Company Wants to Explore Major Wind Farm Off N.C. Coast
Outer Banks Ocean Energy based in Charlottesville, Va., wants to lease more than 200 square miles of ocean about 25 miles off Surf City to explore
as the site of a major wind farm. The company has applied to the U.S. Department of Interior
for the offshore leases. The application is the first for a wind farm off the N.C. coast.
In its application, the company says it plans to spend as many as five years studying the site to determine whether it could support a major wind farm. The application doesn't specify how many wind turbines are planned or where any onshore facilities would be built... read more
Duke Energy, UNC Pull the Plug on Pamlico Wind Turbines
Duke Energy has dropped plans to build three wind turbines in Pamlico Sound. The company and its partner, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, had hoped to build the turbines as a demonstration project. But they now say the project is too expensive. They will instead pursue a wind farm offshore... read more
Southeast Coast: Kids, Teachers at Wilmington School Help Protect a Creek
 The students and teachers at Bradley Creek Elementary School in Wilmington are doing their part to help protect Hewletts Creek from polluted stormwater. They have been busily building rain gardens on the school's 15-acre campus to capture and treat runoff before it enters the creek. You can give them a hand Wednesday, Sept. 8, by helping build a wetland to control stormwater. You'll also learns about other things you can do to protect our waterways.
Southeast Coast: New EPA Rules Would Slash Titan Mercury Emissions
Final air quality rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will force Titan America to slash mercury emissions from its proposed cement plant near Wilmington by about 83 percent. While the new regulations are slightly less stringent than the standards first proposed in 2009, they are much lower than the 263 pounds of annual mercury emissions Titan would be permitted to release under existing regulations... read more
Northeast Coast: Hyde Fishermen Begin Building Oyster Reefs near Ocracoke
Several commercial fishermen Hyde County have begun distributing 3,000 bushels of oyster shells in Pamlico Sound behind Ocracoke to build habitat and supplement their income.
The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will pay the fishermen $2 a bushel to distribute the shells as part of the federation’s $5 million federal economic recovery grant. The grant also included building two large oyster reefs covering 48 acres in Pamlico Sound. That work was completed in May. The project has so far created about 135 jobs...read more
2010 State of the Coast Report: Travel Guide With a Conscience
 Check our new State of the Coast Report while planning your vacation on the N.C. coast this summer. Whether you're spending a week on the Outer Banks, a few days at Holden Beach or time anywhere in between, you'll find the report full of interesting and unusual destinations all along our coast that don't appear in the traditional tourist guides. Listen for wolves in wild refuges that were saved from strip miners. Visit an uninhabited island in Stump Sound that the fishermen there fought to save from condominiums. Or become a "Kindred Spirit" on a secluded beach near Sunset Beach that is the result of a great conservation victory. The report features numerous places that people fought to save, along with other places that give you a taste of our coast's natural beauty and cultural heritage.
Sam's Nature Gallery
 Green herons are a common sight in the wetlands and wet spots of the N.C. coast. They're usually seen at the edge of a pond or stream motionlessly stalking small fish. Sam Bland, a retired superintendent and ranger at Hammocks Beach State Park, took this photo of a juvenile heron. You can see more of Sam's photos on our Facebook Page.
Herons are one of the few birds that fish with lures, using feathers, twigs and bits of bread to attract fish to the surface. Check out this YouTube video of a fishing heron.
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