The holiday season is upon us and we couldn’t be more grateful for your support throughout the year. The year may be winding down, but our work to protect and restore the coast is still in full force. As you’ll read below, we recently held a public meeting to recap the latest work being done to restore Lake Mattamuskeet, and we’re pleased to announce that new support will ensure this work continues over the next five years.

– Todd Miller 

Executive Director

After a year of planning and permitting efforts, construction is set to begin to help restore the eroding shoreline along Sugarloaf Island in Morehead City.

This tiny island sits just in front of downtown Morehead City and offers protection to the homes, and businesses there, but for years the small island has experienced chronic erosion. In an effort to protect and restore this island, the Federation, the Town of Morehead City, Quible and Associates, and aquatic restoration firm; Sea and Shoreline have joined forces to develop a plan to protect the island.

Restoration methods for this project include reducing wave energy with an offshore living breakwater, planting seagrass behind the living breakwater, and planting a living shoreline on Sugarloaf Island. The living breakwater will not impede normal vessel traffic because it will be installed in areas too shallow for vessels to navigate safely at high speeds. The breakwater will also be staggered so that fishers can fish around it or pass through sections of the wave attenuators. Construction on the wave attenuators has already begun and contractors are expected to begin installing them in early January.

A press conference was held on Nov. 15th to mark the beginning of the construction, partner organizations joined the Federation, State Senator Norm Sanderson, and Representative Celeste Cairns.

Recently we had the chance to take a group of students out exploring and it was such a great day! These students are part of an environmental education class at North Carolina Central University. Their visit included a trip to Hammocks Beach State Park where we got to spend time exploring the coastal estuaries. The students also joined us at Dodea Johnson Primary School at Marine Corps Air Station New River, where they led a lesson on living shorelines and oysters to the entire second grade!

We had so much fun with this group and we’d like to thank our project supporters from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NOAA, Lady Swan Boat Tours, and Hammocks Beach State Park.

This month we’d like to take a moment to highlight a special series by Coastal Review.Org. Frank Stick helped to shape the Outer Banks, in this series written by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Gil Gaul, you’ll get a deep dive into newspaper clippings, archives, and other sources that uncover the complex story of the New Jersey artist, outdoorsman, developer, and speculator. We have thoroughly enjoyed reading this series and we know you will too!

Click Here to Read

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