the pots, particularly during the breeding season,” according to the petition.

Commercial and recreational crabbers drop an estimated 3 million crab pots each year into inland coastal waters. Each year an estimated 25-50% of all crab traps are lost or abandoned.

There are an estimated 150,000 of these “ghost traps” in Chesapeake Bay alone, Harlan said. An estimated 250,000 derelict traps are left in the Gulf of Mexico each year, he added.

“We’ve got to get the bycatch reduction devices on crab traps,” Harlan said. “That’s priority number one. It’s a very inexpensive and easy solution that won’t affect crab harvests, but will save a very threatened species.”

The Center for Biological Diversity has been working at the grassroots level up to the state level to advocate that crabbers install bycatch reduction devices on their traps.

These little, plastic devices typically cost no more than $1 each. They keep out turtles, reducing terrapin deaths by 94%, according to biologists.

Harlan said there has been some success in getting bycatch reduction device requirements implemented in Florida and “a few other states.”

“But it’s clearly not enough and not the scale needed to save these turtles,” he said.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries a few years ago created two terrapin management areas – one in the area of the Masonboro Island Reserve and the other around the Zeke’s Island Reserve and Bald Head State Natural Area. Fishers who crab in these designated areas have to use state-approved terrapin bycatch reduction devices on their pots between March 1 and Oct. 31.

Hope Sutton, eastern wildlife diversity supervisor with the state Wildlife Resources Commission, said in an email that there have been “a number of studies” in the state examining different types of bycatch reduction devices and the potential impacts of these devices to crab harvests.

Diamondback terrapins are listed as a species of concern in the state. Terrapins are included as a species of greatest conservation need in the state’s Wildlife Action Plan.

But the lack of a federal listing status makes it difficult for states to take measures to protect both the species and its habitat.

Diamondback terrapins have different status and different rules “across the states that comprise the species’ range,” Sutton continued. “The mix of statuses and protective measures across the states this species occurs in contributes to confusion for fishers as well as making collaboration across state lines more challenging for researchers and resource managers. It also makes communicating with the public about the species more challenging. Federal status could make some of these activities easier by reducing this confusion and allowing collaborative efforts to be simplified and efforts to be more efficient.”

When a species is listed, funding sources are available to cover the costs of developing and implementing conservation programs for that species.

“If the diamondback terrapin became listed, these funding sources could be pursued by individual states or cooperatively by a group of states,” Sutton said.

NOAA is required to issue a preliminary decision within 90 days of the petition filing.

“If it gets a negative finding then that’s the end of the process,” Harlan explained. “But a positive 90-day finding kicks off a 12-month status review. During that one year they will conduct a much deeper dive into the population status of this species. They will fund additional research for assessing the threats and getting stronger population estimates in certain areas.”

After the one-year review, NOAA fisheries will release its final decision on whether to list the species.

If the agency declines to list the diamondback terrapin endangered, Harlan said organizations will continue advocating for state-level enacted bycatch reduction rules.

State agencies and nongovernment groups will be on hand to help landowners navigate resources available to them during a workshop in early October.

The program being offered at no charge is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at the Columbus County Government Complex in Whiteville. Dinner will be provided.

Topics include prescribed burn associations, taxes, the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, North Carolina Cooperative Extension, turkey ecology, chronic wasting disease update, and the Forest Development Program.

Space is limited. Register by Sept. 27 with Benjy Strope at 910-874-5562, or Benjy.Strope@ncwildlife.org.

Sponsors include Quail Forever, N.C. Cooperative Extension, N.C. A&T University, N.C. State University, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wild Turkey Federation, N.C. Forest Service and Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Foundation.

A near-vanished island popping up from the channel between the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and Harkers Island has been restored, offering itself once again as a haven for waterbirds.

Around since at least 1970, Sandbag Island is a human-made, dredge spoil island built up by the sand, mud and other material scooped and sucked up from clogged waterways.

The island, owned and managed by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission sprawled as large as 18 acres in the late 1990s.

But it began slowly disappearing after that time. Dwindling in 2019 down to 2 acres and, by last winter, 0.1 acre, land where waterbirds gathered to nest, rest and forage in peace was erased.

A $6.9 million dredging project to improve waterway access at Cape Lookout National Seashore has brought new life to the little island, plumping it with 135,000 cubic yards of dredge material and expanding it to a footprint of about 5 acres, according to the Army Corps of Engineers Wilmington District.

That’s good for waterbirds, explained Wildlife Resources Commission’s wildlife diversity biologist Carmen Johnson.

“Many of the birds that use these islands, they need that open, sandy habitat,” she said. “They like going to the beach too, but whenever they’re nesting they need areas that are free from disturbance.”

On islands like Sandbag, waterbirds can incubate their eggs and, once their chicks hatch, raise their young away from beaches popular to locals, tourists and their dogs.

Johnson said state wildlife officials were eager to be part of discussions with the Corps about where the dredged material — tens of thousands of cubic yards of it — might go in hopes of getting at least some of that material to build up Sandbag Island.

The dredge project, a collaborative effort between the National Park Service, Corps of Engineers, and Carteret County wrapped in mid-May, leaving boaters a channel between Harkers Island and Cape Lookout Lighthouse that is 100 feet wide with depths ranging from 7 to 9 feet.

In all, 167,000 cubic yards of material was dredged to improve navigation from Back Sound channel through Lookout Bight, Wilmington District Public Affairs Specialist Jed Cayton said in an email. Of that, 32,000 cubic yards of material was injected onto Barden Inlet beach directly in front of the lighthouse.

“All beach compatible material (sand) was placed on the beach, providing some protection for the historic lighthouse,” Cayton said. “The material placed on Sandbag Island was a silty sand (not quite beach compatible), and was a great based to help rebuild an eroded bird island.”

Two pairs of American oyster catchers, a state species of concern, settled in to nest on Sandbag Island mere days after the dredge crew finished the project, Johnson said.

“We’re hoping that next year, because the work is now completed, that some other species will come in and use it as well,” she said. “It’s been very interesting to see the history of birds that have nested there over time.”

Waterbird colonies have been surveyed in North Carolina roughly every three years since 1977.

These surveys have allowed biologists to witness a shift in where waterbirds chose to nest as Sandbag Island shrank, preferring to settle in on nearby, beefier islands.

“As the surveys have continued throughout the years, we’ve seen different species using the island,” Johnson said.

When the island has been injected with material that leaves open, sandy habitat, birds that favor that terrain – black skimmers, common terns and least terns – have gravitated there to nest.

“Whenever there was more vegetation on the island we were seeing some of the gulls nesting out there. We also had brown pelicans nesting there at different times. Now that the island has been restored to this open, sandy habitat we’re expecting to see some terns and skimmers potentially return, which is exciting,” Johnson said.

Terns have not been documented to nest on Sandbag Island since the 2000s. Skimmers were last documented to nest there in the 1980s.

Johnson will visit the island to document the types of species and numbers of birds nesting there next spring.

Sandbag Island is a protected island, one that is posted March 1 to Sept. 15 each year warning people to steer clear of its shores. Anyone caught trespassing during that timeframe may face a civil penalty.

It’s important to leave these islands undisturbed, Johnson said.

“That is something that we do see a problem with,” she said. “We know that people love to see the birds and so the best possible thing to do is, if you can admire them from your boat, bring your binoculars and watch them from the boat. That’s the best thing.”

Featured Image

A wedge of egrets fish in a salt marsh along North River near Beaufort. Photo: Dylan Ray

Featured Image

A black-necked stilt dips its bill as it feeds in standing water at sunrise July 30 at the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center in Nags Head. Reader Brian Horsley of Nags Head submitted this image, noting that he captured the photo July 30 while on his way to work. When “it rains a lot and we get big freshwater puddles Black Neck Stilts pay it a visit,” he said with the submission.

Partial to freshwater pools, marshes and shallow lakes, they are vulnerable to habitat loss and pesticides, conservation groups say. But their range is expanding and they are known to take quick advantage of what Audubon describes as “artificial habitat.”

Submit your photo.

A days-old member of a herd of wild horses familiar to those who often gaze across Taylor’s Creek in Beaufort was removed from the Rachel Carson Reserve and taken to the state veterinary college hospital this week after she was observed showing signs of extreme illness.

North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve Central Sites Manager Paula Gillikin told Coastal Review Tuesday that the young filly had improved overnight after being transported Monday to the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine in Raleigh.

Gillikin had observed and examined the female foal at the Rachel Carson Reserve. A consultation with the reserve’s local equine veterinarian convinced the staff to remove the horse for further examination and treatment.

“She wouldn’t have survived,” Gillikin said Tuesday. “And she was living in a family of horses that is always out on the waterfront. So, everybody was seeing her, and everybody knew she was already there. So, we had to do something quick.”

As of Tuesday, the young horse was still receiving plasma, fluids and antibiotics, “and she’s progressing as well as she can,” Gillikin said, adding that her hospital stay will probably last about four more days. “The vet at the vet school said that she has a good chance of surviving and making a recovery.”

But the foal will not be returned to the herd. Her exposure to humans and other factors rule out that option.

“Even if we put her back out there, which wouldn’t really be fair, after she experiences the cushy life, even if we tried to, her mother was not producing enough milk,” Gillikin explained.

And word of the opportunity to adopt has already been spread among those potentially in the know.

“We have already put some feelers out through the vet school,” Gillikin said. “They’re circulating the word throughout the vet-med folks at the equine hospital. And then I’m going to start calling a couple folks.”

Meanwhile, vets are working to determine the causes of the filly’s distress, emergency care is being administered, and treatment options are being considered, the Division of Coastal Management said in a press release.

The division also extended its gratitude to the Cape Lookout National Seashore and the Town of Beaufort Police Department for their assistance with assessment and transport of the foal.

The wild horses at the reserve were brought here in the 1940s and eventually became wild, according to the division.

“The horses are valued by locals and tourists alike as a cultural resource and symbol of wildness and freedom,” according to the press release, which noted that the herd subsists primarily on saltmarsh cordgrass and digs for fresh water. “The wild horse herd is continually monitored by Reserve staff and volunteers with minimal management to maintain the wildness of the herd. The Division intervened in this case because of the extreme signs of distress and the very young age of the foal.”

Officials also asked the public to help protect the horses and their safety by maintaining a distance of at least 50 feet, or about the size of a large bus. A much larger distance is recommended for viewing the horses’ natural behaviors and protecting them from disturbance.

Meg Puckett, herd manager for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, was clearly shaken last weekend following the death of Bullwinkle, a 10-year-old stallion struck by the driver of a side-by-side utility vehicle.

Bystanders saw it happen just before midnight Friday on the Carova Beach and alerted law enforcement. The horse had to be euthanized because of the extent of his injuries.

“It is just unimaginable. It’s just hard to wrap your head around,” Puckett said.

The Currituck County Sheriff’s Department said it arrested Porter Williamson, 57, of Chesapeake, Virginia, who was charged with resisting, delaying and obstructing law enforcement. He was placed under a $10,000 bond. The other occupant of the vehicle, Rhonda Williamson, 62, was also charged and received a $5,000 bond for providing false information to law enforcement.

According to a report from the sheriff’s office, deputies received information that the driver had left the scene. Witnesses described the driver, what he was wearing, and the direction he had headed on foot.

During the process of towing the vehicle, a deputy saw Porter who again fled the scene. The deputy ran after Porter and caught him.

Bullwinkle was able to walk away from the accident, Puckett told Coastal Review. He was able to cross the dune where she found him.

“He got himself up over the dune and was tucked back in a little swale when we got there very early Saturday morning. We walked up over the dune and looked down and saw him standing there,” she said. “I had to stop and just collect myself.”

Bullwinkle was still alive, but his injuries were significant. According to the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, he had sustained skin trauma over the right side and back; a broken right hind leg with fracture of the lower femur; left hind trauma and lateral destabilization of the hock with collateral ligament injuries, allowing the leg to bow outwards; and evidence of significant internal trauma and blood within the abdomen.

The sheriff’s office reports do not indicate how fast the vehicle was traveling at the time. Puckett points out, though, that even though a UTV is a small vehicle, the force of the impact suggests a high rate of speed.

“He hit on the one side that broke the (left) leg, and then we think the force at which he hit spun the horse around so quickly and so violently that it tore all of the ligaments and tendons on the other back leg,” she said.

Earlier in the week Bullwinkle had been recorded on video challenging another stallion, hoping to take his mares. Although unsuccessful, that behavior is an important part of wild horse behavior, and for Puckett, that makes what happened even more tragic.

“It’s devastating to see a stallion that you saw 24 hours earlier in the prime of his life, fighting, and then 24 hours later to see him standing there like that,” Puckett said.

“Even at the very end, he was still fighting,” Puckett added.

As a stallion in the prime of his life, Bullwinkle represented the future of the Corolla herd.

“Those are the genes that he would pass down,” Puckett said. “The personality traits and all of that — survival of the fittest. We didn’t just lose one horse in a tragic accident. We lost every single foal that horse would have ever started.”

The arrest serves as an important example, she noted.

“Hopefully the next person who decides to drive recklessly in the middle of the night will think about it before they do it,” Puckett said.

Puckett thanked those who helped after the accident.

“Our community rallied Friday night and Saturday,” Puckett said “I had someone help our vet get over across the water (Currituck Sound) in a boat, to avoid traffic.”

Featured Image

Ed Sanford of Hertford used a long telephoto lens to capture this image of a ruby-throated hummingbird Monday while it visited the hummingbird feeder at his home on the Yeopim Creek in Perquimans County.

Sanford explained in his photo submission that he is a landscape photographer with an interest in eastern North Carolina, but will occasionally photograph wildlife, especially birds. He said that hummingbirds are particularly challenging to photograph because of their sudden and extremely fast movements.

“I purchased a hummingbird feeder hoping that these beautiful creatures would visit my yard. Six weeks after installing the feeder, hummingbirds started to occasionally visit. In the last week, the visits increased,” he said.

Submit your photo.

This story has been updated.

Any time Barry Fulton spots a species of bird in his yard he has not seen before, he can’t help but ask himself the same question.

Did I do that?

“You see new species coming and you just ponder, was that because I have more water sources or more plants that have berries for a food source?” Fulton said. “Next thing you know, you’re downloading apps to identify birds.”

Fulton and his wife, Debi Gallo, are among dozens of St. James residents who have in the past several months become part of a unique, yet growing club of property owners who’ve worked to get their town certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Foundation.

St. James officially earned the designation in late February, making it the only coastal town certified in the state. Wilmington is registered but not yet certified — that could happen next year.

To date, nearly 20 towns, cities, communities and neighborhoods in North Carolina have achieved the designation, one that denotes areas where residents have put in the time to create and enhance wildlife habitat on their land.

Proponents of the program say earning the designation is not particularly difficult or expensive.

“In someone’s typical yard they’ve already done some landscaping, so a lot of people are well on their way in what would be needed to certify their property,” said St. James resident Ernie McLaney.

McLaney, member at-large on the St. James Conservancy’s executive board, moved from Charlotte to the coast a couple of years ago to settle in a life of quasi-retirement with his wife, bringing with him a wealth of knowledge about the National Wildlife Federation’s Wildlife Habitat Certification program.

He was one of the originators in supporting Matthews earn its certification in 2012. Three years later, Charlotte picked up the designation, making it, at the time, the largest certified city east of the Mississippi.

McLaney said he was immediately struck by what the town of about 7,000 residents had to offer as a wildlife habitat community.

“When I saw the beauty and amount of tree canopy that St. James has designed into this development here I was just really blown away,” he said.

Roughly 42% of land within the town, which incorporated in the mid-1990s, has been set aside as natural preserve. Natural buffers cushion areas along N.C. Highways 211 and 906, main county thoroughfares that intersect at the town’s northwest corner.

