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Coastwatch S P A C E G R A N T • G H O S T F O R E S T S • E C O S Y S T E M B E N E F I T S • S T O R M R E S P O N S E S • H O L I D A Y • 2 0 1 7 • I S S U E 5 • $ 3 . 7 5 INSIGHT, PERCEPTION & RESILIENCE Collaborative Research Benefits Communities N O R T H C A R O L I N A S E A G R A N T Alamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Beaufort Bertie Bladen Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Caswell Catawba Chatham Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Davidson Dare Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Halifax Harnett Henderson Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lenoir Lincoln McDowell Macon Madison Martin Mitchell Moore Nash Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pender Person Pitt Polk Robeson Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey PKY 40 40 40 85 95 77 85 26 Asheville Asheboro Greensboro Durham Charlotte Raleigh Nags Head Washington Jacksonville Wilmington Fayetteville Morehead City New Bern Rocky Mount Winston-Salem Haywood Buncombe Avery Pasquotank Perquimans Currituck Camden Chowan Randolph Montgomery Mecklenburg Rockingham Lee Richmond Forsyth Guilford Carteret Hertford Brunswick Cherokee New Hanover I N T H I S I S S U E CONTRIBUT ING WRI T ER S : Brad Buck Danielle Costantini Diana Hackenburg Sandra Harris Jane Harrison Marisa Incremona E-Ching Lee Katie Mosher Melissa Schneider Lindsey Smart Sarah Spiegler CONTRIBUT ING PHOTOGR APHER S : Don Behringer April Blakeslee Brett Cottrell Brian Crawford Barbara Doll Jane Harrison Hank Hodde Cliff Hollis Bill Ingalls E-Ching Lee Vanda Lewis Missy McGaw Baxter Miller Katie Mosher Raúl Omar Ortiz Scott Sauer Stopher Slade Lindsey Smart Sarah Spiegler Scott Taylor Chuck Weirich Roger Winstead North Carolina’s diverse coast offers countless interesting subjects. The map indicates story settings in this issue — including Beaufort, Bertie, Dare and Carteret counties. Coastwatch Thankfulness is my year-round state of mind. In life, all things must change and evolve to fit current and future anticipated needs. From team retirements and departures to welcoming new partners, North Carolina Sea Grant has experienced its fair share of change this year — and will continue to do so in the coming year. In 2017, we said goodbye to team members with a combined total of more than eight decades of service to our program and the state. The list includes Sandra Harris and Vanda Lewis, two long-serving members of our team, as well as Coastwtach managing editor E-Ching Lee. Find out more about Sandra and Vanda on page 27. At the same time, we are welcoming new partners through collaborations with North Carolina Space Grant. In the coming months, we look forward to new perspectives from incoming hires for our extension director and communications team. Change also comes through identifying a new suite of research collaborations. These partnerships continue to strengthen Sea Grant’s critical connection to the needs of communities across our coastal regions, as well as with the interests of young scientists in the making. Some may find regular cycles of change challenging. Personally, I find them invigorating for this program, as well as for the individuals who are change-makers, both past and future! The opportunities to integrate new ideas, new energy and new perspectives enable Sea Grant to be responsive to our team’s need to grow. Fresh input also allows the program to collaborate in different ways with our many partners and the variety of coastal interests at our collective table. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to continue to learn from our team this year and look forward to new opportunities to do so in the coming year. A State of Thanks: Reflecting on Transformation and Renewal F R O M T H E E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R As we close out the 2017 hurricane season, I also am thankful that North Carolina’s direct storm impacts were minimal this year as our state continues to rebuild and recover from the storms of 2016. The National Sea Grant network, including our North Carolina team, is working closely to support each program’s response and recovery actions to the series of severe hurricanes across the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean coasts. These efforts move forward at the same time we still are addressing the long-term needs of communities post-Hurricane Matthew here and in other states. The short- and long-term recovery needs of communities across the nation will continue to shape local, state and national policy. Activities could include developing best practices to implement proactive storm preparedness. We also seek to understand the reality of response and recovery actions that are most effective from local and national perspectives. And we continue to finely tune the ever-evolving chorus of risk communications designed to save lives and property. I am thankful for the overall excellence that underpins the work of our team and partners. These efforts highlight the positive impacts that individuals and communities along the coast and throughout the watersheds have made — and will continue to make — in so many places that we treasure. I am thankful we can, and will, continue to share these coastal stories with you. In the year ahead, I hope that you will have many opportunities to experience the steady rhythms of our coast, mixed with the constant change that time brings to all things. I wish you and your family all the best this coming year! I am thankful for your ongoing support for North Carolina Sea Grant. If you have coastal stories to share, you can reach me at snwhite3@ncsu.edu. I always enjoy hearing from you. —Susan White, Executive Director, North Carolina Sea Grant FEATURES COASTAL TIDINGS................................................................................ 2 WORKING TOGETHER Communities Collaborate, Engage with Researchers Find out about new projects that continue to bring scientists and communities together. ..................................................................................... 6 EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS: Space Grant is on the Move Katie Mosher describes how North Carolina Space Grant is helping future explorers. ..............................................................................................14 • Unraveling Mysteries of Ghost Forests Lindsey Smart discovers how saltwater intrusion is affecting maritime forests surrounding the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. ..............................17 • Making the Most of Oyster Reef Filtering Seth Theuerkauf develops a tool to identify reef restoration areas that will optimize ecosystem benefits. ..............................................................18 BOOTS IN THE FIELD Sea Grant Participates in Hurricane Recovery Here’s a snapshot of Sea Grant’s efforts after major storms. .....................20 • Going with the Flow: Evaluating Flood Mitigation of the Cashie River Danielle Costantini outlines how Sea Grant and its partners are helping Windsor recover from Hurricane Matthew. .............................22 • Hurricane Assessment: Improving National Weather Service Operations Jane Harrison explains her work on a team that evaluated the National Weather Service response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. ...........................................................................................23 • Around the Network: Sea Grant Programs Respond to Hurricane Destruction In Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Puerto Rico, Sea Grant programs are rebuilding their communities. ...........................................................25 CURRENTS: Celebrating Two Colleagues Look back on the contributions of Sandra Harris and Vanda Lewis to North Carolina Sea Grant. ............................................................................ 27 PEOPLE AND PLACES: Gaining an Education on the Water: Appreciating the Forces of Nature Sarah Spiegler reflects on lessons learned while paddling the waters around the Crystal Coast. .............................................................................30 SEA SCIENCE: Partnerships Beget Fellowships NC Sea Grant Offers Joint Funding with NC Space Grant, APNEP Three new fellows receive funding to explore coastal issues. ....................34 MARINER’S MENU: Falling for Oysters Enjoy fresh and simple oyster recipes — just in time for the holidays. .... 36 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 1 Coastwatch 2 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org NATIONALOCEANIC ANDATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION US DEPARTMENTOFCOMMERCE Coastwatch North Carolina Sea Grant • 2017 • Holiday • Issue 5 Editor Katie Mosher Managing Editor E-Ching Lee Contributing Editors Barbara Branca Diana Hackenburg Designer Linda Noble Circulation Manager Sandra Harris The North Carolina Sea Grant College Program is a federal/state program that promotes stewardship of coastal and marine resources through research and outreach. It joined the National Sea Grant College Network in 1970 as an institutional program. Six years later, it was designated a Sea Grant College. Today, North Carolina Sea Grant supports research projects, an extension program and a communications staff. Susan White is executive director. