Shutterbugs rejoice! The N.C. Department of Transportation’s Ferry System is holding a summertime photo contest to celebrate its 75th Anniversary. The contest will run through Thursday, Sept. 22. Submissions will be judged by representatives from the Ferry Division and the NCDOT Communications Office. Winners will be selected in the following categories: Ferry Memories – Have a photo [...] Local News |  Full Article

Dare County provided the following updates on the 2022 Avon and Buxton beach nourishment projects as of Friday, June 24. Details on the progress of both projects are below. Avon Beach Nourishment: During the first six days of the Avon beach nourishment project, the contractor, Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., has made steady progress. [...] Local News |  Full Article

The Fourth of July is fast approaching, and with many events being planned—from professional fireworks shows to backyard barbecues and block party celebrations—Dare County officials want to remind residents and visitors of the rules and regulations that are in effect regarding fireworks on the Outer Banks. The coastal communities located along the barrier islands of [...] Local News |  Full Article

Wildlife Law Enforcement Officers with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will participate in a nationwide campaign July 2 – 4 called Operation Dry Water. The mission of the nationally coordinated effort is to promote sobriety while boating and educate boaters about the dangers of boating while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. “Fourth of July [...] Local News |  Full Article

Three of the Outer Banks’ most prominent animal welfare organizations are working hard to keep up with demand and combat a looming crisis. Hatteras Island’s own Friends of Felines, Feline Hope, and Coastal Humane Society have each spent decades, (more than 75 years combined), assisting the Outer Banks’ cats and dogs in need, but their [...] Local News |  Full Article

The Cape Hatteras Anglers Club (CHAC) recently announced their 2022 Scholarship recipients, which included graduating seniors Jobell Porter, Emily Bayne, Kirra Folb, and Eric Fulcher, Jr. “The Cape Hatteras Anglers Club Scholarship Program was established to recognize outstanding seniors enrolled at Cape Hatteras Secondary School,” stated the organization in a press release. “This year, the [...] Local News |  Full Article

Work continues to extinguish a fire in mainland Hyde County which has resulted in visible smoke in the northern Outer Banks, and reports of smoke odor on Hatteras Island. As of Wednesday morning, June 22, the Ferebee Road Fire encompassed 615 acres and was 25% contained, per an update from the N.C. Forest Service. “Smoke production [...] Local News |  Full Article

Dennis Carroll, who serves as president of the Cape Hatteras United Methodist Men, has been named the 2022 Dare County Citizen of the Year. The prestigious award was presented to Carroll by Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard at the Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting that was held at 5 p.m. on [...] Local News |  Full Article

A representative of the Carolina Ranch in Hyde County has released this June 20 update on a fire that burned an estimated 500-800 acres on the property. The ranch is a 15,000-acre farm with 80% of the land consisting of Peat Shrubland, managed as a carbon farm. Here are some details as we know them currently. [...] Local News |  Full Article

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has realigned the channel for vessels through Oregon Inlet, after a May 2022 survey revealed that the previous channel on the east side of Bodie Island had become too shallow, per a recent update from the USCG. M.J. Baer, U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port, released the following Marine [...] Local News |  Full Article

Beach nourishment officially began in Avon on the afternoon of Sunday, June 19, 2022, when the dredge Ellis Island delivered its first load of sand to the shoreline at a location approximately one mile south of the Avon Pier. Coastal Science & Engineering—which is tasked with managing the beach nourishment project that is being performed [...] Local News |  Full Article

An 800-acre wildfire on the Hyde County mainland is leading to smoke sightings along the Hatteras Island soundside, per multiple reports. The fire started at around 4:30 on Sunday afternoon, June 19, near the Ponzer community in Hyde County. Initially encompassing 500 acres, the fire grew on Monday to 800 acres, and officials report that [...] Local News |  Full Article

The state Citizen Advisory Committee for HUD Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation funding will hold a virtual public meeting from 10 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, June 22. The public is invited to attend the first public meeting of this group that will advise the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) on the implementation of the [...] Local News |  Full Article

Avon Beach Nourishment To Begin Soon: The dredge Ellis Island—which was scheduled to arrive in Buxton after July 4—has been released from its previous project earlier than expected. According to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co., the Ellis Island will arrive in Dare County on Sunday, June 19. This schedule change will enable Great Lakes [...] Local News |  Full Article

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Dredge Merritt today began work to clear critical shoaling in Bigfoot Slough, just outside the N.C. Ferry Division’s Ocracoke-Silver Lake Terminal. The shoaling was the primary factor in recent schedule reductions on the Swan Quarter-Ocracoke and Cedar Island-Ocracoke routes. The dredging operation is expected to take between seven and [...] Local News |  Full Article