“With all of that in mind and seeing that people were incorporating native plants, bird feeders and birdhouses in their landscape, I thought that this would be an easy project to take on,” McLaney said.

He reached out to the conservancy with the idea, eventually landing him on the nonprofit’s board. Soon he would discover that around 45 properties in St. James were already certified. The requirement to become certified was 150 individual wildlife habitats from everyone including homeowners and churches to fire stations and schools.

The conservancy, with help from organizations including The Garden Club at St. James, hosted a number of community environmental education and outreach programs to spread the word.

“It took us less than a year to get St. James certified,” McLaney said. “Record time. We were impressed.”

Today, around 165 properties in the town are certified.

Certification can be as simple as placing a bird bath or other water feature, birdhouses or nesting boxes and feeders, or planting berry-bearing shrubs in your yard.

“It’s something you can do at your own pace as your time and finances allow,” McLaney said.

That’s a message he hopes resonates throughout other communities in coastal North Carolina.

“It’s an easy lift for some and it’s a recognized process that if people see habitat destruction in their community from growing developments they can counter some of that loss by enhancing what they have in their yard,” McLaney said.

Fulton agreed.

“It’s important that we maintain habitat for our wildlife,” he said. “There’s so much of the habitat that is getting clear cut for development. Everybody can do their fair share to provide some more shelter. They’re getting chased from their natural environments in every way. It’s important to do what we can now.”

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials have agreed to pause an algaecide experiment in Lake Mattamuskeet until next year.

Plans were in place to treat cyanobacteria, known as blue-green algae, using a product that the Environmental Protection Agency determined is toxic to birds in the 40,000-acre lake. The lake is within the 50,180-acre Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge.

The work was to take place in about 400 acres, or 1%, of the lake, starting this summer, continuing through the end of October, and resuming next April.

The Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, filed a federal lawsuit May 20 asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction to block the service from allowing the algaecide experiment. Following a hearing on the request in federal court in Raleigh, the Fish and Wildlife Service voluntarily agreed to pause its plans to move forward with the project in the eastern North Carolina lake.

“This is a great day for everyone who values Lake Mattamuskeet and all of the geese, swans, ducks and hundreds of other birds that gather at the wildlife sanctuary,” Ramona McGee, Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney, said in a statement. “We’re all so relieved that these birds will not be exposed to toxic chemicals this year while the court reviews the legal problems with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s rushed and inadequate approval of this dangerous experiment.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed that it will not proceed with the experiment this year while all parties work through litigation, with the hope of reaching a decision by the planned April 2025 restart date. Late Tuesday, the court entered an order confirming the agreement and setting the schedule for briefing the case, the law center said.

“This agreement ensures that Lake Mattamuskeet and the birds that pass through it on their migratory paths will be kept safe from dangerous experiments with toxic chemicals — for now,” Defenders of Wildlife Senior Attorney Jane Davenport said. “We are confident that when the court decides the merits of the case that it will instruct Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure that the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge is fully protected from such poorly designed experiments, as the law requires.”

Related: Lake Mattamuskeet algaecide pilot study tied up in court

“We’re glad that common sense has prevailed and provided more time to scrutinize this flawed plan,” North Carolina Sierra Club Action Director Erin Carey said. “We hope that closer review will prove that there’s no defensible reason why an algaecide that’s toxic to birds should be tested at one of this region’s most important bird sanctuaries.”

A representative in response for a request for comment explained Friday that the Fish and Wildlife Service does not comment on active or pending litigation.

Second of two parts. Read Part 1.

EAST LAKE — Before guardrails were installed about 20 years ago along U.S. Highways 64 and 264 in rural northeastern North Carolina, residents avoided driving at night in fear of striking a large animal and then sliding unseen into the abyss of a roadside canal.

Even now, with the barriers in place, locals know to drive with caution through the dark wilds of Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, scanning the edge of the forest for glowing eyes or sudden movements of creatures on night hunts — raccoon, possum, bobcat, fox, bear, deer, coyotes and red wolves.

Vehicle strikes are a serious hazard to humans and animals, but they can be especially devastating to the recovery of the endangered wolves that number only about 22 in the wild, 18 of which are collared and within the 1.7-million-acre management area encompassing public and private land in Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties.

When a wild red wolf is killed, the loss can destroy the cohesion of a pack, creating a negative impact on reproduction that is so critical to the species’ survival.

Last year, for example, in two separate instances, wolves from the same pack were struck and killed on U.S. 64, said wildlife biologist Joe Madison, manager for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Madison told Coastal Review that one of the males and one of the pups were killed. “So that family group kind of got messed up, and we ended up capturing and placing the female for that family group back in captivity.”

With the loss of her mate, Madison explained, the female had started wandering to a different area and creating issues, such as getting into chickens that made her no longer suitable for the wild. “But it was going well until that mortality of the male and one of the pups, and then it kind of went downhill from there.”

After years of study in the early 2000s, the North Carolina Department of Transportation had developed plans to construct numerous wildlife crossings along U.S. 64 in Dare and Tyrrell counties as part of a proposed 27.3-mile-long road widening and bridge-replacement project. The department has since dropped the widening project, but $110 million provided recently by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allowed NCDOT to replace the 60-year-old Lindsey C. Warren Bridge over Alligator River. That $270 million project, which began this spring, will include wildlife crossings and under-road tie-ins at both ends of the bridge.

But it’s not enough, conservation groups say. Granted, more wildlife crossings would be costly to build in Alligator River’s swampy land, but considering the enormous investment that’s been put into the life of each red wolf in the interest of restoration of a unique species, these groups contend they’re worth it.

“That’s why one of the things we’re stressing this year is trying to make progress on getting (assistance from) NCDOT, who’s making great strides in the wildlife road crossings department,” Ron Sutherland, chief scientist at the nonprofit Wildlands Network, told Coastal Review recently. “We want them to try to put in for federal grants to build wildlife crossings and fencing on 64 through the refuge in particular.”

Sutherland had connected with an anonymous donor who recently pledged $2 million in matching funds for a grant to fund wildlife crossings in the refuge to protect red wolves, and the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity stepped in to help raise the match, he said in recent email.

“I’m working directly with NCDOT to try to bring a big proposal for U.S. 64 to Federal Highways, which can only happen if we have enough nonfederal matching funds to work with, he said, adding that the state would have to provide a 20% match to the Federal Highway Administration money.

Although the costs versus benefit of keeping red wolves away from vehicle tires is clear, he said, wildlife crossings through a refuge teeming with wildlife would provide plenty of benefits to every creature dashing, hopping, galumphing, scurrying, slithering or crawling across the highway.

“That stretch of Highway 64 through the refuge and through the Alligator River game lands, it’s got to be up there in terms of national priorities for reducing roadkill in terms of the sheer numbers of wildlife,” Sutherland said. “There were like tens of thousands of dead animals that they recorded in the DOT-funded study. And so it’s definitely not just the wolves, but bears and deer and bobcats and so many turtles, so many snakes … that I’ve seen dead on that road. Nobody wants to see that.”

According to the draft environmental impact statement for the then-proposed widening project, 36% of all crashes and 77% of night crashes on the two-lane road were because of animals. Five crashes occurred within a milelong stretch in Tyrrell County about a mile west of the bridge.

Between July 1996 to June 1999, the fatal crash rate for the project area was 4.13 crashes per 100 motor vehicle miles. After the guardrails were installed along the canals on U.S. 64, the fatal crash rate went down to 1.02 per 100 miles.

The proposed widening had called for about 11 overpasses or underpasses and dozens of smaller structures for amphibians, reptiles and small mammals. Four wildlife crossings that were installed decades ago off U.S. 64 between Columbia and Plymouth had been shown to be about 90% effective, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist had said in 2013. Designed with 6- to 8-foot-high fences at the road edge and both sides of the opening, the fence corrals animals toward underpasses, culverts or a bridge.

Travis Wilson, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Habitat Conservation Division, said that the east and west sides of the proposed 3.2-mile Alligator River bridge replacement will be lengthened to accommodate culverts for fencing and wildlife passage.

Based on his years of monitoring the commission’s wildlife crossings, Wilson said he expects that all species will use the passages, although white-tailed deer tend to be more skittish.

“I have documented most every large mammal, medium-sized mammal, in North Carolina using culverts fairly frequently, from black bear to coyotes, on down,” he told Coastal Review.

If funding is found for additional crossings beyond the bridge, he said they would be designed in different sizes for different species. Vegetation at the crossings, and the fencing would need to be maintained, and some areas in front of passages would need a timber pole “bridge” over a canal.

“That’s really what the crossings are there for,” he said.  “It’s not for a single species — it’s to reduce wildlife mortality by vehicles … to make the highway more permeable to all wildlife.”

While the recovery team would welcome wildlife crossings, the staff’s focus will remain on keeping wild-born and captive-bred wolves who have been introduced into the wild away from any human interactions and activity whatsoever. The less habituated wolves are to humans, the better for both species. The staff also takes pains to minimize contact as much as possible, Madison said, and when handling is necessary, it is done as gently as possible, with voices low and no petting.

In addition to using a hand-held antenna to keep track of the collared wolves, which wear lightweight GPS devices on reflective collars, or for some, smaller VHF radio devices, there are more than 55 remote sensing cameras to see who is where and when.

GPS collars, which cost about $2,000 and weigh 1.3 pounds, cannot exceed 4% of the animal’s body weight. The VHF collars are lighter but don’t send points from satellites.

A red wolf known as No. 2191 was recently sighted in the Milltail area of the Alligator River refuge. Madison said that the young male’s fear of people gives him a better chance to avoid becoming one of the unfortunate number of casualties suffered by red wolves from too-close encounters with people.

Madison held a small radio telemetry antenna during a visit to the Milltail area in late April. A steady beep revealed that the wolf — or more specifically his GPS collar — was close but too far away to see without field glasses. The wolf was born at Wolf Haven International in Washington state, one of the 50 zoological institutions and wildlife centers that participate in the captive-breeding program that is critical to repopulating the species in the wild.

When 2191 — the animals purposely are not named — was deemed ready for life in the wild, he was transferred to Alligator River.

“They did an excellent job,” Madison said, referring to Wolf Haven, “because he wants nothing to do with people.”

After his arrival, 2191 was placed in an acclimation pen before being released on Jan. 29 to meet a female who had come into heat, “in the hopes that they could become a pair,” said Madison.

The good news is that it appears that the handsome wolf is the father of a litter of eight pups born in the refuge in May. It’s the third year in a row that the Milltail pack has produced a litter, and this was the first sired by 2191. The previous breeding male that had sired two litters was killed by a vehicle last year.

Madison said he understands why zoos and conservation centers name the wolves, but it’s against the recovery team policy. The studbook number that is assigned to each animal identifies them in sequence that is vital management information.

American red wolves once had an enormous range in the Southeast and along the Gulf Coast. But because of habitat loss and hunting, the population collapsed. The red wolf was listed as endangered in 1973 and declared extinct in the wild in 1980. In 1987, four pairs of captive-bred wolves were released at Alligator River refuge.

Innovative management practices, such as pup fostering and coyote sterilization programs, grew the population, and by 2010, there were about 130 red wolves in the wild. But politics and funding shortages led to management cuts, and the population plummeted to seven before a federal judge ordered the program to resume in 2021.

Starting over has had its challenges. When 11 captive-born wolves were released in 2022, three wound up dead from gunshots and five were killed by vehicles. In the last year alone, four wolves have been killed by vehicles.

Still, the new litters provide hope, and the restored pup fostering practice — where a captive-born pup is slipped into a wolf den with a litter of pups about the same age — has been successful. So has the renewed coyote sterilization program, which allows hormonally-intact coyotes to hold territory, keep out fertile coyotes and prevent hybrids.

From November until March, the recovery team is kept busy doing captures to collar older pups, perform health check on the mature wolves and sterilize coyotes. There are 16 pens in the Sandy Ridge area, each double-fenced, but only 13 are currently usable. Interns and other staff enter the pen to water and feed the wolves and check on them. At that point, the wolves either go to the farthest distance and pace, or they go to their den box. The never try to escape.

“They don’t want to come near you,” Madison said. “They’re very nonaggressive.”

The pens are especially useful in letting wild wolves visit the captive wolves and start making friends. Recovery staff can watch with the remote-sensing cameras for signs that courtship may be blooming. Once they’re let free, all bets are off.

“We’ve had bonded pairs that came from captivity,” Madison recalled. “They were bonded in captivity, had had previous litters together, they had a litter in the pen, and they still left each other when we opened it up. It was like, ‘Now that I have options, you ain’t it!’”

Sutherland said that he is encouraged that the red wolf population is rebounding and that wildlife crossings are a critical component in its recovery. Healthy numbers of red wolf packs also would go far in pushing out a lot of the opportunistic coyotes and raccoons that swooped into vacated wolf territories, he said.

As they’ve done out west, he said, wolves can keep other species in check not just by eating them, but also by creating a climate of fear that works for the good of the entire ecosystem.

“So that’s the value of having the wolves back,” he said. “Not only are they the only thing that seems to control coyotes, but they also do kill the raccoons and we think that’s important from the standpoint of bird populations.”

“The red wolf was a success story of the Endangered Species Act, and it’s been saved from extinction,” Sutherland said. Now the question is whether the program can rebuild, without the apex predator being plowed down on a strip of asphalt.

Note: Coastal Review will not publish Wednesday in observance of Juneteenth National Independence Day, a federal holiday.

Two eastern North Carolina men have been found guilty of 15 counts of unlawfully taking deer at night using a spotlight.

Dylan Scott of New Hanover County and Nicholas Rackley of Duplin County have been ordered to pay $9,030 in replacement costs for illegally killing 15 deer with the use and aid of an artificial light, referred to as spotlighting, in Duplin County.

Scott was fined $1,500, his hunting license will be revoked for 10 years, and he received five years of supervised probation. Rackley was ordered to pay $750 and his hunting license will be revoked for five years.

Wildlife Resources Commission officials were contacted with an anonymous tip through its Turn-in-Poachers Program, called NC WILDTIP, Nov. 28, 2023. The tip, which included a photo of Rackley posing with 15 antlerless white-tailed deer, stated Rackley killed all 15 deer the previous night and forwarded the photo to multiple individuals.

“It’s a big penalty we hope sends a strong message,” Capt. Chad Arnold, who heads NCWRC’s Investigative Unit and NC WILDTIP program, said in a statement. “We typically don’t see punishments like this, but we also typically don’t find individuals who kill 15 deer in one night’s illegal escapades.”

Wildlife Resources Commission officers obtained a search warrant after the anonymous tip, and during the investigation, Rackley admitted he and Scott shot 15 deer in Duplin County on the night of Nov. 27, 2023. They took the carcasses to a home in Pender County to have the deer processed. At the Pender location, officers found four coolers full of deer meat. The resident admitted to processing the deer for Rackley. Search warrants were issued for Scott, and his truck and phone were taken for evidence, according to the commission.

In the past six months, Wildlife Resources Commission has received 598 tips through NC WILDTIP and rewarded a total of $3,478.

Anyone with information on illegal hunting can anonymously submit information through a secured online reporting tool on the agency’s website. Information may also be submitted by texting keyword WILDTIP and the tip information to 847411 or through a mobile app. To report a poaching violation in progress, call Wildlife Law Enforcement dispatch at 800-662-7137. Tips that lead to arrests and convictions may lead to a reward of $100 to $1,000.

A recently closed land deal years in the making just added nearly 3,000 acres to the Gull Rock Game Lands in Hyde County.