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the state through the University of North Carolina. Coastwatch (ISSN: 1068-784X; USPS Periodical # 010464) is published five times a year (January/February, March/April/May, June/July, August/September/October, November/ December) by the North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, North Carolina State University, Box 8605, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. Telephone: 919-515-2454. Fax: 919-515-7095. Subscriptions are $15. Email: katie_mosher@ncsu.edu URL: ncseagrant.org Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Coastwatch, North Carolina Sea Grant, North Carolina State University, Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. FRONT COVER: Aerial photo of the Outer Banks by Baxter Miller. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Graphic based on photo of snapper by Vanda Lewis. PRINTED O N R ECYCLED PAPER. Enjoy Winter Birding This year marks the 10th anniversary of the North Carolina Birding Trail. A reception celebrating the occasion was held in late October at the National Wildlife Refuges Visitor Center on Roanoke Island. Kristin Cooper, self-professed amateur birder and First Lady of North Carolina, gave opening remarks. “It’s been a pleasure to see how communities throughout the state have embraced birding as a way to encourage ecotourism and lifelong learning,” shares Jack Thigpen, a founding member of the trail and North Carolina Sea Grant extension director. The organization has identified over 300 birding sites across the state and published regional birding guides through the University of North Carolina Press. Another birding event, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, will be from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. Nationwide, tens of thousands of citizen North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper (center) with Audubon executive director Heather Hahn (left) and director of strategy and government relations, Greg Andeck (right). Brian Crawford/Audubon North Carolina C O A S T A L T I D I N G S scientists will participate in the annual bird census event. To learn more, visit audubon.org, hover over the Conservation tab, and click on Science. — M.I. Survey Says: Wildlife Watching on the Rise The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published the preliminary 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife- Associated Recreation report. This survey provides information on the number of people who engaged in outdoor-associated wildlife activity, those activities in which they engaged, and the money they spent on their activities in 2016. The survey, which is conducted every five years, notes that participation in fishing and wildlife watching went up, but the number of hunters dropped by about 2 million people in the last five years. The most significant increases in participation involve watching — observing, feeding and photographing — wildlife. Expenditures by wildlife watchers rose 28 percent between 2011 and 2016. Find more information, on this and other surveys, at wsfrprograms.fws.gov. Select National Survey in the left menu. — E.L. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey found that more people participated in fishing and wildlife watching in 2016 than in 2011. Missy McGaw/N.C. WRC coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 3 Brett Cottrell/New Hanover County C O A S T A L T I D I N G S This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington, on Aug. 21, 2017. Eclipse Star Party Shares Success Nearly 100,000 people participated in the Carolinas Solar Eclipse Party, hosted by North Carolina Space Grant and Morehead Planetarium, with events throughout North and South Carolina. The tally included people who attended events and those who viewed the educational videos created for the eclipse. “Throughout the summer, talk of the eclipse was a buzz everywhere — on the news, via social media, in local restaurants and beauty salons. I was truly inspired to see and hear the excitement,” shares Jobi Cook, North Carolina Space Grant associate director. “The Solar Eclipse Parties gave the public a place to learn, discover and witness the solar eclipse — whether total or partial — in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere,” she continues. “We plan to build upon that excitement as we plan for the next big space event: the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 2019.” Space Grant also will support the North Carolina Statewide Star Party, part of the North Carolina Science Festival in April 2018. The Morehead Planetarium continues to hold monthly sky events on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Find out more at moreheadplanetarium.org. — M.I. Winter Activities Abound Enjoy the culture of the North Carolina coast throughout the holiday season with festivals and events. Visit Harkers Island Dec. 2 and 3 for two events. The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center is hosting the Waterfowl Weekend. Updates are at coresound.com. In addition, the Core Sound Decoy Guild holds its annual Core Sound Decoy Festival at Harkers Island Elementary School. The guild is celebrating 30 years with an event the evening of Dec. 2. For more details, visit decoyguild.com/decoyfestival. The Swan Days Festival celebrates the return of the Alaskan tundra swan to the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. Held Dec. 9, this event is an opportunity to learn about the history of Lake Mattamuskeet and the Native Americans who are indigenous to the area. Activities are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To learn more, see swandays.com. Beloved in Wilmington, Enchanted Airlie is a signature event of the Airlie Gardens. Through the end of the year, enjoy sparkling lights and festive sounds as you stroll half a mile through the gardens. Order your tickets at airliegardens.org/events-news/enchanted-airlie. Visit the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher in December and experience the 2017 Cape Fear Festival of Trees. Visitors can admire dazzling, decorated trees against the backdrop of the aquarium. For a list of events at all aquariums, visit ncaquariums.com. Celebrate the history of North Carolina with the 114th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight. Visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills Dec. 17 beginning at 9 a.m. to learn about this historic event. For details, go to outerbanks.org. — D.C. Enjoy the mild weather at the coast while strolling through the Airlie Gardens decorated with lights and music. Bill Ingalls/NASA WRRI Hosts 20th Conference The Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system, or WRRI, is currently accepting abstracts for its conference, now in its 20th year. The event will be March 14 to 15 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Each year, the gathering highlights diverse topics in water research, management and policy in North Carolina. Students, researchers, professionals and community representatives are encouraged to attend. “We will offer presentations, panels, posters and networking. We especially strive to involve students and encourage them to share their research,” notes Nicole Wilkinson, WRRI coordinator for research and outreach. Registration and a detailed agenda will be available in January. For more information, or to inquire about opportunities to present your research, visit go.ncsu.edu/wrriac or email Nicole Wilkinson at nicole_wilkinson@ncsu.edu. — M.I. Roger Winstead/NC State University Statewide water concerns will be addressed during next year’s conference. Webinar to Focus on Matthew Response, Recovery The N.C. Water Resources Research Institute, or WRRI, will host a webinar on community response to and recovery from Hurricane Matthew in early 2018. This is a follow-up to a panel session hosted by the Water Resources Committee for the N.C. American Water Works Association at their annual conference in Raleigh. In that session, agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey, and local water utilities discussed their response to the storm. The webinar would include perspectives from communities that continue to be affected by Matthew more than a year after the storm. “In the past year, I have learned a great deal about the lasting effects of the storm, the limbo that folks are in, and the ongoing social and lifestyle implications of storm impacts and slow recovery,” says Nicole Wilkinson, who is helping to plan this meeting. “It is important to learn about local community perspectives about storm recovery. We wanted to ensure this side of the story also is told.” Wilkinson is coordinator for research and outreach for WRRI, and serves on the AWWA Water Resources Committee. Keep an eye on the WRRI website, wrri.ncsu.edu, for details. — E.L. Bland and Ann Cary Simpson have collaborated on books that celebrate the coastal region. Simpson Honored with Caldwe l l Award Bland Simpson has received the 2017 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities. The North Carolina Humanities Council’s highest honor “recognizes those exceptional individuals