Veined with thousands of miles of streams and rivers, dotted by several national wildlife refuges, pocosin wetlands and state parks, the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine region is one of the nation’s ecological crown jewels. The estuary was designated in 1987 as “an estuary of national significance” and is listed as one of “America’s Great Waters.” But this […]
Local News | Full Article
When it comes to saving cold-stunned sea turtles, pardon the cliché, but it really does take a village. There are those at the front end of the process, like the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission authorities who follow water conditions to pinpoint temperature dips, the volunteers and professionals with the National Park Service who […]
Local News | Full Article
State rules on where septic tanks can be located on oceanfront properties are likely to change in the coming months. The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission Thursday gave the green light to Division of Coastal Management Director Braxton Davis to move ahead with proposed changes to existing rules, including setbacks and permit requirements. Davis indicated […]
Local News | Full Article
With a reputation for a spirited fight at the hook-end of a rod and reel and tasty, sweet, white meat, sheepshead are a choice catch for recreational anglers fishing North Carolina’s coastal waters. These days, as recreational saltwater fishing regulations have been tightened on some species, particularly flounder, the elusive, not-easy-to-hook sheepshead, with its ever-bizarre, […]
Fishing | Full Article
Before “Jaws” with its depiction of a giant, vengeful, man-eating creature of the deep; before Shark Week, Discovery Channels’ eight-day ode to all things sharks; and well before the over-the-top gratuitous sci-fi series “Sharknado” films, there was, just off the coast of North Carolina, “shark survey.” Not as glamorous, perhaps, as the mindless entertainment evoked […]
Island Features | Full Article
Oyster sales in North Carolina and other coastal states throughout the country tanked when restaurants halted dine-in service in March as part of the effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. “Everyone – East Coast, West Coast – once COVID-19 shut down restaurants pretty much all growers saw their sales drop between 95 and 100%,” […]
Fishing | Full Article
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been granted permission to use oversized sandbags to expedite construction of its temporary erosion control structure alongside a portion of N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island. The Coastal Resources Commission on Thursday unanimously approved NCDOT’s request for a variance to its Coastal Area Management Act, or CAMA, major permit […]
Local News | Full Article
That first pass more than 200 miles above her home state seared into her memory. It’s a mental snapshot astronaut Christina Koch fondly recalls, relishing in intricate detail North Carolina’s distinctive geographical features seen from the “Window of the World.” Looking down from space, tracing the state’s coastline hallmarks like New River Inlet and Cape […]
Island Features | Full Article
Drilling for oil off the North Carolina coast would pose a substantial threat to the environment onshore, according to a newly released study by an environmental research group. Environment North Carolina Research & Policy Center’s Offshore Drilling, Onshore Damage delves into a series of possible adverse impacts offshore drilling would have on land well beyond […]
Local News | Full Article
Adapting to living with rising seas, larger, slower, rain-dumping coastal storms, flooding and extreme heat is going to take forward thinking, collaboration and money. “The planning for resilience, there’s no right way to do it,” said Jessica Whitehead, chief resilience officer of the recently formed North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resilience. Whitehead moderated the […]
Island Features | Full Article