On March 28, after almost two years of discussions and negotiations, the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust purchased 2,926 acres — 4.57 square miles — of open marsh, pond pine woodlands and oak hammocks for $4.1 million from the Glenn R. Currin and Sue A. Currin Revocable Trusts.

After completing the sale, Coastal Land Trust officials immediately signed the property over to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

“We don’t want to hold those big properties that have a lot of management responsibility,” said North Carolina Coastal Land Trust Executive Director Harrison Marks. “We don’t have the equipment or the staff, but Wildlife does.”

The process was long and complicated, Marks noted, and it required considerable patience on the part of seller.

“I would say that anybody that goes with a conservation transaction has to have some interest in conservation … It is it is something that’s very difficult for many sellers,” he said.

Marks described a process that includes negotiation, surveys and research, but the most complex challenge was finding the money. He said multiple funding entities came into play, each with different requirements.

“So we’re getting a little bit here, a little bit there,” Marks said. “That’s what we do best, is piece together something for a very high-quality project.”

The Coastal Land Trust said earlier this month that the acquisition was made possible with support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, N.C. Land and Water Fund, Fred and Alice Stanback, and the Eddie and Jo Allison Smith Family Foundation Inc.

The addition to Gull Rock Game Land is about 15 miles west of Swan Quarter. While the new parcel does not border the current boundaries of Gull Rock, it will still be considered part of the Gull Rock Game Land complex. The site is primarily marsh and is bordered by Spencer Bay, Germantown Bay and Rose Bay.

Although much of the property is only accessible by boat, an access road leads to a clubhouse at Willow Point that looks across Pamlico Sound to the mouth of the Pamlico River. The most prominent feature, however, is the 215-acre impoundment.

The impoundment, Marks said, was particularly important to the Wildlife Resources Commission.

“That was a big reason why the Wildlife Commission was interested in being the key holders,” he said, adding that an impoundment allows for management of aquatic plants that are favorable to waterfowl and shorebirds.

At this time of the year, the impoundment has little water, with only small pools and extensive mudflats, but shorebirds fill the mudflats and wade through the shallows. The drawdown of the water is part of the commission’s management practices, explained N.C. Wildlife Commission Coastal Plain EcoRegion Supervisor Nick Shaver.

“That is really valuable habitat to a whole suite of wading birds and shorebirds. We see that in all of the impoundments that we manage that way,” Shaver said. “Once the waterfowl migrate north, we begin to pull those water levels down.”

There is considerable work yet to be done on the property. A diesel-powered generator at one time ran the pump for the impoundment, but that pump is part of an aging infrastructure that will have to be replaced.

“It is quite aged and probably at the end of its useful lifespan,” Shaver said about the pump. “We have brought a tractor and a different pump out there to try to continue to get the last bit of water off of there.”

Wildlife Resources seeks to tap money available through the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act to upgrade the impoundment dike and pumps.

“The Inflation Reduction Act had some allowances for the Wildlife Commission to combat some climate change and sea level rise effects that we’re seeing at places like Spencer Bay and Willow Point. We are applying for that money this summer,” Shaver said.

For an impoundment in a marshland like Gull Rock, the rising waters of Pamlico Sound have had dramatic effects on managing habitat.

“When that place was built, you could just open up the gates and it would drain on its own with gravity. That is no longer the case. It has to be actively pumped out,” Shaver explained.

And, Shaver added, the impoundment is not only the new addition to Gull Rock where steadily rising waters have affected management.

“In Pamlico County (impoundments) are similar in that they’re way out in the sound, with no protection around them and virtually at sea level. We’re seeing the same effects there,” he said. “It’s happened in a very short amount of time. Those impoundments were built in the 1960s.”

The impoundment area will not be available to hunters this year. A better pumping system and a higher dike are only part of the needed infrastructure work. Duck blinds in the impoundment cannot be used in their current condition.

Also, Shaver noted, when a property is added to state game lands, the commission must adopt new rules.

“It takes us a year to put a rule in place to manage these properties. One of our goals is to create not only high-quality waterfowl habitat, but (also) a high-quality waterfowl hunt on the impoundment,” he said.

Although the addition to Gull Rock represents a substantial increase in game lands available for hunters and sportsmen, for Shaver the acquisition represents more. To him, it’s a legacy for the public.

“Land acquisition is certainly one of those hallmarks in your career that you can look back on and say, ‘We were able to preserve a piece of property for the public.’ Everybody benefits, from the species and habitat to the public that gets to use it forever,” he said.

CHAPEL HILL — Wildlife advocates, citing the threat to migratory birds, have filed a challenge in federal court to block the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from allowing an experimental algaecide treatment of Lake Mattamuskeet.

The Southern Environmental Law Center, on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club, filed the lawsuit Monday in the Eastern District of North Carolina. The groups seek to block the plan in Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge until the Fish and Wildlife Service performs a more thorough analysis that “takes a hard look at the toxic algaecide’s harms and the available alternatives.”

The groups point to the product’s former Environmental Protection Agency labeling showing it as toxic to birds. They note that shallow Lake Mattamuskeet is important habitat for more than 250 bird species including swans, ducks and geese. 

Related: State issues certificate for Lake Mattamuskeet treatment

“A bird sanctuary is no place to experiment with a chemical that is toxic to birds,” said Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Ramona McGee, who is leader of the law center’s Wildlife Program. “We’re asking the Fish and Wildlife Service to put the mission and purpose of this wildlife refuge first, and not turn wild birds into lab rats when there are much better ways available to maintain the health of the lake.”

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 begin the pilot study to treat for cyanobacteria in select parts of the freshwater lake June 1.

Fish and Wildlife is collaborating on the proposed treatment with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences.

Officials say the pelleted product is safe after it’s dissolved in water. Advocates disagree.

Related: USFWS plans to chemically treat part of Lake Mattamuskeet

“It might seem reasonable to assume that the federal government would refrain from using a national bird sanctuary to test a private company’s experimental algaecide, particularly one that reads ‘toxic to birds’ on the label, and yet here we are,” said Erin Carey, acting director, N.C. Chapter of Sierra Club. “The North Carolina Sierra Club is proud to stand between the delicate and irreplaceable beauty of Lake Mattamuskeet and the casual disregard of corporate interest.” 

“The Fish and Wildlife Service should do everything in its power to conserve this important bird sanctuary,” said Jane Davenport, senior attorney at Defenders of Wildlife. “Instead, FWS is giving the green light for a private company to turn a wild sanctuary into a laboratory for experimental, unproven treatments with known dangers to the very wildlife the refuge is intended to protect.”

CHAPEL HILL — Environmental organizations are seeking to intervene in a federal lawsuit brought by a North Carolina commercial seafood business operator that they contend seeks to virtually eliminate remaining federal wetlands protections that were dramatically scaled back last year.

The Southern Environmental Law Center said Wednesday it had filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina a motion to intervene and memorandum in the case, which it says could strip provisions that protect waterways that support fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation and undermine their related economies. The law center is representing the National Wildlife Federation and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

The case was brought in March by Robert White of Pasquotank County. White is challenging what he contends are illegal provisions in Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers rulings “to restore his own right to make use of his own land,” according to his attorneys, and to ensure both agencies comply with — and courts apply — the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that dramatically narrowed Clean Water Act protections.

Pacific Legal Foundation, which specializes in property rights cases, is representing White, who plans to operate a sand mine on river-adjacent land he owns. Pacific Legal said the Supreme Court’s decision requires that wetlands must be indistinguishable from navigable waters to be regulated. “Land such as Robert’s, which does not bear this connection to the two waterways — cannot be subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act.”

The nonprofit law firm known for property rights advocacy contends that the high court’s 5-4 majority opinion in Sackett v. EPA held that the Clean Water Act extends to only wetlands with a continuous surface connection to bodies that are “waters of the United States.” Pacific Legal lawyers had successfully represented Chantell and Mike Sackett in their dispute with the EPA.

“Last term in Sackett the Supreme Court made clear that the Clean Water Act forbids the type of wetlands regulation at issue in Mr. White’s case,” Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Charles Yates said in a statement in response to Coastal Review’s query. “That the Clean Water Act only authorizes the regulation of wetlands that are ‘indistinguishable’ from covered waters, is beyond dispute. Yet rather than adhering to Sackett’s rule, the Agencies have doubled down and are transparently seeking to evade the judgment of the highest court in the land. All Mr. White seeks is a declaration that, per Sackett, the Agencies may no longer regulate his property. The interveners in this case are unsatisfied with the statute Congress actually passed and the Supreme Court’s ruling insisting that it means what it says; the proper audience for their complaints is the legislative branch.”

Pacific Legal said that White owns “low-lying,” flood-prone land on Big Flatty Creek and the Pasquotank River. Seeking to make improvements to minimize flooding and for business endeavors including agriculture and sand mining, White became engaged in permitting disputes with the EPA and the Corps regarding the “navigable waters” provision in the Clean Water Act.

He faces “crushing civil enforcement action,” according to Pacific Legal.

The Southern Environmental Law Center said the relief the plaintiff seeks would effectively write most wetlands out of the Clean Water Act.

“A ruling adopting this extreme view could have devastating effects on waters in North Carolina and throughout the nation,” said Mark Sabath, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Wetlands are vital to help protect drinking water supplies, wildlife and fisheries, and our communities from flooding. If the wetlands along our coastal waters like the Albemarle Sound are developed and destroyed, communities will be wrecked by job loss, wildlife loss, and flooding.”

The National Wildlife Federation and the North Carolina Wildlife Federation say that the ruling stands to have large economic repercussions. They say healthy fish and wildlife depend on clean water, and that valuable waterways threatened by the lawsuit support fishing, hunting, and outdoor recreation, as well as the jobs these activities sustain. They contend that the clean water that hunters, anglers and other outdoor enthusiasts expect is a pillar in a $788 billion outdoor recreation industry.

“We care about the water quality and wetlands of North Carolina for both people and wildlife,” said Tim Gestwicki, CEO of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. “We cannot protect fisheries if the wetlands and streams flowing into estuaries are polluted or destroyed. We cannot ensure that critical wildlife habitat is preserved for fishing, hunting, birdwatching, and outdoor recreation if wetland protections are weakened.”

The groups say nearly all of the commercial catch and over half of the recreational harvest in the Southeast are fish and shellfish that depend on wetlands, and wetlands provide important flood protection for communities.

“What the plaintiff in this case is seeking could make it more difficult to protect wetlands and other waters that are critical to fish, waterfowl, shellfish, and other wildlife, and allow widespread destruction and degradation of those critically important waters along with pollution and flooding downstream,” said Jim Murphy, senior director of legal advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation. “Strong Clean Water Act protections safeguard critical wetlands and other waters that sustain our nation’s wildlife and people.” 

White is currently facing a separate federal enforcement action for building and filling a bulkhead on wetlands without a permit on his property on the Pasquotank River and Big Flatty Creek. His attorney did not respond to questions pertaining to that case.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials are in the early stages of designing a horse-management plan for the herd under its care on Ocracoke Island.

A public meeting to gather input ahead of the plan’s development is scheduled for 1-2 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, at the Ocracoke Community Center, 999 Irvin Garrish Highway. If the ferry isn’t running due to inclement weather or road conditions, the meeting will be rescheduled.

“In light of sea level rise effects and in consideration of National Park Service management policies, the Seashore is preparing to develop a management plan for the Ocracoke horses and seeks assistance in identifying issues, concerns and opportunities,” park officials said.

For those unable to attend the May 21 engagement meeting, they can send their ideas to caha_public_affairs@nps.gov. The formal portion of the horse management planning will begin in the coming months and will include an official public comment period as part of the process, a seashore representative told Coastal Review.

Horses have been documented on Ocracoke since the first European settlers began inhabiting the barrier island in 1730s. The once free-roaming animals were corralled in 1959 to prevent over-grazing and to protect them from traffic after the highway was built in 1957. The herd has been cared for by the National Park Service since the early 1960s.

An information review was published in March that includes a brief history and analysis of horses in North America, on the East Coast, and those under the care of the Park Service, as well as a summary of laws, regulations and policies relevant to horses in the park.

Officials note on the website explaining the purpose of the information review that the last foal was born in 2018 and there are no plans to expand the herd, which is within the range of its historical size of nine to 20 horses.

The proposed management plan is to ensure the short- and long-term welfare of the existing herd, including goals for the size of the herd while taking into consideration management challenges and opportunities within the seashore on Ocracoke Island.

Once a range of ideas are received and refined through the preliminary public meeting, officials expect to move to the next phase to include formal public meetings associated with the environmental review process.

Updates are to be posted at http://go.nps.gov/ocracokeponies.

With sea turtle nesting season at Cape Hatteras National Seashore beginning this month, Outer Banks Forever, the official nonprofit partner of the national parks there, has begun its annual Adopt A Sea Turtle Nest program.

Supporters can symbolically adopt an active sea turtle nest on the national seashore. Nesting season is typically May through September. The supporter will receive an official adoption certificate and information about their specific nest when it hatches later this summer or fall.

“Our Adopt a Sea Turtle Nest program is a fun way for people to learn more about these special island visitors and the work our national park staff does every day to help protect them,” said Jessica Barnes, Director of Outer Banks Forever.

Launched in 2020 to support projects and programs that protect and enhance the seashore, the program has raised $73,313 in the time since.

“It’s also fun for us to send updates to each person who adopts a nest, particularly sharing the number of sea turtle hatchlings that make their way out of each nest. It’s a great way to feel connected to these amazing creatures while also supporting Cape Hatteras National Seashore,” Barnes added.

A tax-deductible donation of $100 or more will reserve a 2024 sea turtle nest. There are a limited number of nests each year and they are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

Organizers noted that no individual or group that participates in this program can claim ownership of a sea turtle nest, eggs or hatchlings. For the safety of the sea turtles and in alignment with National Park Service guidance, adopted nest locations will not be shared until after it has hatched.

Officials with the state wildlife management agency are looking for input on a proposed plan to protect five species of endangered and threatened sea turtles that nest on North Carolina beaches.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is accepting comments through an online survey about the proposed sea turtle conservation plan. The deadline is May 24.

Loggerheads and green turtles are listed as threatened, and leatherbacks, hawksbill and Kemp’s ridley as endangered, but all need additional assistance to persist and thrive, officials said.

The proposed plan is to help guide ways to maintain and increase populations of the species that nest in the state primarily from May to August, officials said. The plan will include biological information, causes of decline, conservation goals and potential conservation actions for each sea turtle species.

When the comment period closes, staff are to consider the public input and then present the draft plan to Wildlife Resources Commission members for their approval at the June 6 business meeting. Once the plan is approved, the commission and partners are to use the information to guide conservation.

For questions about the plan or sea turtles in general, email sea turtle biologist Matthew Godfrey at matthew.godfrey@ncwildlife.org.

With its rich, tea-colored waters and ancient bald cypress-peppered swamps, there’s something alluring, almost sacred about the Black River.

Stretching more than 60 miles, this river that meanders through portions of rural counties in southeastern North Carolina has much to offer. Paddlers enjoy exploring its majestic swamps. Wildlife in the area draw hunters and fishers to its banks. Conservationists marvel at its majestic bald cypress, the oldest trees in North America east of Nevada.

The one thing the river does not have is its own advocacy group. But that’s about to change.

The inaugural meeting of the Friends of the Black River will be hosted Tuesday at Moores Creek National Battlefield in Pender County.

Organizers of the newly-formed group hope to build an alliance of organizations and people, particularly those who reside on and near the river’s banks, interested in helping protect the river.

Julie Moore, a botanist and chair of the North Carolina Plant Conservation Program’s advisory board, said the idea is to think about many different ways to advocate for the river.