who, throughout their lives and careers, have strengthened the educational, cultural, and civic life of North Carolinians.” He was selected for his numerous achievements as a professor, author, musician and environmentalist, as well as for his work as a North Carolina public humanities advocate. Simpson has written numerous books with coastal themes, some with his wife, photographer Ann Cary Simpson. Excerpts have been featured in Coastwatch, including from Little Rivers and Waterway Tales: A Carolinian’s Eastern Streams in the Winter 2016 issue. He encourages readers to be aware. “Let us keep our eyes on every rivulet and rill, every creek, crick, branch, run, stream, prong, fork, river, pocosin, swamp, basin, estuary, cove, bay and sound,” he notes. “Let us make our many waters living models to the world.” Earlier this year, Simpson was the featured speaker at North Carolina Sea Grant’s Coastal Conference. He is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing — an honor reserved for exceptional faculty — at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Learn about Simpson’s books, published through the University of North Carolina Press, at uncpress.org/author/bland-simpson/. — M.I. Scott Taylor/Courtesy UNC Press 4 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org Hurricane Matthew moves along the southeastern U.S. coast on Oct. 8, 2016. NASA/NOAA GOES Project C O A S T A L T I D I N G S Recently Published Papers Include Sea Grant Research Several recent peer-reviewed papers on coastal research have involved scientists with funding from North Carolina Sea Grant and its partners. Topics included oyster reefs and invasive marsh grass. • Justin Ridge, Antonio B. Rodriguez and Joel Fodrie. Evidence of Exceptional Oyster-Reef Resilience to Fluctuations in Sea Level. Ecology and Evolution. doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3473. • Jason Peters, David Eggleston, Brandon Puckett and Seth Theuerkauf. Oyster Demographics in Harvested Reefs vs. No-Take Reserves: Implications for Larval Spillover and Restoration Success. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi.org/10.3389/ fmars.2017.00326. • Seth Theuerkauf, David Eggleston, Kathrynlynn Theuerkauf, Brandon Puckett and Ethan Theuerkauf. Density-Dependent Role of an Invasive Marsh Grass, Phragmites australis, on Ecosystem Service Provision. PLOS ONE. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173007. Ridge was a former Sea Grant and N.C. Coastal Reserve fellow. Seth Theuerkauf conducted Phragmites research as a coastal research fellow, and oyster research as a Sea Grant/North Carolina Space Grant fellow. — E.L. Several North Carolina Sea Grant-funded researchers have published peer-reviewed papers focused on oyster reefs and marsh grass. Roger Winstead/NC State University Courtesy Sturgeon City coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 5 Collaborative Proposals Due in February North Carolina Sea Grant seeks applications for its Community Collaborative Research Grant Program, or CCRG. This is part of an ongoing partnership with the William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science at NC State University. “The initial CCRG projects already have shown great return on the investments. Results have included needed data, informative exhibits and community discussions,” says John Fear, Sea Grant deputy director. “We look forward to the new round of applications.” Funded projects will pair coastal communities with university researchers to study high-priority coastal issues that meet Sea Grant’s mission. Applications are due Feb. 12, 2018. The research is varied and involves many parts of coastal communities. Read the final report for a CCRG project — a pilot study offering cape shark in Cape Hatteras Secondary School’s cafeteria — at go.ncsu.edu/STS_capeshark. The findings also are summarized as part of the Blue Economy series at ncseagrant. ncsu.edu/blueeconomy. In addition, previous projects have been chronicled as blog posts on the Sea Grant website, written up as Coastwatch stories and featured on UNC-TV. Find out more about the CCRG program at ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/ccrg. Go to page 6 to learn about recently funded projects. — E.L. BELOW: A collaborative project at Sturgeon City was featured on UNC-TV. The North Carolina Aquaculture Development Conference is set for March 7 to 10 in New Bern. The annual meeting brings together the interested public, current and prospective fish farmers, scientists, and others who want to know more about finfish and shellfish aquaculture in the state. Chuck Weirich, North Carolina Sea Grant marine aquaculture specialist, will provide updates on marine aquaculture in the state, including research and outreach projects. “Several of our researchers and partners will participate, including South Carolina Sea Grant,” Weirich says. The event will be held at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, the same venue as last year but in a larger space. The events on March 10 will focus specifically on marine aquaculture. Participants can engage in aquaponics workshops on March 7. A freshwater farm tour is March 8 with conference presentations on March 9. The famous Cultured Seafood Festival will take place on the evening of March 9, and is billed as “all you care to eat.” For more information and to register, visit ncaquaculture.org. Early bird registration pricing is applicable until Feb. 22. — M.I. Scott Taylor C O A S T A L T I D I N G S On Saturday, March 10, the conference will focus on marine aquaculture. Sea Grant Specialist Joins Food Safety Committee Barry Nash, North Carolina Sea Grant seafood technology and marketing specialist, is representing the state on a nationwide steering committee focused on food safety. He recently joined the Seafood HACCP Alliance Steering Committee for the Association of Food & Drug Officials. Nash is one of several representatives from Sea Grant programs nationwide on the committee. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point — HACCP — addresses food safety through the analysis and control of hazards from the receipt of raw ingredients and their manufacturing to the distribution and consumption of the finished product. The program is managed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The steering committee develops and administers safety-training programs for the seafood industry and regulators worldwide. Nash has supervised or participated in teaching 25 seafood HACCP workshops for handlers in the state. — E.L. National Sea Grant Director Jon Pennock, top left, joined Sea Grant professionals, including North Carolina’s Barry Nash, bottom right, who serve on the Seafood HACCP Alliance steering committee. Courtesy National Sea Grant Program 2018 NC AQUACULTURE CONFERENCE OPENS REGISTRATION 6 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org Working Baxter Miller B Y D I A N A H A C K E N B U R G Communities • BELOW: The Community Collaborative Research Grant program pairs local knowledge with scientific expertise to address pressing coastal issues. coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 7 Together Inspiration comes in many forms: a vibrant cultural festival, getting a bird’s-eye view of the coast, fighting an invasion of the living dead. These are among the unique experiences galvanizing five new projects receiving funding from the N.C. Community Collaborative Research Grant program. In its second year, the program leverages support from the William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science at North Carolina State University with funding from North Carolina Sea Grant. “Our initial round of funding in 2016 proved successful in achieving research and outreach outcomes for local communities, so we were eager to continue supporting new community-based collaborations,” shares Susan White, Sea Grant executive director. “We are excited about the possibilities these projects present — and the enduring value and impact that will result as we work together to address issues and opportunities advancing the economic and social well-being of our state,” adds Raj Narayan, associate director of the Kenan Institute. “The newly selected projects will continue to build on Sea Grant's vision and leadership for community engagement and empowerment.” John Fear, deputy director of Sea Grant, also notes the communities’ involvement as a program strength. “The selected projects strongly adhere to the spirit and intent of the original mission, with scientists and local experts working together as a team.” That emphasis on collaboration appeals to the teams as well. “When you have that partner in the community, you get research that is really meaningful and addresses a problem that needs to be solved,” says Whitney Knollenberg, a lead investigator on one of the new projects. “It is not research just for the sake of research.” C o n t i n u e d Collaborate, Engage with Researchers 8 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org RISING: A VISUAL AND ORAL HISTORY PERSPECTIVE OF CLIMATE-RELATED CHANGE ON NORTH CAROLINA’S INNER AND OUTER BANKS Baxter Miller of Stancil, Miller, & Co., with Barbara Garrity- Blake of Duke Marine Lab, Christine Avenarius of East Carolina University, Karen Willis Amspacher of