There is, of course, preservation through buying some of the land along the river.

More than 17,000 acres is protected within the borders of the Black River Preserve, which includes swamplands that are home to some of the oldest bald cypress trees affectionally called Three Sisters.

“The Nature Conservancy is doing a good job with buying the land at the swamp land and some uplands, but it’s what goes on in those adjacent uplands that can make a difference,” Moore said.

Whether it’s the young blueberry farms that are cropping up on the upstream landscape, or industry eyeing land to set up shop along the river banks, different things that could possibly affect the river require different ways to advocate for it, she said.

“We need people who are on the scene to watch those things, to go to county meetings and understand what’s happening. I think local people make the best advocates. People need to look after what’s in their backyard. You can’t expect a federal agency or state agency to do all the care that’s necessary for an area and that’s over 50 years of my observation. So, I think having local people on the scene, they can see if there’s dumping or illegal activities,” Moore said.

The idea behind Friends of the Black River was born a year ago under the backdrop of a bald cypress aptly named “Methuselah,” a tree estimated to be about 1,700 years old.

As Southern Conservation Partners, Inc. President Chuck Roe tells it, he and Moore were among a handful of people who had kayaked a portion of the river taking respite on a river sandbar under the tree.

The conversation that ensued that day was one of concern about the river’s long-term security.

“Our Black River has the most extensive surviving expanse of old growth swamp forest left in North America,” Roe said. “Some have described the Black River as a river that saved itself because it was so shallow and meandering that it was not conducive for channelizing and commercial industrial use, and so it had the good fortune to survive and its natural communities to survive.”

That’s where the idea of an advocacy group was born.

Southern Conservation Partners, an all-volunteer, nonprofit that helps local communities across the southern U.S. protect, restore, and enhance environmental resources, put up the funds to create https://www.blackriverfriends.org.

The URL for “Friends of the Black River” was already taken by another group advocating for a Black River in a different state.

The first meeting of the North Carolina edition of Friends of the Black River will be hosted at around 3 p.m. following the meeting of the Cape Fear Arch Conservation Collaboration, which starts at 10 a.m.

Speakers at the Cape Fear Arch meeting will include a representative of the Coharie Tribe, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust staff, The Nature Conservancy, and Dr. David Stahle, University of Arkansas distinguished professor of geology who discovered the Black River’s ancient trees.

Both meetings will be held in Patriots Hall, 40 Patriots Hall Drive, Currie.

Featured Image

An anole, freshly shed of its skin except the still-peeling tip of the nose, suns in a Beaufort agapanthus bed. For us creatures who don’t normally peel, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that protection from the sun’s rays is important year-round, not just during the warmer months. Photo: Dylan Ray

As far as shell-encased reptiles go, sea turtles are the show stealers on the North Carolina coast.

But in the saltwater marshes on the backside of the string of North Carolina’s barrier islands live a lesser-known species of turtle, one that was once so common they were considered a nuisance to fishermen.

Today, diamondback terrapins, the only turtles that live in brackish water, are listed in North Carolina as a species of special concern.

“Having that type of listing status, it really points to the fact that we need more information to fully understand how the species is doing,” said Hope Sutton, N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission eastern wildlife diversity supervisor. “We know that their population numbers are dramatically lower, but we really don’t have enough data to do a full sort of population assessment and fully understand the population trend in the state.”

This is where you come in.

With some training, your kayak, and your phone, you can take part in the 10^th annual “Terrapin Tally,” a state-run, volunteer-led census of these reclusive little turtles.

Why volunteers? Well, the potential habitat area for diamondback terrapins in North Carolina is, in a word, huge.

North Carolina’s estuarine waters span more than 2 million acres.

Terrapins live in coastal estuaries from Cape Cod to Texas, though the Southeast is a major hotspot for the species.

At the turn of the 20^th Century, terrapins were so abundant they were an annoyance to fishermen.

A combination of events – overfishing (terrapins were a food delicacy in the early 1900s), habitat degradation and loss, and being bycatch of the blue crab fishery – has led to their population decline.

The shells of males typically grow 4-6 inches long. Females’ shells are usually larger, growing anywhere from 6-9 inches long.

Terrapins reproduce slowly. The typical nest in North Carolina will have anywhere between four to 12 eggs.

Though their span is between 25 to 40 years, terrapins do not move around a lot. As far as researchers can tell, a turtle will stay within a square-mile area throughout its lifetime.

In the nine years since the tally began, data collected by volunteers has allowed researchers to make at least some definitive statements about diamondback terrapin population trends. Specifically, researchers have been able to identify areas where there are larger concentrations of diamondback terrapin.

This has allowed the tally footprint to expand in recent years from routes mapped along Masonboro Island in New Hanover County to stretches of estuaries at Sunset Beach in Brunswick County to Cape Lookout in Carteret County.

“More people need to be involved,” said Cathy Meyer, who, along with her late husband, Peter, were among the original tally volunteers and instrumental in helping researchers gain access to areas where they could map out trails through the estuary.

The couple caught their first glimpses of diamondback terrapins in the early 1990s when they began exploring the marshes near their home in a waterfront neighborhood in Wilmington.

“Every time we would go through our boat basin, the channel to the Intracoastal Waterway, there would be these little turtles popping their heads up and I was like, wow, this is really cool. We became very fascinated with the turtles and an insatiable curiosity about all things coast led us to explore more and more about terrapins,” Meyer said.

When they were offered the opportunity to take part in the first tally in 2014 they jumped at the chance, excited to not only count terrapin, but to see more people on the water, taking part in what Meyer calls “citizen science.”

“When my husband passed away in 2016, the ‘Terrapin Tally’ was still just a real important part of me and my family and so I’ve just continued on an active role ever since,” she said.

Fellow volunteer Karen Dunn has also taken part in the terrapin count since the tally began in 2014.

Dunn, a North Carolina environmental educator, is a natural fit for the job.

“The fact that as I would kayak through and see these little heads pop up, they’re very elusive, and it’s kind of exciting when you can see them because it’s kind of a rare occurrence. You really have to know what you’re looking for. You just have to really focus on it,” she said.

Volunteers must attend a mandatory training session on how to spot the turtles and record their findings.

There will be two, in-person training sessions, both scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, April 13, at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science and at the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. Training will also be offered that day and time virtually via Zoom.

Volunteers may choose which location, routes and day they would like to paddle. There are some area businesses that rent kayaks and transport them to and from route accesses.

Times will be scheduled based on the tide and, in the event of inclement weather, a paddle may be canceled.

Volunteers are paired in two-person teams. One person is an observer. The other person is the recorder.

Sutton said she does not want to discourage volunteers, but warns that some may not spot diamondback terrapins. But, even no count counts.

“Zero data is actually really, really important also. We need to understand where these turtles aren’t as well as where the turtles are at this point,” Sutton said.

Paddles are scheduled for later this month, in May and in June.

For more information and to sign up for training visit terrapintallync.org.

More than 400 acres in Southport will be permanently conserved if the state follows through with buying the land.

The Southport Board of Aldermen in a 4-2 vote last week gave the interim city manager the green light to offer the land to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission for a little more than $637,000.

Part of the sale agreement, city leaders emphasized, requires that the state place the land in conservation in perpetuity.

An Oct. 10, 2022, letter from a wildlife commission official to the board indicating the agency’s ongoing interest in the land stated the commission’s desire, “with the hope of protecting the property’s significant conservation value in perpetuity.”

Interim City Manager Bonnie Therrien explained during the board’s March 14 meeting that wildlife commission officials were waiting to receive final approval from its funders before signing off on the sale. Funding is provided through the N.C. Land and Water Fund, state Attorney General’s Office Environmental Enhancement Grant Program, and the North American Wetlands Conservation Act Program.

The wait is over whether the funders will give the OK for a 5-acre sliver of land that would adjoin the property but remain under local government ownership be the site of a future county-built water tower.

Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point officials are also looking at the proposed water tower site to determine whether such a structure would be appropriate on land that is within the Army ammunition port’s blast zone

At the time of the meeting, the city was waiting to hear back from federal government officials, Therrien said.

The city’s offer officially provides the state wildlife commission an opportunity to buy the land it initially expressed an interest in purchasing four years ago.

The commission received funding in late 2021 to buy the land, an area wildlife officials say is ecologically important because it supports both federal- and state-listed species, including federally endangered red-cockaded woodpeckers and state-listed species of amphibians.

Because of its proximity to 16,000-acre ammunition port, the largest in the country, the federal government prohibits the land from being developed.

Two years ago, a commercial construction firm offered to buy or lease no fewer than 50 acres from the city to mine clay-like material and use the earth to build up eroded berms buffering ammunition and explosive areas within the Army installation.

The wildlife commission returned to the city to remind aldermen of its request to buy the land in hopes of expanding the game land footprint in the area. The property is adjacent to the state’s Green Swamp Game Land.

Before aldermen cast their votes, Southport resident Tom Veale praised the board’s intent to sell the land to the state.

“That’s a great thing and it’ll benefit everybody for generations to come having that as green space,” Veale said, noting that he represented a group of 300 members of a group who opposed mining on the land.

The city bought a majority of the little more than 440-acre tract in 2005 with plans to use it as a spray irrigation site for a new sewer plant. Southport officials eventually opted out of building a plant, instead deciding to merge the city’s water and sewer with Brunswick county.

The wildlife commission initially made an offer of $660,000 for the land, but the city trimmed the final asking cost because the sale includes about 426 acres. In addition to the 5 acres the county wants to set aside, Southport wants to keep 10 acres to use as a debris-disposal site and training area for the city’s fire department.

The city’s sale agreement will now go to the Southport Planning Board for review and recommendation. The planning board’s recommendation will go back to the board of aldermen for a final vote.

Officials with Cape Lookout National Seashore and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses have released their annual report on 117-horse Shackleford Banks herd.

The year-end 2023 report found that the herd is 62% female, 38% male.

Of the oldest horses, those 17 years and older, 23 are female and one is male.  The oldest living horse on the island is a 29-year-old mare.

The report numbered five foals born during the spring and summer, and herd mortality averages 6% between 1991 and 2023.

Park service and foundation officials said the most important factor in protecting the wild horses is public education. That’s why they have increased efforts – media communications and park programs — to inform the public how best to watch the horses without interacting with them or interrupting their natural behavior. 

The park offers “Horse Sense and Survival” tours monthly in the summer and fall.

In 2023, the new Pony Patrol launched with 26 Volunteers in Parks (VIPs) making 2,100 visitor contacts during the summer, officials said. 

You can also learn more about the wild horses by taking part in the Junior Ranger Wild Horse Protector activity. This is designed for students in sixth through eighth grades with the help of an adult, so it requires a parent, guardian, or youth leader to check out a backpack with instruments needed to complete activities like those done by the wild horse biologist. Upon completion, students receive an award and are certified as Wild Horse Protectors.

Learn more at the national seashore’s wildlife management report page.

COLUMBIA — In a coastal North Carolina county that has more wildlife — by far — than people, as well as vast amounts of public lands, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s visit to Tyrrell County Thursday afternoon was especially significant. 

“Coming here is important,” Tyrrell County Manager David Clegg told Haaland during a media event with the secretary at the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge visitor center.

Haaland was in Tyrrell County to announce that $1.4 million has been awarded to the refuge from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to replace 1,000 feet of the badly weathered Scuppernong River Boardwalk.

“And we saw how dilapidated it is,” said Haaland, referring to a stroll she had taken earlier on the boardwalk behind the visitor center, which stretches along the river and through woods and marshlands. “Now we’ll really be ready to make it right for future visits by so many people.”

In a later interview, Clegg said he really appreciated the secretary’s openness and willingness to discuss Tyrrell and the value of Pocosin Lakes to the county.   

“She has an on-the-ground understanding of what it is now,” he said. “It’s not some concept to her.”

Although the boardwalk is still safe to use, it has the warped and blackened wood commonly seen in aging decks and docks in the region.

North Carolina Wildlife Federation CEO Tim Gestwicki recalled during his remarks the reaction he had when producers of a documentary about the area asked to take some footage outside the refuge headquarters.

“They said, ‘Let’s go out on the boardwalk,’” he recalled. “I said, ‘Oh, lord, I don’t know about that.’”

Gestwicki said he is “delighted” with the infrastructure work that is being done at Pocosin and other refuges because it will allow more access for people to enjoy being outside in nature.

The project is part of President Biden’s $157 million Investing in America agenda to restore our nation’s lands and waters through locally led, landscape-scale restoration projects, according to a Department of the Interior press release. The funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will support 206 ecosystem restoration projects in 48 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. territories.

Projects will focus on a restoration and resilience framework that builds climate resilience and addresses impacts, restores lands and waters, and enhances the quality of life for communities.

“What I love is the framework serves as a roadmap to where we can make the greatest difference,” Haaland said. “By grounding the framework in landscape-level projects like this here at Pocosin Lakes, it will supercharge our efforts to foster biodiversity and restore the habitats we all depend on.” 

Tyrrell fits the program’s target as a rural, historically underserved community.

With about 43% of its 735 square miles owned by state and federal governments, much of the county’s economy is still based in agriculture and forestry. But the tax base is shrinking, along with the population, which is currently 3,200 people, compared with 3,645 in 2016. The county is also considered one of the most vulnerable per capita to sea level rise impacts.

Clegg, the county manager, emphasized in his remarks that while Tyrrell might be remote and economically disadvantaged, its diverse ecosystems have outsize value to the natural world, replete with estuarine shorelines, pocosin wetlands, and agricultural vistas. For that reason, the county is primed to grow its ecotourism economy. 

“You can find bear, wolves, deer, wildcats, swan, duck, eagles, egret, beaver, otters, alligators, foxes, turtles, crabs, fish, quails, snakes, salamanders and raccoons,” he recited in one long breath, ending to applause.  

But Tyrrell County, despite its riches and challenges, is often lost in the shuffle when it comes to helpful government attention — making an important national official such as Haaland especially welcomed. 

“They say you don’t care about us,” said 1^st District Congressman Don Davis, a Democrat from Snow Hill, when addressing Haaland. “Well guess what? You’re here.”

Davis said his office works closely with the Interior Department and other agencies to assist local communities in meeting criteria so projects such as the Pocosin boardwalk can be completed.

“This is an awesome federal investment,” he said.

The Investing in America project also will partner with states and other recipients to address drought and wildfire resilience, recreational access, legacy pollution from former mines, invasive species management, and restoration of native plants and ecosystems.

More than half of the projects will also benefit historically underserved communities, as part of Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, an environmental justice effort that aims to direct 40% of certain federal benefits to “disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution,” according to the White House.

During a brief Q&A with media before she left, Haaland expressed appreciation for the Pocosin Lakes refuge and its staff, and she made a promise that Tyrrell no doubt hopes come true. 

“I never pass up an opportunity to tell the staff how much they mean to us,” Haaland said. “I couldn’t be prouder to stand here today and I’ll come back again.”

Looking for a way to help the wild horses on protected lands in Carteret County this summer?

Volunteers are needed for a program called Pony Patrol to help to boost community awareness, protect wild horses and increase visitor compliance regarding wild horse rules and guidelines at Shackleford Banks and the Rachel Carson Reserve in Carteret County.

The program is a three-way collaboration of Cape Lookout National Seashore, the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, and the Foundation for Shackleford Horses Inc.

Prospective Pony Patrol volunteers will work three to four-hour shifts, walking Rachel Carson Reserve and/or Shackleford Banks and talking with visitors about how to best experience the beauty and natural behavior of the horses. 

A pilot version of the program was presented last year on Shackleford Banks. Volunteers conducted 48 patrols and contacted over 2,000 visitors during the program.

Prospective candidates should apply online.

The application period closes Feb. 23. Applicants must apply to both locations if they want to volunteer for Rachel Carson Reserve and Shackleford Banks. Selected candidates will be contacted for an interview in early March. 

Shackleford Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore’s southernmost barrier island, is home to more than 100 wild horses.

The herd at the Rachel Carson Reserve, which is directly across Taylors Creek from downtown Beaufort, numbers around 30. The reserve is one of 10 protected sites managed by the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, a program of the Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management.

Pony Patrol volunteers will receive training in how to communicate effectively with visitors, understand the importance of giving wild horses space to be wild, and how to protect both visitor’s safety and the wild horses’ welfare so that they can answer basic questions about the horses and their natural, barrier-island homes.

Candidates must be at least 18 and be physically able to walk the beach in a dynamic setting, consisting of sandy terrain, extreme sun, heat, humidity, wind, and buggy environments. 

Pony Patrol volunteers will be expected to work three- to four-hour shifts, at least three times per month. 

Learn more

Visit the following websites for more information:

• Cape Lookout National Seashore.
• Rachel Carson Reserve.
• Foundation for Shackleford Horses.

Despite being recently ranked as the state with the seventh-worst feral hog problem in the country, most North Carolinians aren’t likely to spot them feasting on crops in the Piedmont, eating away mussel mounds in coastal salt marshes, or devouring rare, native species of small animals in the mountains.

Compiled data in a recent report released by Captain Experiences, an online platform for hunting and fishing excursions, places North Carolina among the top 10 states with the largest feral hog populations.

In that account, the number of feral hog reports in North Carolina topped 655.

But those numbers are well below the wild boar count tallied in the state this year by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 19, 1,612 feral swine were killed and subsequently sampled to monitor for disease.

The reality is, state officials say, there is not a solid estimate of how many of these free-roaming, highly intelligent, disease-carrying animals are in the state.

And there is no way for state officials to monitor feral swine populations.

Not yet anyway.

Elusive and evasive

The Southeast has long had the biggest, most expensive, and most historic feral swine populations in the country.

North Carolina has had free-ranging populations of swine since the early 1500s, when Spanish conquistadors released their version of domestic pigs into the wild, said Falyn Owens, state Wildlife Resources Commission extension wildlife biologist.

“That’s not to say that the problem hasn’t gotten worse,” she said.

And officials simply do not have a good idea of how widespread the population of feral swine are in the state.

“We don’t in North Carolina have a good estimate of the population of feral swine across the state because it’s a really, really hard number to pin down,” Owens said.

In no area of the state is this challenge more prevalent than the coastal region.

The reason for that is twofold. There are fewer people who reside in remote coastal areas where wild hogs are likely live and leave evidence of their destruction.

In addition, a particular type of hunting popular in the coastal region keeps wild hogs on the move twice as frequently in coastal areas as compared to the Piedmont or mountains, said Wildlife-Livestock Health Director Aaron Loucks with the state agriculture department’s veterinary division.

“When you have dog hunting around feral swine and you’re trying to do any population mapping at all, or any disease monitoring at all, it becomes extremely difficult because those pigs are being moved around so much,” he said. “So, the ability to count populations of pigs on the coast, specifically North Carolina, becomes very difficult with that aspect of their management.”

That’s bad not only for property owners, but salt marshes, according to the results of a 2021 study that found destruction caused by feral hogs in salt marshes affect a marsh’s ability to recover from drought and sea level rise.

Feral hogs are omnivores, feasting on “pretty much anything that is organic,” Owens said.

They forage for everything from invertebrates to nuts, berries and seeds, though they’re just as happy eating small animals and decaying flesh off animal carcasses.

Their hair-covered bodies can weigh hundreds of pounds, but typically weigh between 100 and 200 pounds.

Feral hogs, though very capable of defending themselves if cornered, are averse to coming too close to humans, Owens said.

“Usually, if there’s pigs around, you’re not even going to see them or you’re going to see them on the other side of a field, and you’re just going to see the tail-end of them as they’re running away. They do not want to interact with us,” she said.

And they are “disturbingly intelligent,” Loucks said, adding that the animals are keenly aware when something happens within their social group.

Their innate aversion to risk keeps them on high alert. Unlike other animals who may, for example, stop to nibble on a bait pile of corn, feral hogs appear to suspect a human ploy.

Population and disease management

This year, feral hogs have caused more than $1 million in damage to crops and farms in the state, according to Loucks.

“That damage number is significant because a biologist physically walked that land with the damage,” he said in an email. “It was recorded and verified on the ground alongside a farmer.”

Two of the crops suffering the most destruction have been soy and corn. In some cases, Loucks said, farmers this year have quit growing one or both of those crops altogether.

Not only are feral swine destructive to agriculture, waterways and coastal resilience, they can carry a host of diseases that can spread to other animals, including livestock.

When that happens, it can have devastating effects on the livestock market and its producers, costing billions of dollars in losses nationwide.

Females can birth up to five litters every two years. Each litter typically includes between four and six piglets, though some females can give birth to up to 12 piglets, Owens said.

Killing them off one-by-one isn’t going to control their populations.

“There’s never been a country or a state ever that has hunted their way out of the problem,” Loucks said. “You might kill a few, but the rest of them are going to disperse on your neighbor’s land, cause damage for a few years, and then come back, and now they’re significantly more educated so it makes this problem just exponentially harder to control.”

Instead, agencies have turned to the use of corral traps, which can be set up to capture whole social groups of feral swine. Once captured, the hogs are shot.

It is illegal in North Carolina to release swine into the wild.

Yet feral hogs continue to be transported into the state illegally for sport hunting, a lucrative business.

These so-called illegal sport translocations put “a lot of farms at risk that wouldn’t necessarily be in that spot,” Loucks said.

But there is good news.

“The need is exponentially increasing every year to handle feral swine as a state, and that need will translate to less and less illegal sport translocations,” Loucks said.

The agriculture department is currently working on way to monitor feral swine populations through a mapping system, one that will identify populations with a minimum of 100 breeding females.

About 20% of the mapping has been completed.

“The overall consensus is: We have a lot of pigs in less places than we thought,” Loucks said. “We thought it was this widespread, 100-county problem, and it turns out it’s really not. It’s a few focal areas.”

At the beginning of this year, the state changed how it operates a program aimed at helping property owners capture feral pigs on their property by bolstering education and communication with landowners.

What began as a corral-trapping program for six counties has expanded statewide.

The state works with landowners to write out formal management plans and sets up corral traps for property owners having a problem with feral hogs on their land. All that is asked of a property owner is to provide corn to place inside a trap.

“We have traps set up in 15 counties that are active and another 33 counties with population monitoring efforts,” Loucks said in an email. “More traps have been purchased, gone out to private lands, and reduced the population of feral swine in those high-risk areas.”

And it doesn’t stop at the state level. Counties and individual states are communicating more often and more than ever following the 2020 shutdown resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“All of the entities doing serious disease work around the world started sharing what’s working, and more importantly, what is not working in terms of their disease monitoring,” Loucks said. “All of our management has to be disease-focused so we can be prepared. At this point we have a very much winning formula and it’s because everybody’s involved.”

Fire is good for forests. See for yourself.

The Nature Conservancy invites you to explore the Green Swamp Nature Preserve from the comforts of your own home and see firsthand how thousands of acres are regenerating after burning in a wildfire last June.

The conservancy recently launched an interactive map that takes the user deep into the forest to reveal new life emerging in the weeks and months since a wildfire burned nearly 16,000 acres.

The story of the fire in the Green Swamp has the eye-catching title “Pulp Road Wildfire. 15,642 acres burned – 15,642 acres revitalized.”

Using ArcGIS StoryMaps, an online tool created by American geographic information system technology software company Esri, Emma Gwyn, a GIS stewardship intern for The Nature Conservancy — North Carolina in Wilmington, created the story of how the fire benefited the preserve.

Visitors of the site can click on different areas of a map of the preserve to learn about the variety of unique plants and wildlife that call the area home, watch drone videos, view before-and-after images, and a 91-day time-lapse of a pocosin wetland regenerating after the fire.

“It’s still there,” said Nathan Burmester, the conservancy’s coastal plain stewardship manager. “It’s flourishing. It’s better than it was before.”

That may come as a surprise to those who assumed much of the 17,424-acre preserve, known for its Venus flytraps, pitcher plants, and decorative orchids, lay in a charred, dead heap following the June wildfire.

But fire is just what the preserve’s two main ecosystems – longleaf pine savannah and pocosin wetland – need to thrive.

As explained in the virtual tour, longleaf pine savanna need low-intensity fires every two to five years. Pocosin, which are freshwater shrub wetlands of the southeastern coastal plains, require high-intensity fires every eight to 20 years.

“Even though a high-intensity fire in the pocosin may look catastrophic, the system recovers incredibly quickly,” according to the conservancy.

“It’s always one of our messages that we’re trying to get out is the importance of controlled burning,” Burmester said. “Part of my goal for making this was to have more education for the public.”

Whether sparked by a cigarette discarded from a car window or a lightning strike, forests are going to burn “someday, one way or another,” he said.

“When that happens, we don’t get to pick the day. We don’t get to pick the weather. So, we’re always trying to get out the importance of controlled burning,” Burmester said.

The Green Swamp fire began as a prescribed burn by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission on June 14 around Pulp Road in Brunswick County.

Related: Green Swamp now turning green again after burn, wildfire

The commission had a permit to burn 400 acres, but the blaze spread after the fire jumped its line and quickly spread into areas that had not been burned in years.

“The smoke was so intense that it sparked thunderstorms nearby!” according to the conservancy.

Winds pushed ash more than 30 miles away to Wilmington and air quality warnings were issued throughout the region before June 29 when the fire was fully contained.

The fire left a black and green patchwork-like landscape across the preserve. Green areas are those that were either too wet or had been burned in a series of controlled fires prescribed within the past year.

These areas served as “critical refuges” for wildlife during the June wildfire.

Burmester said that the preserve was last burned in its entirety 68 years ago.

That equated to 68 years of fuel for some areas of the preserve. There are no roads in the swamp to break the land into smaller chunks. The shrubby, wet pocosin can’t be sliced with fire lines.

“They’re extremely challenging to burn because they’re large pockets of non-divided fuels,” Burmester said.

He said that experts from various agencies, including Wildlife Resources and forest service officials, have begun talks on how they can turn the June wildfire into an opportunity to administer controlled burns in the future.

In the meantime, he encourages people to engage in the Green Swamp fire story.

“The tool’s out there so anything you want to do and show in a map feature is there, which is really cool,” Burmester said. “Enjoy and be creative.”

Featured Image

An orb weaver appears to don its Halloween skull mask. Photo: Mark Courtney

Featured Image

A blue heron hunts in the marsh grass near Conch’s Point on Calico Creek in Morehead City. Photo: Dylan Ray

Organizers of the annual Wings Over Water Festival set for Oct. 17-22 and Dec. 8-10 are celebrating the event’s 25th anniversary this year, with dawn-to-dusk bird counts, birding in otherwise restricted refuge areas, art, history, hikes and paddles.

The festival takes place at six national wildlife refuges that together cover parts of six northeast North Carolina counties and is the annual fundraiser for the Coastal Wildlife Refuge Society. The society, a nonprofit that supports regional national wildlife refuges, provides educational grants, volunteers and staff who are essential to national wildlife refuges and their visitor centers and support projects such as trail maintenance.

Author and artist Julie Zickefoose, keynote speaker for the 2019 festival, returns this year as keynote speaker. Her books include “Letters From Eden” and “The Bluebird Effect.” She is a contributing editor to Bird Watcher’s Digest.

Zickefoose leads natural history excursions to Latin America and Africa lives on an 80-acre wildlife sanctuary in Appalachian Ohio.

Her talk, “Baby Birds: An Artist Looks Into The Nest,” which is also the title of her 2016 book, examines why and how baby songbirds develop so quickly, with some launching into flight only 11 days after hatching. The keynote reception is set for 6-8 p.m. Oct. 21 at the National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center, 100 Conservation Way, Manteo.

Online registration has opened for the festival launched in 1997 to better connect people with the wildlife and wild lands and a schedule of events is available for download.

Organizers advised that when registering for Wings Over Water Encore events, note that the trip dates are in December.

A species of snail harmful to native habitat, can make people sick and is outlawed in North Carolina has taken up residence in a south-central river in the state’s Coastal Plain.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission officials earlier this week announced that the first-known population of apple snails, the females of which can lay eggs weekly, are in the Lumber River.

This is the second time in less than a month that wildlife officials have confirmed reports of aquatic invasive species in the state.

It is too soon for state wildlife officials to determine whether the snails and their egg masses, found by the dozens along the river in downtown Lumberton, can be wiped out entirely.

“We don’t know if eradication is possible,” said Brena Jones, aquatic biologist and the commission’s central region aquatic wildlife adversity coordinator. “They’re already well established in that tributary and they’re spreading in the river. That’s a really large area to try and treat.”

Wildlife biologists would also have to consider the potential treatment impacts to native snails and mussels in the river.

“Our first triage measure is to prevent further spread,” Jones said.

Officials believe they have identified the tributary where the snails were initially released, but they do not know who or how the snails were put in that tributary.

Apple snails are native to South America, but popular among aquarium enthusiasts throughout the world because of their pretty gold and chestnut-striped shells.

Adults grow anywhere from 2 to 6 inches, making them some of the largest freshwater snails in the world.

Their eggs contain a toxin that, when touched with bare skin, can cause skin and eye rashes. Apple snails may also carry rat lungworm, a parasitic worm that, if ingested, can lead to a rare and sometimes deadly disease known as eosinophilic meningitis.

As to how the species found its way into the U.S., fingers point to the aquarium industry. The invasive species has been confirmed in several states, Europe and Asia.

Jones said a man who has paddled the Lumber River for years notified wildlife officials about the snails, which lay large clusters of bright pink eggs outside of water on everything from tree trunks and other vegetation to concrete.

Snails and eggs have been identified near the Interstate 95 bridge crossing of the river, the commission’s High Hill boat access, and in a tributary of the river known as Fivemile Branch.

Eggs can easily be destroyed by crushing them and scraping them off hard surfaces into water. Snails may be crushed or frozen.

Jones cautions anyone who attempts to kill either the eggs or snails to avoid touching them with their bare skin.

Not just snails

The discovery of apple snails in the Lumber River comes at the heels of another discovery of an aquatic invasive species identified for the first time in the wild in North Carolina.

Zebra mussels, another fast-reproducing species that can deplete the food chain of other aquatic life and change a water’s chemistry, have been found in a private quarry in Iredell County in the Piedmont.

These mussels are also illegal in the state. They can clog public drinking water and wastewater systems and damage recreational equipment.

“Both zebra mussels and apple snails are really harmful to native systems and human health,” Jones said.

Wildlife officials believe the mussels are contained to the quarry and they are working on treatment options, according to a release.

The discovery of these species in the state has prompted the commission to launch a new online Aquatic Nuisance Species Reporting Tool, which allows users to download photographs of a suspicious species and provide a location to be shared with wildlife officials.

Reports from the public help the commission, which does not have adequate manpower to cover all areas of the state, Jones said.

Commission officials ask everyone to follow a few simple steps to help prevent the spread of these invasive species, including the following:

• Clean equipment of aquatic plants, animals and mud.
• Drain water from boats, live wells, bait buckets and all equipment.
• Dry all equipment thoroughly.
• Refrain from moving plants, fish or other organisms from one body of water to another.

Jones said the commission will release additional information about ways to keep apple snails from populating in the state.

“We’ve still got more to learn about them,” she said.