the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, Alton Ballance of the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Ben Cahoon of Cahoon & Kasten Architects and the UNC Coastal Studies Foundation, Stan Riggs of East Carolina University, Ryan Stancil of Bit & Grain, Susan West of Coastal Voices, and Jessica Whitehead of North Carolina Sea Grant “The stories told by those who live, work, worship, celebrate, grieve and experience life on our coast often transcend political discourse,” Miller explains. “We want to bring the stories out from behind the data, numbers and science and bring these narratives to life in a way that communicates the threats and the CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • A helicopter tour offered Baxter Miller a new perspective on the places she had known as a child. • She gained a better appreciation for the fragility and isolation of barrier islands. • The team plans to combine oral histories and photography into a traveling exhibit. • Coastal North Carolina is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Living at the water’s edge, coastal North Carolinians are the gatekeepers of stories about coastal change and community resilience. Team leader Baxter Miller will combine coastal residents’ insights on the past and perceptions of the future with modern fine art photography. Her goal is to create a new focal point for starting conversations about the increasing threats from climate change. “The stories told by those who live, work, worship, celebrate, grieve and experience life on our coast often transcend political discourse. We want to bring the stories out from behind the data, numbers and science and bring these narratives to life in a way that communicates the threats and the seriousness of these issues.” — BAX TER MI L LER Baxter Miller Baxter Miller Baxter Miller Baxter Miller coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 9 C o n t i n u e d seriousness of these issues.” Inspiration for the project came from a helicopter tour that offered Miller a new perspective on the places she knew intimately from a childhood on the coast. “Rising above the surface to see this tiny spit of land, I gained a whole new apprecia-tion for the isolation and dynamic fragility of our barrier island system, as well as the resilience of its people.” Studying those photographs afterward, Miller and fellow team member Ryan Stancil “had a lightbulb hit us both at the same time: We need to explore this with oral history.” They recruited a number of well-known and respected community partners to join them, along with an expert on the science of climate change and community planning, Sea Grant’s Jessica Whitehead. “I’ve given a lot of scientific presentations, but people always really want to know what climate change will do to their backyard,” Whitehead says. “It’s hard to connect with a line on a graph. But what your neighbor sees, and what it means for her life and livelihood, is a whole other story.” The partners plan to identify a diverse set of stakeholders for a series of oral history interviews that will be analyzed and synthesized alongside aerial photographs into a traveling exhibit. Stops will include locations on the coast, as well as in eastern North Carolina and in the Triangle. People also can follow along with the project via Facebook. Ensuring the research had a practical, outreach component was really important to the design of this project. “People, including planners and community managers, don’t necessarily take these things seriously until there’s a perceived immediate threat. Our hope is to heighten awareness so planning occurs sooner rather than later,” Miller says. IDENTIFYING THE CRITERIA CONSUMERS USE TO SELECT VALUE-ADDED SEAFOOD Ryan Speckman and Lin Peterson of Locals Seafood, with Tom Armstrong of Vinnie's Steakhouse and Tavern, and Barry Nash of North Carolina Sea Grant Would you be more willing to try local seafood at home if it required little time or skills in the kitchen? That’s what the owners of Locals Seafood hope to find out by testing and developing ready-to- cook and ready-to- eat products like marinated fillets, dips and meal kits. “We want to figure out how to get more local seafood on people’s plates,” explains co-owner Ryan Speckman, who describes Locals as an inland fish house. “Our core belief is in helping North Carolina’s seafood CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • Spanish mackerel is an underutilized species that Ryan Speckman and his team want to offer. • The researchers seek to learn consumers’ perceptions of aquacultured oysters. • The team’s goal is to get more local seafood on people’s plates. • Speckman, left, co-owns Locals Seafood with Lin Peterson. Courtesy Locals Seafood Courtesy Locals Seafood Courtesy Locals Seafood Courtesy Locals Seafood 10 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org manufacture healthy, transportable meals made with local seafood,” Nash explains. He will lead focus groups and the distribution of a survey to learn consumers’ preferences and expectations for taste, nutrition, convenience and price. Then, the team will give products developed by Chef Tom Armstrong of Vinnie’s Steakhouse in Raleigh to individuals from the focus groups to try at home. They hope initially to present their findings at local conferences. The next step will be looking for ways to produce these food items on a larger scale. “But first we need to develop the markets for these species and products. It’s an opportunity to think outside the box and work together to come up with solutions,” Speckman says. INVESTIGATING BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS IN N.C. COASTS AND ESTUARIES: FROM A TO ZOMBIE April M.H. Blakeslee of East Carolina University, with Tom Stroud and Russ Chesson of the North Carolina Estuarium, and Kayla Clark of East Carolina An invasion of the body snatchers is happening now in North Carolina’s waters. Though not exactly the zombie apocalypse, industry and this could be a way of providing new opportunities for expanding local markets.” As evidenced by the rise of pre-packaged foods and meal-kit businesses, many Americans are looking for fresh, healthy options that fit with busy lifestyles. “Nearly two-thirds of consumers believe protein aids weight loss and one-third believe it boosts metabolism. Marine species tend to be high in protein, low in fat and contain heart-healthy omega-3s,” says team member Barry Nash, Sea Grant’s seafood technology and marketing specialist. While convenience products aren’t necessar-ily unique, this team will explore them from a new angle by focusing on less-known species caught by North Carolina commer-cial fishermen. “We hope that adding convenience will increase the likelihood someone is willing to try something they have never heard of before, like cape shark or amberjack,” Speckman notes. He adds that featuring underutilized fish also could help keep the final price points reasonable while still increasing what the fishermen get paid at the dock. “We want to figure out how to get more local seafood on people’s plates. Our core belief is in helping North Carolina’s seafood industry and this could be a way of providing new opportunities for expanding local markets.” — RYAN S P ECKMAN “Product development is time-consuming and costly, and processors have limited capital. Sea Grant helps processors develop and safely CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • A parasite has been infecting North Carolina mud crabs, making them sterile and tricking the crabs into caring for the invader’s young. • April Blakeslee and her students conduct surveys of the crabs along the Pamlico and Neuse rivers every six to eight weeks. • Blakeslee depends on citizen scientists to help collect mud crabs for her study. April Blakeslee April Blakeslee April Blakeslee coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 11 this biological invasion could directly affect ecosystem services we care about, explains marine ecologist April Blakeslee. She studies Loxothylacus panopaei, a parasitic barnacle that infects native N.C. mud crabs. Native to the Gulf of Mexico, the parasitic barnacle first arrived in the mid-Atlantic in the 1960s and has spread prolifically, sometimes infecting 90 percent of the local mud crabs. “When the barnacle finds a mud crab, it hijacks the crab’s internal physiology,” Blakeslee explains. “They fool the crab into thinking they are caring for their young when really it’s a sac-full of barnacle babies.” However, the mud crabs may be able to escape this fate by retreating to areas of lower salinity, such as estuaries, where the barnacles cannot survive. The research team is studying multiple North Carolina estuary sites, looking for parasites and tracking other organisms that live alongside the crabs. Volunteers and students are helping with the sampling. The data even are available at the N.C. Estuarium in Washington. The barnacle is just one of many invasive species wreaking havoc in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Blakeslee and Kayla Clark, an art student at East Carolina University, developed a new exhibit featuring the crab “zombies” and other unwelcome invaders. It launched at the Estuarium days before Halloween. “When the barnacle finds a mud crab, it hijacks