Sept. 28 update:

Rachel Carson Reserve officials were notified Thursday of the death of the wild foal transported to Raleigh from the protected site in Beaufort earlier this week for emergency veterinary care.

The foal had been exhibiting signs of extreme distress and was transported to the College of Veterinary Medicine at N.C. State University in Raleigh where it was deemed to be in critical condition.

The foal’s death was likely due to complications of septicemia and pneumonia.

A necropsy will be performed to determine other possible contributing factors.

“Division staff extend their utmost gratitude to those who reported the sick foal, those who responded, and to the local and N.C. State College of Veterinary Medicine veterinarians who worked very hard to save the young horse’s life,” according to an update Thursday on the reserve’s Facebook page.

The Rachel Carson Reserve is one of 10 sites managed by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management.

Original post:

A newborn male foal that was showing signs of extreme distress Monday on the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort has been transported off-site to receive emergency veterinary care.

The Rachel Carson Reserve is across Taylor’s Creek from the historic Beaufort waterfront in Carteret County and one of 10 reserve sites under the North Carolina’s Division of Coastal Management.

The wild horse herd is continually monitored by reserve staff and volunteers with minimal management to maintain the wildness of the herd. The division intervened in this case because of the extreme signs of distress and the very young age of the foal.

Paula Gillikin, Coastal Reserve site manager for the Rachel Carson Reserve, examined the male foal at the reserve. After consulting with the reserve’s local equine veterinarian and College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University, staff moved the horse from the reserve for further examination and treatment.

The foal was transported to the equine veterinarian’s office for stabilization and then to N.C. State’s College of Veterinary Medicine where testing and analysis to determine the causes of distress are ongoing, emergency care is being administered, and further treatment options are being considered.

Horses were brought to the site by a resident in the 1940s and eventually became wild, according to the division. The horses subsist primarily on saltmarsh cordgrass and dig for fresh water.

The public is asked to help protect the horses and their safety by maintaining a distance of at least 50 feet away, about the the size of a large bus, though a much larger distance is recommended for viewing the horses’ natural behaviors and protecting them from disturbance.

Featured Image

The female pigmy rattlesnake in this photo by Daniel Murdoch was spotted with her hatchlings in the Newport area near Croatan National Forest.

Wildlife Resources Commission biologists request that if you see a snake, do not harm it, instead give it plenty of space, and if you see a pine snake or rattlesnake, report it.  

“Snakes play crucial roles within ecoystems and help control the rodent, slug and insect populations,” Jeff Hall, reptile conservation biologist with the Wildlife Commission, said in a release about reporting snake sightings. “There are many ways to coexist with snakes, which is important because of 38 of North Carolina’s native snake species, ten are listed endangered, threatened or of special concern.”  

The agency partners with the HerpMapper mobile app to track amphibian and reptile species. To report a sighting, download the app to your mobile device or tablet and enter information about your sighting. If reporting by email send a photo, the date and time the snake was observed and location to rattlesnake@ncwildlife.org.

The smallest rattlesnake species in the state, pigmy rattlesnakes give birth to up to nine babies in late summer or early fall, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission. “Pigmy rattlers are rare but can be found in the southeastern Coastal Plain and in the Sandhills of North Carolina in pine flatwoods and scrub oak habitats. They have also been found at Crowder’s Mountain State Park in Gaston County.”

Of the six native venomous snake species, three are rattlesnakes. The pigmy, along with eastern diamondback and timber, are the three rattlesnake species in the state and are all protected under the North Carolina Endangered Species Act. The eastern diamondback is endangered and the timber and pigmy rattlesnakes are considered species of special concern because of declining populations.

“Public assistance in recording and documenting the pine snake will be a huge help, because it’s difficult to conserve a species when we don’t know all the places it occurs,” Mike Martin, wildlife technician with the Wildlife Commission, said in a release. “We are partnering with several organizations and agencies to conduct surveys in the areas where pine snakes have either been seen or areas with potentially good habitat.”  

Contact Hall at jeff.hall@wildlife.org or 252-917-1683 for more information.

Chris Winter, who has more than 11 years of nonprofit executive-level experience, has been appointed chief executive officer of the Corolla Wild Horse Fund.

A new position for the nonprofit organization founded in 2001, his appointment became effective July 31.

Winter was most recently president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Eastern North Carolina. Prior to that, he worked as the director of development for Living Water International, a faith-based nonprofit organization that helps communities in developing countries create sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene programs.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund’s mission is to protect, conserve, and responsibly manage the herd of Corolla wild horses that roam freely on the northernmost Currituck Outer Banks and to promote the continued preservation of the land as a permanent sanctuary for horses designated as the state horse and defined as a cultural treasure by the state, organization representatives said.

“We are confident Chris can guide the Fund into the future, expand our resources, improve our programs, and continue to help the wild Banker horses of Corolla thrive for generations to come,” Corolla Wild Horse Fund Board Chairman Kimberlee Hoey said in a statement.

Find out more about the Corolla Wild Horse Fund at www.corollawildhorses.org.

Reprinted from Ocracoke Observer

Those spending time on Ocracoke beach and other areas of the Outer Banks this spring may have been pleasantly surprised to see flocks of binge-foraging red knots, the rufa subspecies (Calidris canutus rufa).

Transitioning from the drab basic or winter gray/white plumage to their bright orange/red breasts and rufous backs could make identification a challenge. But their behavior of feeding along the waterline in flocks from 10 or so to more than 100 distinguishes them from other shorebirds here.

The knots were using the beach as a foraging stopover, fattening up to make their long migration to their nesting grounds in the central Canadian Arctic.

Listed in 2014 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, their presence in large numbers here and other areas added to a cautious sign of optimism that the species is doing better.

Historically, the Delaware Bay region has been considered the most important stopover for red knots’ long migration because that area coincides when horseshoe crabs arrive to spawn and lay millions of eggs. Horseshoe crab eggs are a high-fat, nutrient-rich food source and essential to fueling the Red Knots’ migration to their Arctic breeding grounds.

An independent Delaware Bay survey in May reported 22,000 red knots, the highest number in four years. The lowest number tallied in these surveys was in 2021 with just 6,880. By contrast, the highest count was in 1989 with 90,000 individuals.

Another encouraging sign was aerial surveys taken in key Tierra del Fuego areas reported the highest number of wintering knots in 10 years. The southern tip of South America has been an important wintering ground. Those wintering individuals make one of the longest migrations — some 9,000 miles to nest and again return in the fall.

The two national seashores on the Outer Banks monitor red knots along with other species.

According to Amy Thompson, the biological science technician for Ocracoke, Cape Hatteras National Seashore collects red knot data a couple of different ways.

One of these methods is to systematically survey the entire island on the fifth, 15th and 25th of every month when weather conditions permit. The May 15 survey counted 1,318 individuals combined from the three districts of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore that include Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, she wrote in an email.

“The other method is to collect opportunistic counts of Red Knots while we’re conducting morning patrols,” she added. “This provides a general idea of the total number of Red Knots stopping along the Seashore to rest and refuel on a daily basis. In the month of May, Ocracoke staff counted over 100 Red Knots every day with a minimum of 106 on May 1 and the maximum of 1,951 on May 10.”

The staff of Cape Lookout National Seashore, south of Ocracoke Islan, concluded their last red knot spring migration survey on June 5. Their surveys are divided into South Core Banks (SCB) and North Core Banks (NCB). The combined peak count was on May 15 with 1,986 individuals, according to Jon Altman, supervisory biologist for Cape Lookout National Seashore. “This number is lower than the high count of 2,997 birds last year on May 25, but overall, May 2023 had more birds the whole month than 2022,” he said in an email.

The combined total from nine surveys from March 15 to June 5 for Cape Lookout was 7,402 individuals.

“Unfortunately, we have not been able to cover from Ocracoke Inlet to Evergreen Inlet which is three miles of prime Red Knot habitat with little to no disturbance since it is hard to get to by boat and people can only walk that section.,” he said.

The red knot has a been a source of concern due to a rapid decline of its population, as much as a staggering 87% since 2000, according to a study, and more than 94% since the 1980s in some areas of the Atlantic Coast.

The principal cause for this decline is from a drastic decrease of horseshoe crab eggs which have plummeted due to the overharvesting of horseshoe crabs.

Of the 22,000 red knots observed, only 2,200 were seen on the Delaware side of the bay, the rest were in New Jersey. This is due, in part, to New Jersey having more protections for horseshoe crabs than Delaware, including a 2008 moratorium on harvesting, beach closures and habitat restoration projects.

The Carolina coasts are important foraging/resting stopovers for red knots as well as wintering grounds for them in small numbers.

The information gathered by the National Park Service along with aerial surveys adds to a better understanding of red knot migration and helps in making a recovery plan.

Taking active steps to help red knots increase their numbers will also benefit other species that make long distance migrations such as the ruddy turnstone and the semipalmated sandpiper.

There are many governmental agencies, conservation organizations, researchers and volunteers from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic working to save the red knot. These efforts and limiting excessive harvesting of horseshoe crabs go hand in hand to removing them from the threatened list of the Endangered Species Act.

One website worth reading is A Rube with a View written by Larry Niles, Ph.D. He chronicled surveying the red knots presence in New Jersey this past spring. 

This story is provided courtesy of the Ocracoke Observer, a newspaper covering Ocracoke island. Coastal Review is partnering with the Ocracoke Observer to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

To say Pungo Lake is off the beaten path would be a generous understatement.

Situated in the northeastern part of North Carolina that all major roads avoid and even Google doesn’t update, any attempt to travel there brings the possibility for adventure or the potential for mishap.

“Make sure you’re gassed up (with) at least half a tank of fuel, because you’re a long ways away from gas stations,” advised Wendy Stanton, refuge manager for Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, in which Pungo Lake is situated.

Access from the south or west puts travelers on N.C. Highway 45, N.C. 99 or both, since the roads run together for a stretch. Coming from the north or east, the most direct routes involve a variety of tiny roads and then what should be a straight shot on several miles of unpaved, single-car-width peat lanes. But these often end up being closed, either to protect wildlife or to protect the roadways’ accessibility for refuge maintenance vehicles. Google Maps does not reflect these closures, and cell phone service is spotty to nonexistent on the refuge.

When they’re open, in ideal conditions, “driving on them is basically driving on a dry crust of peat,” Stanton said. But traffic breaks down the peat’s structural integrity, as does rainfall, turning the roadways into “mucky slurry” that is unsafe for motorists.

“Last winter, we had to close all our refuge roads because they were in such bad shape,” she said.

Peat is a very fine, organic soil formed from fallen leaves and branches that remain on the ground in an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment, she explained. “When it’s dry, it’s almost the same consistency as corn starch.”

Scientists think the refuge landscape, pockmarked by lakes now, was once contiguous peatlands that wildfires burned down in places, forming lakes as rainfall accumulated there, Stanton said.

“We think Pungo Lake was formed by a groundfire …When those peat soils ignite, they can just burn and smolder for a long period of time.”

Nearby, Phelps Lake, as well as New Lake and Lake Mattamuskeet, each are thought to have formed in that same way. Those lakes, and Pungo Lake, too, are all on North Carolina’s large Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula.

Pungo Lake is a “blackwater lake” with very little to no sunlight penetration, due to the “tannins from the peat and the vegetation, and particulates from the peat soil,” Stanton said. That means there is no submerged aquatic vegetation growing in it, and the lake — with holes up to 6 feet deep in places — looks deeper everywhere than it is, she explained. Swimming, boating and fishing on the lake are always prohibited because “the focus of Pungo Lake is inviolate sanctuary” for wildlife.

The nearly 2,800-square-acre lake is the centerpiece of the refuge’s 12,000-acre Pungo Unit, which was first established as a national wildlife refuge in the 1960s. The rest of the land that now constitutes Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge was added in the 1990s; so currently, the refuge spans over 100,000 acres in Washington, Hyde and Tyrrell counties, according to the refuge website.

A refuge map shows its piecemeal sections spread over the large geographical area.

The refuge’s easternmost swath is by the western bank of the Alligator River, while small areas just south of Columbia include the refuge office. The Pungo Unit is almost the westernmost reach; just one small section of refuge lies even further to the west.

Southeast of Pungo Lake, a larger body of water mostly included in the refuge, New Lake, has been so named since at least 1998, when Stanton began working for the refuge as a biologist. It’s still mislabeled as Alligator Lake on Google Maps.

The refuge owns about 85%, or 4,500 acres, of that roughly 4,900-acre-lake, she said, with the remainder privately owned.

North of Pungo Lake, the refuge includes about 4 miles of shoreline around Lake Phelps’ perimeter, so refuge staff works closely on projects with Pettigrew State Park, which includes Lake Phelps, Stanton said.

While all three lakes are rainwater lakes, their waters are each strikingly different colors because of the soil types beneath them. Lake Phelps appears clear to blue-hued, Pungo Lake is blackwater and New Lake appears brown due to its mixture of peat and mineral soils, she said.

Even not being the farthermost reaches of the refuge, traveling just from the refuge office to the Pungo Unit takes 50 minutes, Stanton said. The only facilities on the refuge, apart from the volunteer-staffed visitor center, are two porta-potties. She encourages visitors to bring water and to be mindful of the weather.

Most of the year, Pungo Lake and the surrounding refuge are quiet, almost seeming otherworldly. No rush of passing traffic or other human-related noises exists to overrun the occasional birds’ calls or the steady thrum of insects.

Early one July morning, the contents of three overturned trash cans were spread across both lanes of Shore Drive, which is included in the refuge and runs just south of Lake Phelps. There had been no overnight storm or significant wind. Turning onto Allen Road, which leads to Pungo Lake (about 6 miles to the south), a plausible explanation appears: A big black bear lumbers off the peat roadway into the bushes.

The Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula has the largest recorded black bears and the highest black bear population densities in the world, according to the nonprofit North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

Many people visit the refuge specifically to see black bears, according to Stanton.

Plymouth, the most populated town on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula and about half an hour’s drive northwest of the Pungo Unit, hosts an annual black bear festival in June to celebrate its famous residents.

A 2003 black bear population estimate based on collected hair samples found 3.5 black bears per square mile, meaning between 300 and 400 bears lived on the refuge, Stanton said.

The bears of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge were found to have the highest genetic diversity in their population out of three regional refuges, meaning “that population is more adaptable to change,” she said. The next-highest genetic diversity was found at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, located to the northeast, also on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula, and which is connected to Pocosin Lakes by a “wildlife corridor.”

The lowest genetic diversity was found in the black bear population of the Great Dismal Swamp Natural Wildlife Refuge in Virginia, which “makes sense because of all the development going on around it,” she said.

Two decades later, a new black bear population study is in the works for northeastern North Carolina. “Genetic technology has expanded in the last 20 years,” Stanton said. “I’m excited to see that study.”

Other year-round refuge residents are also numerous, including whitetail deer, beavers, muskrats, nutria, otters, marsh birds, wood ducks, hawks, owls, bobcats, foxes, red wolves, turtles, frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes, alligators and more.

“I consider it ‘the Yellowstone of the East,’ too, with the diversity of species,” Stanton said of the refuge, borrowing phrasing from one of her friends.

The only sound first thing on a July morning is the aggressive bumping of huge horseflies into the parked car’s windshield. The roadway is closed immediately ahead. A beaver scuttles across the road into a ditch, quickly disappearing from sight.

About a quarter-mile west of the chained-off Allen Road, turning from Shore Drive onto F2 Road, a longer stretch is drivable before a metal gate comes into view, closed and locked, with posted signs announcing the road’s closure to vehicles. Turning around reveals curious wild turkeys, one creeping out first to check the surroundings and apparently giving its nod of approval to another, who then ventures out. The turkeys run down the road together.

Rabbits and quail are well-camouflaged among refuge flora, which includes wildflowers, grasses and ferns. Honeysuckle and wild grapevines dangle from trees and bushes overhead. A combination of high humidity and the smoke from Canadian wildfires obscures everything more than a short distance away in haze.

Each year from about November through January, the refuge gets naturally louder as more than 100,000 migrating swans, geese, ducks and other birds convene annually to rest and recharge before continuing south. For over 20 migratory species — including ducks, tundra swans and snow geese — the refuge is more than a stopover: It’s their winter retreat, according to the refuge website.

With “very minimal human disturbance” and proximity to fresh water and waterfowl impoundments — designed to grow native plants for the birds’ consumption — Pungo Lake provides an ideal sanctuary for migratory waterfowl, Stanton said. In the winter, “amazing flyouts” take place around sunrise when the birds leave to go forage, and then again at sunset as they return to the lake at night.

Over 30,000 people annually visit Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, which is about a 5,000-person annual increase since before the COVID-19 pandemic.

But Stanton maintains even the 30,000 reflects “a real underestimate.” She said there is sometimes bumper-to-bumper traffic in the winter when people flock to see the waterfowl, which settle on all area lakes.

Landowners’ objectives before the refuge was established were different, Stanton noted.

While nearby areas boast rich soil and productive farmland, peat is a “nutrient and mineral poor soil” that people unsuccessfully tried to farm in the past, she said. Much of northeastern North Carolina’s pocosin land — “pocosin” is a Native American word for “swamp on a hill” — was ditched and drained, with numerous canals dug by hand by enslaved people, such as those around Lake Phelps and Lake Mattamuskeet.

Stanton thinks the area near Pungo Lake was ditched and drained with “old, heavy equipment” more recently, closer to the 1960s, to access a valuable commodity — white cedar wood. For a time, she said the land was also mined for the alternative fuel source, ethanol.

“Now we recognize the value of healthy pocosin land,” Stanton said. Pocosin is also called “Southeast shrub bog” and provides “tremendous carbon storage…(and) excellent wildlife habitat.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages the refuge with main goals of providing quality wildlife habitat, reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire and preserving the “tremendous water quality benefit,” she said.

Wet peat ensures a higher water quality for the surrounding area as it reduces both catastrophic fire and flood risks, she explained. Over the years as the refuge has received funding, it has installed water control infrastructure designed to rewet the peat.

“We have now restored over 37,000 acres of pocosin habitat,” she noted, and the goal is to add more water control infrastructure to keep water in the peat in an additional 7,000 to 8,000 acres.

This is one of the largest hydrology restoration projects in the country, according to www.fws.gov.

“Just over the years as we received funding, we piecemealed that infrastructure in to start rewetting the peat,” she said.

The refuge drafted a water management plan, which it put out for public review in 2020, and Stanton said that plan is still being finalized.

The refuge’s visitor center, the Walter B. Jones Sr. Center for the Sounds, is located at 205 South Ludington Drive in Columbia. Free, public programs take place there regularly, as well as at the Red Wolf Center, located a mile south of Columbia on N.C. Highway 94.

For more information about either the visitor center or the red wolf programs, call 252-796-3004 or visit the refuge website at www.fws.gov/refuge/pocosin-lakes. For updates on road closures, call 252-796-3004, extension 225.

In 1860, Edmund Ruffin described the Corolla wild horses, the Banker horses, in his book, “Sketches of Lower North Carolina, and the Similar Adjacent Lands,” in unflattering language.

“These horses are all of small size, with rough and shaggy coats, and long manes. They are generally ugly,” he wrote.

Ruffin’s description is apt: The Corolla horses are small, and they tend to have rough, shaggy coats and long manes. Beautiful and ugly are in the eyes of the beholder, but even Meg Puckett, herd manager for the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, agrees they are not show animals.

“Some of them are, we call them marshy, swampy ones. But those are the ones that survive, and they look like that way for a reason,” she said.

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund is the horses’ protector.

The Corolla wild horses are feral animals, a species that has been introduced into an environment and is not native to it. They are certainly horses, but their behavior has little in common with domestic horses, something Puckett knows from experience.

“I’ve had domestic horses my whole life,” she said. “And they’re so different. The way they think, the way they behave, just everything. Nothing is the same.”

How or when they first came to coastal North Carolina is unknown. Genetic testing has shown a direct link between the Corolla herd and the mustangs of the Conquistadors, although there are other genetic influences in their makeup.

Whatever their origins may have been, the Banker horses long thrived. Writing for the National Geographic in 1926, Melville Charter estimated that, “Between 5,000 and 6,000 of these wild horses roam the sandy banks of the North Carolina coast …”

After the 1920s, however, the population plummeted. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which was worried that the herd would compete with migratory waterfowl for resources when it established the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge in 1938, placed a bounty on the horses.

Other factors, including a change in North Carolina open range laws that required the once free ranging horses to be penned, also contributed to a steep decline in the population.

The last remnants of that herd now live on the Shackelford Banks on Onslow Bay or Carova, the area that stretches 11 miles north of Corolla to the Virginia state line. Carova is an area with no paved roads, although large vacation homes dot the landscape.

A landrace breed

Banker horses have adapted to their environment. More than 160 years ago, Ruffin noted that the herd could survive where other breeds would die.

“To introduce horses of more noble race … if turned loose here, would scarcely live through either the plague of blood-sucking insects of the first summer, or the severe privations of the first winter,” he wrote.

The ability of the horses to survive in an environment that would most likely kill other breeds differentiates the Banker horses.

“They are considered a landrace breed, which means that they are a breed that has developed in a specific region and has developed adaptations, physical and behavioral adaptations, based on where they live,” Puckett said. “That sets them apart, regardless of anything else. And that’s what makes them Banker horses and culturally significant.”

It’s a hot and humid day on the Carova beach north of Corolla. On the dunes lining the beach, there is a small harem, a stallion, two mares, and a colt grazing on the sea oats.

The sea oats and other grasses that grow in the dunes are part of their adaptation. Puckett points out that what grows in the sandy soil of Carova would not sustain a domestic horse.

“They couldn’t process it and it also wouldn’t be enough calories,” she said. “That’s the big thing with these horses, they just do not need the calories.”

The reverse is also true — the Corolla horse cannot process the nutrient-rich grass that most horses eat. As development continues in the Carova area, some homeowners have planted grass. For the horse, it’s another place to graze, but Puckett notes, “that green grass is not that great for them.”

There are times a horse must be removed from the herd, usually to save its life, and after recovery from an injury or illness, the animal cannot go back to the wild. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund has a 10-acre farm where rescued horses are placed.

“You can’t put them out in the pasture at first because it’s just too much. They go out in the dirt paddock … because the grass will kill them,” Puckett said.

Managing the herd

Because a significant portion of the land where the horses roam is in the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, the size of the herd is limited to 130 horses by a management agreement with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. Puckett said the current population is 101, although there could be some uncounted animals in the marsh islands on the north end of Currituck Sound.

Recently a mare and her foal were added to the herd, and Puckett, who has named well over half the herd and knows them all by sight, is certain the pair had not been seen in the past.

“The mother of this foal has a very distinctive marking on her face, so I am positive that she’s not in our file,” she said.

That illustrates how difficult it is to get an accurate count of the herd.

“From what we’ve seen, there were five total out on that island. But you know, the horses go back and forth between those islands all the time,” she said.

Difficult decisions

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund has two goals with the herd, and Puckett said the two objectives can be at odds with each other at times.

“Managing a population of wild animals and also managing breed conservation do not always go hand in hand,” she said. “Not only are we trying to allow a wild population of animals to stay here and remain wild, but we have to make sure that they can do that. We have such a small population that every individual is critically so important that we can’t afford to lose them. So, at what point do you step in? And at what point do you let nature take its course? And it can be tricky.”

Puckett said the horses can survive injuries that a domestic horse does not encounter, such as after a fight between stallions.

“They can survive injuries and issues that a domestic horse would just lay down and die. You’ll have a stallion with a neck bite or something like that, but they’re tough. It’s very, very rare that you need to intervene when it comes to natural injuries. My general rule of thumb is, if something happened to it naturally, I’m not messing with it. It doesn’t need me giving antibiotics. That’s a part of life for these horses,” Puckett said.

There are injuries and diseases in which a horse must be treated, and sometimes difficult decisions must be made.

Equine pythiosis is almost always fatal to a horse if untreated. Sometimes called swamp cancer, the pathogen that causes it is Pythium insidiosum.

The Louisiana State University Ag Center website describes the disease as, “traditionally thought of as an aquatic fungi or water mold and typically occurs in wetland conditions.”

It begins at a small cut. The wound does not heal and develops into tumor-like lesions. Over time, the pathogen will infect the animal’s entire system, eventually killing it.

Since 2020, there have been four cases of the disease among the Corolla herd …

“… that we know of,” Puckett stressed.

The first case that was detected illustrates the often-difficult decisions that must be made balancing herd management and breed conservation.

“The first mare that got it, she had just had a foal. So we said, ‘Alright, this is fatal, but it’s not immediately fatal.’ The quality of life really doesn’t begin to deteriorate right away,” she said.

The options were to take the mare in for treatment immediately at the North Carolina State University College for Veterinary Medicine or allow her to raise her colt.

Although quality of life for the mare was not yet affected, Puckett and the vets who were aware of the situation decided the disease was too far advanced for a successful outcome. But, if they pulled the mare from herd before the colt was weaned, the colt would also have to be taken from the herd and raised at the farm.

“The chances of us being able to save her at this point were pretty slim,” Puckett explained. “We’ve now lost her and the foal from the herd, or we can leave her here, let her raise him and then next year when he’s old enough, we’ll take her and see what we can do about treating her. That’s what we decided to do. She unfortunately did not survive.”

“But the colt is still here. He has a harem of his own now,” she added.

Human interaction

Many of the people who encounter the Banker horses do so when the animals come out of the dunes and wade into the surf.

“Especially when it’s really buggy and hot,” Puckett said.

The beach is a crowded place, with four-wheel-drive vehicles lined up for miles. On this recent day, a stallion and two mares can be seen walking along the wet sand. A Currituck County ordinance mandates a 50-foot separation between people and the horses, and on this day, the beachgoers are doing a good job of keeping their distance.

The horses don’t seem to be bothered by the families and all the cars.

“They don’t care about people,” Puckett said. “They’re going to go where they’re most comfortable. But, do I think that it does change their behavior? Some. If it’s really, really crowded, that could certainly deter them from wanting to go out there. But at the same time, they’re used to it.”

The Corolla Wild Horse Fund is a mostly volunteer operation, and Puckett noted that in the summer there are almost always two volunteers on the beach trying to let people know about how to avoid interacting with the horses.

“I think that people don’t understand how lucky they are that these horses are so generally good-natured. There could be a lot more pain and suffering that could happen if they were more reactive,” she said, adding, “It can happen in a heartbeat. They are very wild. Last Sunday we had a group of stallions that were fighting, and they ran over the dunes and ran right through people on the beach.”

She looked over at a harem grazing on sea oats and the sparse grasses. The colt stayed close to his mother and Puckett smiled.

“It never gets old,” she said. “Never, never gets old.”

North Carolina is home to nearly 4,000 species of plants. A small percentage of them, but some of the most unusual, can be found in the Green Swamp Preserve, a 17,424-acre nature preserve managed by The Nature Conservancy.

The Green Swamp Preserve in Brunswick County, about a 40-minute drive southeast of Wilmington, remains closed after a recent wildfire, the result of flames escaping the area of a prescribed burn that was in process in June. The fire spread across most of the preserve, covering nearly 16,000 acres and prompting state air quality alerts.

But once it reopens later this summer, visitors can see 14 species of carnivorous plants, 16 species of native orchids, and other endangered wildflowers on the sun-dappled ground beneath a tall longleaf pine canopy.

The recent blaze was prevented from reaching any nearby private property, and due to the distinctive nature of the fire-adapted longleaf pine ecosystem — and conservancy’s management practices, which included a successful controlled burn in January — it’s more a problem for people who wish to explore the area than the plants that live there.

“There are already grasses popping up in the preserve,” Michelle Ly, conservation coordinator for the conservancy’s southeast coastal plain office, explained last week to Coastal Review. She noted that they expect to see some plant species recovering in areas where they previously had been crowded out by taller vegetation. “This wildfire and burnout will benefit the preserve greatly.”

The Nature Conservancy also hosts a “Fire in the Pines” festival in Wilmington, where visitors can learn how controlled burns help plants and animals in these coastal environments and watch a live demonstration burn. This year’s festival is set for Oct.14.

With the recent containment of the blaze called the Pulp Road fire, conservancy officials and scientists on Thursday led a media tour of a part of the preserve that was unaffected by the most recent fire but that was subjected to the controlled burn in January.

The area of the media tour was lush with color and new growth emerging from the char below.

Protecting star species

The star plant species of the Green Swamp Preserve include a huge range of carnivorous plants: Venus flytraps, sundew, bladderworts, butterworts, and four species of pitcher plants.

The conservancy works to ensure the Green Swamp remains a healthy, balanced ecosystem for these specialized plants. It has taken care of the land since 1977, when the Federal Paper Board Co. gifted it nearly 14,000 acres. The company donated an additional 2,577 acres in the late 1980s. Over time, the conservancy has purchased the rest.

The conservancy’s conservation activities center on the longleaf pines that tower above the understory layer. These trees once covered about 90 million acres of the Southeast, from Virginia to Florida and as far west as Texas. Logging and urban development have shrunk their numbers. Today, slightly more than 5 million acres remain, up from just 3.2 million acres in the early 2000s.

The conservancy has been protecting and restoring longleaf pine ecosystems across the tree’s original range. In Ly’s experience, walking through the Green Swamp is like stepping back in time to a less anthropogenically influenced landscape. Longleaf pine stands are naturally open and were historically maintained by low-intensity natural fires often sparked by lightning strikes.

In the early 1900s, forest management policies changed, ushering in an era of fire suppression. This altered longleaf pine ecosystems and put people and infrastructure in danger of larger, uncontrolled wildfires fueled by newly dense understories.

Now, prescribed fire is once again an important part of longleaf pine management. The conservancy performs controlled burns on regular intervals of three to five years to mimic natural fire regimes.

“Preserving longleaf pine is not just about the tree, it’s about the ecosystem,” Ly explained.

The controlled burns knock back any hardwood trees that have taken root and open the understory, so Venus flytraps, orchids, and other native flora can get the sunlight they need to flourish. These burns are also great for birds and other wildlife that thrive in longleaf ecosystems.

‘An iconic plant’

The conservancy’s website notes the preserve is closed to the public through Aug. 31 as it upgrades the trail, including building a new boardwalk. Don’t let that stop you from planning a trip to visit this fall, though – seeing Venus flytraps in the wild can be a special experience.

“This is such an iconic plant, and there’s just no other place in the world you can see this plant in the wild except here in the Carolinas,” explained botanist and author Scott Zona, who took his first trip to the Green Swamp earlier this year. Zona manages North Carolina State University’s North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox and has an appointment at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium.

Wild Venus flytraps are only found within about a 75-mile radius of Wilmington.

Venus flytraps catch their prey using special leaves with sensitive hairs called trigger hairs. Once the hairs sense that an insect has landed on the trap, it snaps shut in less than a second. Any further movement of the prey causes the trap to stay clamped tightly shut as it digests the unlucky passerby. If some nonprey item, like a stick, falls onto the trap, it will slowly open back up for the item to be blown away or fall off.

Venus flytraps also have special reproductive adaptations. While their leaves and stems are low to the ground, their white flowers grow on tall stalks stretching about 8 to 12 inches into the air to keep the insects that pollinate them from becoming lunch.   