the crab’s internal physiology. They fool the crab into thinking they are caring for their young when really it’s a sac-full of barnacle babies.” — A PR I L B L AK E S L E E The interactive display, designed by Clark, focuses on biological invaders in North Carolina, specifically those that thrive in aquatic habitats. Live crabs — healthy and infected — are on display, along with the field data, photos and videos. She wants to make the exhibit appeal to young and old. “Our goal is to provide outreach and education about invasive species to local audiences, notably children visiting the Estuarium. Visitors also will learn how they can prevent the spread of invaders by not releasing unwanted pets into area waterways, cleaning boats of attached algae, plants or animals, cleaning boots, etc.,” Blakeslee wrote in a Coastwatch Currents blog post for the exhibit’s opening. “In other words, every person can make a difference in conservation-related efforts,” she adds. Clark had those audiences in mind, as well. “Melding art and science is a mutually beneficial relationship,” she says. “Artists, specifically graphic designers like myself, are trained to display information so it is consciously and subconsciously instantly digestible. This can be highly valuable in conveying scientific results to the public.” IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY CAPITALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM WORKFORCE ON OCRACOKE ISLAND Whitney Knollenberg of North Carolina State University, with David Tweedie of Ocracoke Alive!, David Griffith of East Carolina University, Barbara Garrity-Blake of Duke University Marine Lab, and Jane Harrison of North Carolina Sea Grant Ocracoke Island is a special place, with a close-knit feel that appeals to visitors and residents alike. Researcher Whitney Knollenberg wants to help keep that magic alive by helping the community understand what resources it needs to build, maintain and sustain its tourism workforce. “Ocracoke is isolated. It takes an hour ferry ride to get there. People are not going to commute there. Even with a well-paying seasonal job, buying a house and supporting a family there is really hard,” explains Knollenberg, an expert on tourism. Knollenberg approached David Tweedie of Ocracoke Alive! with the project idea at the Festival Latino de Ocracoke, a celebration of the many Hispanic families who call the island home — and who play an important role in the tourism industry. “They already know there are challenges, especially with housing. I’m hoping this project will reveal what’s working, what is attractive about living and • TOP: The researchers want to know if the unwitting hosts can escape the parasites by moving to lower-salinity waters. • BOTTOM: Just before Halloween, an exhibit on the zombie crabs opened at the N.C. Estuarium in Washington. C o n t i n u e d April Blakeslee Cliff Hollis/ECU working in Ocracoke — but also some of the things that can be improved.” “Ocracoke is isolated. It takes an hour ferry ride to get there. People are not going to commute there. Even with a well-paying seasonal job, buying a house and supporting a family there is really hard. They already know there are challenges, especially with housing. I’m hoping this project will reveal what’s working, what is attractive about living and working in Ocracoke — but also some of the things that can be improved.” — W HI TNE Y K NOL L ENB ERG Team members, including Sea Grant coastal economist Jane Harrison, will conduct interviews with employers and host bilingual focus groups with employees. Feedback will be used to determine the community’s strengths when it comes to supporting tourism, as well as areas for future investment. The team will present findings at a community workshop, with hopes of identifying priority actions for the next five years. Knollenberg anticipates that they’ll need to be creative to address community challenges. “I can’t put Ocracoke any closer to the mainland or create more land,” she says. In many ways, she adds, “it’s a prime place to do 12 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org sustainable workforce research. But it’s also a challenging place to do it. In the end, though, it will be helpful for every person on the island to have a more sustainable, stable tourism workforce.” COMMERCIALIZATION OF LOW-CALCIUM BLUE-CRAB SHEDDING TECHNOLOGY David Cerino of Carteret Community College, with Adam Tyler of Marshallberg, N.C., Thomas C. McArthur III of the North Carolina State University Marine Aquaculture Research Center, and Chuck Weirich of North Carolina Sea Grant Like new parents, soft-shell crab pro-ducers don’t get a lot of sleep during the molting season. However, new technologies could help them reclaim their nights by extending the time the crabs stay soft. During the spring and early summer in North Carolina, blue crabs approaching their molt are collected from coastal waters and placed in crab-shedding CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • Ocracoke Island is rich in history. • The island is home to many landmarks, including the Ocracoke Lighthouse, one of the oldest operating lighthouses in the country. • Many people are drawn to the community’s close-knit feel. • Visitors take ferry rides to get to Ocracoke. Vanda Lewis Vanda Lewis Vanda Lewis Vanda Lewis coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 13 systems consisting of a series of shallow tanks or trays through which water flows or recirculates. The tanks must be monitored every two to three hours for harvesting before the molted crabs begin to harden again. “Extending the time crabs stay soft could really help producers, especially those with limited staff and other obligations, such as other commercial fishing operations,” says David Cerino, who heads the aquaculture department at Carteret Community College. Cerino leads a team in developing water-treatment processes that could give commercial producers using recirculating systems more flexibility in harvesting soft-shell crabs. The project is based on previous research funded by a Sea Grant minigrant that found reducing calcium in shedding systems increases the window for harvesting up to 24 hours. “We can take processes similar to those municipal water treatment systems use to soften water to remove calcium carbonate and other hardening substances,” Cerino explains. Lab tests will identify the most consistent and cost-effective water-treatment process before two commercial producers implement the low-calcium recirculating systems. The team then will monitor the systems’ overall water quality, as well as crab survival and time available for harvesting. “This research will allow us to develop a step-by-step protocol and estimate the cost of implementing low-calcium CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • Researchers are looking to extend the time soft-shell crab producers have to harvest molting crabs. • David Cerino, who heads the aquaculture department at Carteret Community College, is leading the study. • The team will look into developing water-treatment processes to increase harvest time. • Removing calcium carbonate from the water can slow the hardening process once crabs shed their shells. shedding systems on a commercial scale,” states Chuck Weirich, Sea Grant marine aquaculture specialist and a member of the project team. “Then, we can transfer this technology to other producers in the state.” “This research will allow us to develop a step-by-step protocol and estimate the cost of implementing low-calcium shedding systems on a commercial scale. Then, we can transfer this technology to other producers in the state.” — C H UCK W E I R ICH This could help improve output of the soft-shell industry that already generates over $2 million annually. “Marine aquaculture offers great opportunities for economic development on the coast. Advances such as this benefit not only producers but also consumers who love seafood,” Weirich adds. Vanda Lewis Chuck Weirich Chuck Weirich Vanda Lewis 14 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org By Katie Mosher Space Grant is on the Move • LEFT: As an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Zena Cardman participated in the Mars Desert Research Station field course. Courtesy Zena Cardman N coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 15 C o n t i n u e d orth Carolina Space Grant is launching efforts to strengthen current collaborations and to explore new horizons. With Susan White as the program’s new director, strategic planning sessions are sparking opportunities for partnerships that include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, along with researchers, students, educators and industry partners across the state. “There are some very good themes that can make Space Grant stronger,” Anthony Calamai of Appalachian State University, a member of the program’s executive board, describes topics considered during recent discussions. Formerly dean of Appalachian’s College of Arts and Sciences and now with a focus on science education, he notes that Space Grant’s advisors also are eager to see the program build upon successful interdisciplinary and multicampus initiatives of North Carolina Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system. White leads all three programs, all with headquarters at NC State University. “There are great synergies across the programs,” Calamai adds. Industry partners agree: “Lord Corporation greatly values our partnership with N.C. Space Grant — and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Susan at the helm,” notes Mark Jolly, who is the company’s representative on a panel of industry advisors. Alan Rebar, NC State’s vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development, echoes praise for White, who initially had been named interim director for Space Grant earlier this year. “Dr. White brings a wealth of experience in leading federal/state programs that are recognized as trusted partners in developing innovative research and outreach applications within North Carolina and across the nation,” Rebar explains. NASA is Space Grant’s funding partner. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supports Sea Grant, while the U.S. Geological Survey has WRRI. Each program has a distinct mission, but all three offer targeted research, outreach and education projects to address critical issues. Sea Grant and WRRI also will learn from Space Grant’s innovations, adds White, who previously served on the Space Grant advisory council. “This is an exciting time,” she says. “In particular, I am eager to leverage Space Grant’s vibrant programs — including strong partnerships with industry — to equip the current and future workforce.” Opportunities Abound Two of N.C. Space Grant’s student scholars — Christina H. Koch from NC State and Zena Cardman from UNC Chapel Hill — are now in the NASA astronaut corps, a point of tremendous pride. But N.C. Space Grant programs benefit many students eager for STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — careers. “From its inception, Space Grant has focused involving and supporting faculty and students in space-related research and outreach,” notes executive board member Elva Jones from Winston-Salem State University. For example, Calamai cites a student who moved from undergraduate studies at UNC Chapel Hill to a master’s program in physics and engineering at Appalachian, and then to a doctoral program in engineering at Duke University, and now to a career in industry in the Washington, D.C., area. Jobi Cook, N.C. Space Grant’s associate director, recalls a motorcycle mechanic intent upon changing his focus. A Space Grant community college scholar, he went on to UNC Charlotte and eventually to a job at U.S. Marine Station Cherry Point. In fact, the state’s military bases are key partners. Space Grant helps students to learn about military careers related to aeronautics and flight sciences through a partnership with the Department of Defense, officials at Cherry Point and an engineering program at NC State. In 2018, that will include another Aircraft Readiness Engineering Workshop, an intensive week that brings students from community colleges and universities to Cherry Point and New River air stations. FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: • Students from UNC Pembroke experienced weightlessness aboard a NASA KC-135 during a research mission. • Applications are open now for the 2018 Aircraft Readiness Workshop to be held in Havelock in May. • Ten community colleges have participated in high-altitude ballooning design and research projects sponsored by North Carolina Space Grant. Courtesy Mitchell Community College Courtesy U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Center East Courtesy UNC Pembroke 16 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org “We create an experience for college students to introduce them to the world of military aviation and the jobs associated,” explains Bill Fortney, of the NC State program that is housed at Craven Community College’s campus in Havelock, just across from Cherry Point. The base employs more than 700 civilian engineers. “The students are out with Department of Defense engineers, getting the inside scoop that goes beyond their classroom experience,” he adds. The week includes mishap investigations, time on the flight lines with active-duty forces and in a military simulator, and even building remote-control aircraft. More information is available at ncspacegrant.org, with applications due in March. Lord’s 10-week summer internships offer students “real-world STEM experiences in a cutting edge industrial environment,” Jolly notes. “Since 2008, over 60 students have participated in this program, with nine subsequently hired on full time.” The company has worked with Space Grant to offer aerospace-related experiences to teachers during the summer breaks. “Each extern then developed curriculum for modules and courses at their respective high schools based on their work experience,” he adds. Future Beckons White and Cook are especially excited about plans to expand Space Grant’s educational programs. They will build upon a successful partnership with the Morehead Planetarium, along with museums, parks and other sites that hosted eclipse events. “Those events drew a combined audience of 100,000 people of all ages,” White says. Also, Space Grant outreach to K-12 teachers in 2018 will include expanding a network of more than 50 educators in Eastern North Carolina who recently completed NASA training. New programs may include workshops focusing on hot topics that would keep students’ attention while covering critical knowledge and skills. “In North Carolina, drones are used in agriculture,” says Cook, citing just one example of how unmanned vehicles are in demand. “We also will be working with teachers-in-training,” she adds. They will complete an online module, learn from mentor teachers via webinars, and then test lessons in their own classrooms. The topics will be interdisciplinary. “We will be infusing strategies to bring in the arts,” Cook says, showing how STEM expands to STEAM. That training will culminate in the educator scholars traveling to NASA’s Langley Research Center to present posters about their experiences. White is eager to deepen such connections across the program and the state — so that lessons are using data from NASA, or discussing challenges identified by military and industry partners. “We are building a career pipeline, from classrooms to community colleges and universities, and on to professional lives in indus-try, military and government sectors,” she says. “We are building a career pipeline, from classrooms to community colleges and universities, and on to professional lives in industry, military and government sectors.” — SUSAN WHI TE All those categories of partners will be invited to a 2019 symposium to highlight the depth and breadth of Space Grant missions — and to identify future orbits. “We are learning from Sea Grant’s Coastal Conference,” Cook says. Overall, White sees a bright future for N.C. Space Grant. “Our mission is to develop the next generation of explorers.” Learn more about North Carolina Space Grant and Sea Grant programs’ joint graduate fellows on pages 17 to 19. The interdisciplinary research projects focus on the state’s nearshore areas and coastal watersheds, and use varied measurement instruments and data from NASA and NOAA. • TOP: A camera captured the point that a Durham Technical Community College high-altitude balloon burst. • MIDDLE: The UNC Charlotte Forty- Niner Robotic Mining Team competes annually at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. • BOTTOM: In recent years, two N.C. Space Grant scholars have joined the NASA astronaut corps. Christina Hammock Koch, left, was at NC State University. Zena Cardman, right, was at UNC-Chapel Hill. Courtesy NASA Courtesy NASA Courtesy UNC Charlotte Courtesy Durham Technical Community College Unraveling Mysteries of Ghost Forests By Lindsey Smart You’ve heard of haunted houses — but what about ghost forests? Far from being frighteningly fun, ghost forests are a growing concern along much of the East Coast. In North Carolina, they are increasingly common along the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula in the rural eastern part of the state. Bare, pale trunks line areas where once-healthy coastal forests thrived, a stark visual indicator of sea-level rise. These coastal forests just can’t keep pace with the encroaching saltwater that is creeping farther inland into the soil and surface waters of the coastal plain. This combination of saltwater intrusion and forest retreat is transforming freshwater landscapes long before rising seas permanently inundate the land. Coastal systems are inherently dynamic and sea levels have been rising since the end of the last ice age many thousands of years ago. But the current rate at which these changes are taking place has many scientists taking note. How much of that landscape has changed over the past decade? What is the spatial extent of this change? Where on the peninsula is this change occurring the fastest? With funding from North Carolina’s Sea Grant and Space Grant programs and the help of Paul J. Taillie, a doctoral candidate and wildlife biologist at NC State University, I decided to address these questions. I am a member of an interdisciplinary team from NC State’s College of Natural Resources that is tackling a number of issues related to saltwater intrusion and its impacts. We refer to ourselves as the SALT team, for Salinization: Adaptive Capacity Building for Land-use and Tourism Development, found at ncsu-salt. weebly.com. Our applied research seeks solutions to critical land and water issues. A main goal of the project is to outline potential solutions that local communities may adopt to cope with problems associated with saltwater intrusion. My research is looking to better understand mutually beneficial ways that humans and wildlife can adapt to these changing coastal landscapes. Sea-level rise is among many stressors on forests worldwide — ecosystems already threatened by land clearing, fires, disease and invasive species. Overall, these combined changes are diminishing the ability of plants to fight climate change. Plants are well known for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide. Scientists call this process carbon storage or carbon sequestration. This important ecosystem service means that plants are providing clean air for humans and wildlife. Sea-level rise threatens the very ability of forests to provide all of these important benefits to wildlife and humans. The reduction in carbon sequestration due to sea-level rise can exacerbate climate change and its negative impacts. Forest retreat also fragments — and at times even eliminates — important habitat for some wildlife species. It limits the ability of coastal forests to serve as buffers from storms and storm surge. With the loss of these forests, interior areas can be exposed during large storm events that were previously protected. I have used satellite imagery and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data, and combined these with highly accurate field data to map the changes across the landscape. Satellite imagery data create near-seamless pictures of Earth’s surface and help us visualize and measure vegetation health or decline through images of land coverage. LiDAR data, usually collected via airplane, provide three-dimensional information on the vertical structures of the Earth’s surface. This information helps scientists understand the structure, height and volume of features on the landscape. Combined, satellite imagery captures visual characteristics of forest health, while LiDAR depicts the three-dimensional characteristics of forest health. These two data sources enabled us to map vegetation changes across the entire study area. The resulting maps tell a compel-ling story of an extremely dynamic and complex environment with mixed coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 17 FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: • Ghost forests are an increasingly common sight along North Carolina’s coast. • This map shows the vulnerability of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula to sea-level rise based on elevation data. • LiDAR and satellite imagery show a mix of woody and herbaceous vegetation. Paul Taillie (inset), wildlife biologist and graduate student, surveyed a forested wetland plot with similar characteristics. C o n t i n u e d Lindsey Smart Lindsey Smart Lindsey Smart patterns of vegetation growth and decline. The patterns of change on the landscape indicate a very diverse land-use history, evidence of past fires and the effects of sea-level rise. Areas of vegetation decline were evident close to the sounds. Large decreases in vegetation near the shoreline suggest that once-healthy forests have retreated, likely as a result of rising sea level. These findings have important implications for the region’s ability to store carbon. In these forests, large amounts of carbon are stored belowground in the organic soils composed of decaying organic matter, but also aboveground as living and dead plant matter. Trees have a greater ability to store aboveground carbon than smaller plants like grasses. Therefore, areas where pine trees are giving way to more salt-tolerant marsh grasses are losing aboveground carbon-storage potential. Our data corroborate this and show a net decrease in overall aboveground carbon-storage potential in the study area. These results are the first step in understanding potential vegetation dynamics caused by many drivers. Understanding specific mechanisms for the changes in vegetation will be a critical next step in showing empirically what has been talked about anecdotally for quite some time. Linking these changes in forests directly to sea-level rise and increased salinity are essential for thinking about and planning for future change. When planning for future change, it’s important to remember that people’s land-use activities and their responses to sea-level rise can either act to mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of sea-level rise on the landscape. That is why it’s important to understand what those living and working in this region are going to do in response to these increasingly salient coastal threats. To capture landowners’ thoughts on different climate adaptation strategies, I’ve also conducted a social survey on the Albemarle- Pamlico Peninsula as part of my dissertation research. Ultimately, the goal is to combine the social survey data with these land-change maps and use them as decision-support tools to guide adaptive land-use policy and climate change adaptation strategies. Lindsey Smart is a doctoral candidate in the Center for Geospatial Analytics within the College of Natural Resources at NC State University. She received a North Carolina Sea Grant/Space Grant fellowship. She previously worked for the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. Making the Most of Oyster Reef Filtering By E-Ching Lee Oyster reefs do a lot of good for an ecosystem. Here’s a quick list: They filter and clean the water, clear out sediment so sunlight can reach the plants at the water bottom, and provide fishes with places to live and hide. Reefs also help to protect shorelines from storms, breaking up powerful waves as they rush inland. Researchers call these ecosystem services: gains that oyster reefs bring to their surroundings — and also to the people who live, work and play in those places. With a drastic decline in the state’s oyster population, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are among many groups planting new beds to restore these bivalves. Their goal is to build healthy reefs to sustain the oyster population in the state. Any other benefits — good recreational fishing reefs, suitable fish nurseries or cleaner water — often are secondary goals that have been difficult to measure. Seth Theuerkauf, a recent doctoral graduate from NC State University, is bringing ecosystem services into the equation, to make rebuilding efforts more cost efficient and successful. He wants to ensure there will be oysters in the state’s future while simultaneously improving the coastal environment — and to add more “bang for the buck” for the public dollars spent on these restorations. For his fellowship funded by North Carolina’s Sea Grant and Space Grant programs, Theuerkauf focused on maximizing water filtration, an ecosystem function for which oysters are well known and that benefits aquatic animals and plants, as well as humans. “I selected filtration, given the growing interest in oysters as a tool to help meet water quality enhancement goals,” he explains. Not all reef restoration sites are equal — for oysters and for the humans who want to reap their benefits. Theuerkauf used geospatial analysis to layer maps of multiple factors important for restoration. With this method, he identified areas in Pamlico Sound that would enable restored reefs to thrive, while maximizing the resulting water filtration services they provided. “It matters where you do your restoration to provide the most ecosystem services,” Theuerkauf acknowledges. Currently, oyster reef restorers use the Reef Persistence habitat suitability index, or 18 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org • TOP: The team focused on the area of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula within the red rectangle in subsequent maps. • BOTTOM: Forest loss along the study area perimeter between 2001 and 2014 possibly resulted from saltwater intrusion and sea-level rise. Lindsey Smart Lindsey Smart HSI, to identify potential sites. That tool — developed by Brandon Puckett, then a doctoral candidate at NC State and now research coordinator of the N.C. Coastal Reserve — helps users find locations where replanted oyster reefs might thrive and persist. Building upon this idea, Theuerkauf developed a GIS-based model that prioritizes water filtration when selecting a restoration site. He also combined the original HSI and his updated version into a hybrid scenario that balances reef persistence with water quality enhancement. Theuerkauf used several variables to determine the suitability of a site. Concentrations of chlorophyll a, derived from satellite data, indicate the volume of food available for the oysters. Water-flow velocities denote the ability of currents to deliver food to the reef, and flush sediment and particulate matter. Dissolved oxygen can identify dead zones where there is too little oxygen in the water. “It’s a tool — a decision-support tool — that is useful to identify areas for restoration,” Theuerkauf says. “Agencies such as DMF can use it as a scoping tool to narrow the range of areas they want to focus on.” The next