Zona’s initial visit to the Green Swamp and seeing Venus flytraps in the wild for the first time did not disappoint: “To me, it’s right up there with the first time I went to the Muir Woods in California and saw redwood trees.”

That may be high praise coming from a man who has traveled around the world studying plant ecology and evolution and has a species of palm named after him.

Zona’s colleagues from the United Kingdom, who visited with him, also enjoyed the experience.

“Both of them are very well-respected, well-known botanists who travel the world, and they were just as excited to see these plants as I was,” he said. 

Myriad other fascinating plants also inhabit the Green Swamp. Its purple pitcher plants lack the umbrella-like leaf “hoods” that other pitcher plants have. The preserve also is home to bladderworts, extremely unassuming plants with tiny sacs used to catch prey. Bladderworts are the fastest carnivorous plants in the world, able to trap and eat their prey in less than a millisecond. And the noncarnivorous plants are worth a close look, as well.

“If you’ve never seen native orchids out in the wild, they’re so beautiful and so unique, they’re much different than the ones you see in the grocery store,” Ly said.

While the area’s nutrient-poor and often waterlogged soil might not sound like a great place to be a plant, according to Zona, those are great conditions for Venus flytraps and other carnivorous plants. During the winter they go dormant; in the spring, they revive, unfurling new green leaves. Their diet of insects is an adaptation that helps them make up for the lack of nutrients in the soil.

A 2020 study of the Venus flytrap genome found that the genes associated with flytrap “traps” — the leaves that snap shut on prey — came from copies of genes found in their ancestors’ roots.

The Green Swamp is not only a botanist’s dream, but also a fantastic day trip destination for any nature enthusiast. Zona has just one regret from his trip to the Green Swamp: “We did not have the foresight to pack a lunch with us,” he said. “If we had packed lunch, we could have stayed there even longer.”

Formal and nonformal educators interested in teaching about aquatic wildlife and ecology can register now for the Aquatic WILD workshop taking place next month.

The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher and North Carolina Sea Grant are facilitating the workshop scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 12 in the aquarium, 900 Loggerhead Road, Kure Beach.

Cost is $25 and covers admission, Behind-the-Scenes access and instruction.

Register online now.

Offered through the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Aquatic WILD workshop will have a marine focus.

Participants will receive the Aquatic WILD K-12 Curriculum & Activity Guide that contains field investigations related to science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, connections to wildlife careers, new activities on fish conservation and angling, and an increased focus on outdoor activities.

“Sea Grant is proud to co-host Aquatic WILD, a Criteria I workshop for the Environmental Certification program,” Erika Young, Sea Grant’s coastal and marine education specialist, said in a statement. “Please join us for marine themed activities, including microplastics collection, sea turtle biology, microscopic pond critters, and more.”

Professional development credits also are available for educators.

Cape Lookout National Seashore will again show visitors — from a distance — the natural behaviors of Shackleford horses during the annual Horse Sense and Survival Tours.

Led by the national seashore’s wildlife biologist Dr. Sue Stuska, participants will ride the ferry to Shackleford Banks, where they will walk a moderate-level trek off the beaten path to find horses and settle down to watch them.

Tours that leave from Cape Lookout Visitor Center on Harkers Island are scheduled for the mornings of July 15, Aug. 12, Sept. 23 and Oct. 14. The Nov. 4 tour will leave that morning from the Island Express Ferry Services ticket booth on Front Street in Beaufort.

“This is an excellent opportunity for visitors to witness and begin to understand the wild horses,” said Cape Lookout Superintendent Jeff West in a statement. “The Shackleford horses are truly a unique aspect of what makes Cape Lookout National Seashore a special place.”

Organizers recommend preparing for a day in the sun, climbing dunes, walking through brush, slogging through ankle-deep mud and wading through deeper salt water. Bring water, lunch/snacks, bug repellent, sunscreen, sun hat, binoculars, and camera with a telephoto lens in a daypack or shoulder bag. Shoes that protect your feet and stay on in the mud are required.

Space on the tours is limited and reservations are required. The program is free. Cost for the ferry is $22 for adults & $15 for ages 3 to 11.

To reserve a spot on the tour, contact Cape Lookout Visitor Center on Harkers Island at 252-728-2250 x 0 or calo_information@nps.gov. Next, contact Island Express Ferry Services to reserve a seat on the ferry at www.islandexpressferryservices.com or 252-728-7433.

Part of a series on pollinators.

When people shop for ornamental trees, shrubs and flowers for their gardens and yards, visual appeal is usually top of mind. Chain stores and nurseries offer lots of striking choices, but often plant species native to the North Carolina coast are hard to find.

Biologists say that’s a problem.

It can take some effort to find a retailer selling native species, and professional landscapers often fail to include them in their designs, but these plants play a critical role in providing for bees, butterflies and other pollinators here.

Amy Mead of the North Carolina State Extension for New Hanover, Pender and Onslow counties explained to Coastal Review last week that native species are the foundations of coastal ecosystems. For insects like bees and other pollinators, native plants provide nectar, but that’s just one facet of their importance, Mead said.

“Especially for butterflies and moths, so many of our native plants are host plants for their caterpillars, and so they’re looking for these plants to lay their eggs on,” she said. “These native plants are providing the food source for those caterpillars to complete their life cycle. They are absolutely critical, and then that moves up the food chain to these birds looking for these caterpillars to be able to complete their life cycles, as well.”

It’s not an unusual sight in North Carolina: Vines of kudzu or wisteria sprawling across the landscape, reaching up, wrapping around, covering and choking the life from trees and other vegetation and creating a mess that’s not only unsightly, it’s also bad for the environment.

Though common, these vines aren’t native to this area, they were introduced as ornamental plants and subsequently became invasive. They’re just a couple of high-profile examples of plants that cause ill effects because they don’t belong here.

So, how can coastal property owners and landscapers avoid harmful landscaping plants? What plants native to North Carolina would be better alternatives?

A collaborative called the Coastal Landscapes Initiative has compiled a new guide of what it describes as “attractive eco-friendly plants” to substitute for commonly used “bad actors” that the initiative has identified as landscaping plants to avoid.

The Coastal Landscapes Initiative, a public-private partnership created more than five years ago to promote beautiful, functional, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly coastal landscape designs, recently released its free guide, “Plant This Instead!” The publication is available in print at county Cooperative Extension offices and online at the North Carolina Sea Grant website in PDF form.

“The Coastal Landscapes Initiative was started to find ways to promote and support landscaping practices at various scales, practices that meet our human needs and our desires, but also protect and enhance our coastal resources, resources like water quality fisheries and wildlife habitat,” said Gloria Putnam during a webinar in March that shared the title of the new publication.

Putnam, North Carolina Sea Grant’s coastal resources and communities specialist who leads the Coastal Landscape Initiative, said that the North Carolina coast has diverse ecosystems, and each has its own distinct set of plants that are naturally found here – they are native to the area.

“The type of soil, the amount of water and the temperature are really the primary determinants of the type of plant that can live in an area, and the type of plants that are there determines the kind of animals that can exist. In other words, native plants are naturally adapted to the local soil and climate conditions. These plants co-evolved with other species in the area. Some of these plants have highly specialized relationships with animals, and they work as a system,” she said.

Putnam, during the webinar, cited the cedar waxwing and the eastern red cedar as an example.

“Eastern red cedar is actually Juniperus virginiana, so it’s not a cedar at all. It’s juniper, which is why it’s important to know the scientific name,” she said. “Red cedar is very common on barrier islands, and they’re adapted to the conditions there. They’re adapted to the soil and salt aerosols and drought, and the waxwing depends on the cedar for food. And the cedar depends on the waxwing for seed dispersal.”

Invasives can be costly

A big problem with nonnative species is that they can outcompete the native plants, and often with devastating results, environmentally and economically.

According to the publication, estimates of invasive plants’ economic effects can vary. But costs to control just one ornamental species, Lythrum salicaria, commonly known as the European purple loosestrife, and the loss of forage associated with the invasive plant are estimated at $45 million each year in the 48 states where it is found.

The publication cites a 2018 University of Delaware study of residential yards in the Washington, D.C., area, which found that Carolina chickadees there could sustain their numbers only where available plants were at least 70% native species. That’s because Carolina chickadees mainly eat caterpillars that often rely exclusively on a limited number of native plant species for their food.

“A single clutch of chickadees, hatched from 3 to 10 eggs, consumes up to 9,000 caterpillars in the 16 days it takes to develop into fledglings,” according to the publication.

Native plants in coastal landscapes support numerous other birds, as well as other animals and insects, including bees and butterflies.

The guide includes alternatives for commonly used nonnative species, with options for various landscape uses, such as trees and grasses as accent plants, shrubs for foundations and borders, privacy screens and hedges and ornamental deciduous vines to add “vertical interest and flowers.”

For example, the guide suggests Amelanchier canadensi, or serviceberry, and Cercis canadensis, or redbud, trees instead of commonly used Pyrus calleryana, or callery pears, that include Bradford and other cultivars.

Bradford pears, which bloom beautifully in March along much of the North Carolina coast and are frequently featured in landscape designs here, were bred to be sterile, but because they are grafted onto other pear rootstock, which can send out suckers that flower, they can cross with other pear trees nearby.

“Bradford pears can’t crossbreed with one another but they can crossbreed with other cultivars and other pear species,” Mead said during the webinar.

Mead said the Bradford pear had become a “poster child” of good intentions. Structurally weak and “malodorous,” she said that, while it is a beautiful, spring-blooming tree, “I have heard the blooms described as (smelling like) rotting fish or urine, not something that I want to have in my yard.”

Alternatives to the Bradford pear include Cornus florida, or flowering dogwood, Magnolia virginiana, or sweetbay magnolia, and Acer rubrum, or red maple.

For shrubs, plant Ilex vomitoria, or yaupon holly, instead of Nandina domestica, or nandina.

Instead of ornamental grasses like Cortaderia selloana, or pampas grass, the guide suggests planting taller cultivars of native Panicum virgatum, or switchgrass — or Muhlenbergia capillaris, or pink muhly grass, where plant height is not a priority.

Supply and demand

So why aren’t native plants more widely available in stores here?

“It’s sort of a chicken and egg — there’s got to be a demand for the native plants in order for box stores to start carrying these, but then it goes all the way back to the supply chain. The nurseries need to have the demand from the box stores to be able to start growing these plants,” Mead told Coastal Review.

She said it’s not always easy growing native plants on a commercial scale. There’s the matter of the native seed supply, and then figuring out how to grow them.

“And then there’s the psychology, too, of what plants people will buy in the box stores. It has to look pretty and be blooming, and so there’s so much more that goes into it rather than just saying, ‘Hey, you should grow more native plants,’” Mead said.

The effort to increase awareness of the importance of native plants is so that it will drive more demand. “So people will start going into these large home improvement stores and asking for native plants and then they will start asking the growers to grow these plants as well. We’re hoping to drive that supply and demand and we’re starting with education,” she said.

Knowledge could steer folks away from what Mead calls “the starter pack of crepe myrtles and loropetalums,” plants easily found in stores and widely used – sometimes to the exclusion of all other choices – in residential landscaping.

Mead said there are so many more plants to choose from that will thrive on the coast and provide benefits to the environment. These plants can be added to established gardens, including those planted with nonnative species.

“I’m not a native purist,” Mead said. “We don’t live in a natural forest, but I would say add plants. I’m a big fan of expanding your garden beds, adding in plants. If you’re ready, if you have failing or older plants, it’s a good opportunity to plant something new.”

She advises trying to plant 70% native species, and then ornamental plants can be included as “ornaments in your yard.” Sometimes a few nonnative plants can simply bring joy.

“I have a beautiful gardenia bush that reminds me of my childhood. And so that’s something that gives me pleasure, and I can have it in my yard. It’s important that something is beautiful and gives me pleasure,” Mead said, adding that Japanese maples are similar. “Something that I really enjoy having in my garden, as well. Those are going to be beautiful, they’re not going to be invasive or cause any harm.”

Find a nursery

To find native plants, contact your county office of the N.C. State Extension, which also offers the following links to help you locate a nursery near you that sells native plants:

• North Carolina Botanical Garden
• North Carolina Forest Service
• North Carolina Native Plant Society

The Red Wolf Recovery Program, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service effort to preserve the endangered species, is the topic of this month’s “Science on the Sound,” a monthly lecture series at the Coastal Studies Institute on the East Carolina University Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese.

Joe Madison, U.S. Fish and Wildlife North Carolina program manager, will present “Red Wolf Revitalization: Current Status of the Red Wolf,” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 14.

There is no charge to attend the program in-person at the institute or view the livestream on the CSI YouTube channel.

During the program, Madison is to discuss red wolves, their complex history, current population status, the Red Wolf Recovery Program, and the actions being taken to recover the species.

Madison has been a wildlife biologist for the federal government for more than 26 years, including the last six years with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Red Wolf Recovery Program.

Madison spent most of his career as a federal wildlife biologist working on various aspects of endangered and at-risk species management, including direct species management, habitat management, National Environmental Policy Act compliance, Endangered Species Act consultation, and other collaborative partnerships on species such as red wolves, Cuban boa, California condor, gray wolves, sea turtle, black bear, grizzly bear and Canada lynx.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed Monday to reconsider extending Endangered Species Act protections to the nonvenomous southern hognose snake.

These small snakes are found in sandy fields and woods of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills region in North Carolina and are state listed as Threatened, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

The Center for Biological Diversity petitioned the Fish and Wildlife Service in 2012 to protect the snake, which also inhabits South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Fish and Wildlife denied the petition in 2019. As the result of a lawsuit filed in January by the center, the agreement made Monday requires Fish and Wildlife to make a new decision by August 2025.

“I’m thrilled the Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to reconsider protections for this unique little snake,” Chelsea Stewart-Fusek, an endangered species attorney at the center, said in a statement. “It’s critical to safeguard southern hognose snakes and their habitat if they’re going to avoid extinction in the face of rapid urban expansion and climate change. They should have never been denied protection in the first place.”

Stewart-Fusek added that the decision “is a win but there’s more work to be done to ensure these snakes will still be around for future generations to appreciate.”

The 2023 Southern Hognose Snake Conservation Plan for North Carolina from the Wildlife Resources Commission states that, historically, the species had been reported in 20 counties but that number had declined to 13 during the last two decades. Sightings were most recently been reported in Bladen, Brunswick, Cumberland, Duplin, Hoke, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Richmond, Robeson, Sampson and Scotland counties.

What remains of the snake population is threatened by habitat loss, urbanization, climate change, collisions with vehicles, invasive species, disease, human persecution and for pet trade, according to the commission. The conservation plan aims to prevent species decline and to increase population viability in North Carolina over at least the next 100 years.

Learn about the importance of pollinators during the Museum of the Albemarle’s History for Lunch beginning at noon Wednesday, June 21, in the Gaither Auditorium.

Beekeepers of the Albemarle member Paul Wand will share information on the importance of bees and beekeeping. The talk will highlight the exhibit, Pollination Investigation, on display now through March 2024 in the Elizabeth City museum.

The museum will offer History for Lunch in-person and through Zoom. Register in advance through the museum’s Facebook page or its website to receive a link to attend the lecture virtually.

“Pollination Investigation” showcases how pollinators are vital for a strong ecosystem as most plants need their help to fertilize flowers and reproduce, according to the website. Presented by Smithsonian Gardens and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, the poster exhibition covers the the who, what, when, where, why, and how of pollination by interpreting the unique relationship between pollinators and flowers. The exhibit went on display in March.

The virtual program is supported by Friends of the Museum of the Albemarle.