step is to integrate the data within The Nature Conservancy’s Restoration Explorer web-based tool, which currently offers the Reef Persistence HSI model at coastalresilience.org/restoration-explorer- focuses-on-oysters. He also spoke with people who ultimately would use his models early on in the process. This was a step that Puckett and David Eggleston, who leads NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, spearheaded when they developed the first HSI. Since it was introduced in 2010, the original HSI has been tweaked and updated based on suggestions from DMF and the Corps of Engineers in Wilmington. Both agencies use the HSI to help inform their restoration efforts. “We integrated stakeholder feedback early on to discuss what the model would look like,” Theuerkauf recalls. “Stakeholders were invested and had a say.” Planning meetings included participants from DMF, The Nature Conservancy and the N.C. Coastal Federation. Each voiced what they wanted in such a tool. Michael Piehler, a biogeochemist and ecologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences, also provided input. “It’s a tool, a decision-support tool, that is useful to identify areas for restoration. Agencies such as DMF can use it as a scoping tool to narrow the range of areas they want to focus on.” — SE T H THEUERK AUF Recommendations from this group helped Theuerkauf determine what data to include and the weights to assign to each layer of information. This was an opportunity to work collaboratively with stakeholders, identify and integrate what they prioritized, and generate a tool that contributes to advancing oyster restoration in North Carolina. “Developing a tool that balanced state-of-the-art science with the human dimensions of oyster restoration was a valuable learning experience for me as a scientist,” he says. Seth Theuerkauf is a spatial scientist with The Nature Conservancy and NOAA. He is a recent doctoral graduate in biological oceanography at NC State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 19 FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: • The water filtration habitat suitability index can identify optimal (green) to unsuitable (red) areas for reef restoration. • Oysters clean and filter water around them. • The bivalves also offer habitat for fish and other wildlife. • North Carolina’s wild oyster reefs are a fraction of their historical highs. Vanda Lewis Stopher Slade Stopher Slade Seth Theuerkauf 20 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org Raúl Omar Ortiz/Puerto Rico Sea GrantBOOTS IN THE FIELD coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 21 S E A G R A N T P A R T I C I P AT E S I N H U R R I C A N E R E C O V E R Y C o n t i n u e d AUTUMN OFTEN BRINGS HURRICANES — OR MEMORIES OF PAST STORMS. This August through October was no exception, marked by many devastating hurricanes to the United States, and even one that blew through Ireland and the United Kingdom. In addition, October marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Matthew. We provide updates on how North Carolina Sea Grant extension specialists are helping agencies learn and communities rebuild after these storms. Future issues of Coastwatch will offer more stories on hurricane recovery in the state. • LEFT: In the aftermath of major storms, Sea Grant programs in affected areas, such as in Puerto Rico pictured here, are stepping up to help communities recover and rebuild. 22 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org University’s Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department have been working with local leaders to study the recent extreme flood events and evaluate flood mitigation methods. Bertie County secured a grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation to fund two studies of the Cashie River Basin and floodplain. The initial efforts can help the Town of Windsor and Bertie County move forward with a specific plan. Barbara Doll, Sea Grant’s water quality protection and restoration specialist, is leading the research. The team, which includes six engineers from NC State BAE, began the study in June 2017. “We hope to identify the most practical and feasible actions the county and town can pursue to decrease flood risk during extreme events, and to mitigate impacts of flooding during future storms,” Doll explains. “This effort will help prevent wasted time and resources on approaches that will afford little or no benefit.” The team is investigating structural and watershed flood-mitigation mechanisms. “We are looking at ways to reduce the amount of water that spills over from the river into the town during floods. We also are evaluating how much water is coming from the 180-square-mile watershed, and investigating ways to temporarily store and/or slow down the water,” Doll adds. To alleviate flooding, the team is determining the feasibility of three separate components. The first is evaluating river engineering alternatives. These structural measures could include modifying existing bridge and culvert configurations, or raising two roads and equipping the culvert pipes beneath the roads with backflow preventers or tide gates. The tide gates would allow water to drain away from town during small storms, and would block floodwaters from entering town GOING WITH THE FLOW EVALUATING FLOOD MITIGATION OF THE CASHIE RIVER BY DANI E L L E C OSTANT INI Hurricane Mathew changed the way many residents of central and eastern North Carolina think about flooding — including those in the Town of Windsor. The Cashie River flows through the middle of this Bertie County town on its way to the Roanoke River. Many days, the waters provide a great route for kayaking. But fall 2016 brought two powerful tropical systems. Tropical Storm Julia dumped flooding rains in September. Just weeks later, Hurricane Matthew brought record flooding in October, causing extensive damage to roads, bridges, homes and Windsor’s business district. “Immediately following the flooding and devastation from Tropical Storm Julia and Hurricane Matthew, Windsor Mayor Jim Hoggard and Bertie County officials spent countless hours reaching out to regional resources for technical assistance in an effort to take a long-term look at the flooding in the Cashie River Basin,” shares Scott Sauer, Bertie County manager. North Carolina Sea Grant and NC State CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: • Researchers examine a bridge crossing in Bertie County that was replaced after flooding from Hurricane Matthew breached the road. • Tropical Storm Julia flooded downtown Windsor. • Windsor leaders are seeking help from Sea Grant, NC State University and state agencies to prevent future flooding, such as from Hurricane Matthew. Scott Sauer Barbara Doll coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 23 during large flood events. By obtaining and reviewing existing flood models, as well as flood data from last fall’s extreme events, researchers can identify solutions that are most likely to have the greatest impact. “Initial results indicate there may be little benefit from increasing the capacity of bridges along the lower river,” Doll states. Increasing the capacity of the floodplain around Windsor also was evaluated but showed no appreciable decrease in flooding near the town. This is because of the nearly flat slope of the river’s water surface once it reaches the bridge — there is nowhere for all the water to go. Strong winds pushing the water from the Albemarle Sound and Roanoke River upstream also can exacerbate the problem and lead to flooding. Two other options, however, could be more promising. “Raising select roads at their low points and outfitting these areas with tide gates would help to reduce some flood risk. But that may not be effective in the larger floods like Julia and Matthew, and likely would not be certified under the National Flood Insurance Program,” she adds. Another component of the study is to evaluate land-use change, and to quantify the impacts on the Cashie River Basin and the Town of Windsor. Land use identifies the purpose of the land, such as forests, agriculture use or development. Models then allow the team to verify how the land cover has changed since 1992, and to quantify the impacts of those changes on hydrology and hydraulics — how much water and how fast it moves — in the river basin. The team also is focused on the third component: evaluating upland water storage potential. These storage areas — or reservoirs — are designed to decrease the magnitude of the flood flow. Slowing down the speed of the flow may ultimately decrease the flood risk in Windsor. “We have identified several undeveloped areas for potential storage of water and are building a detailed watershed model, which takes quite a bit of time and effort. Once the model is finished, we can test the ability of these areas to help reduce downstream flooding,” Doll explains. Opportunities to store water on agricultural lands have yet to be identified. The team scouted the watershed and found few agricultural ditches. “This has been an integrated technical approach using data already available through our state programs and agencies — and by leveraging skills and expertise of several research groups in the BAE department, Sea Grant and others within N.C. Cooperative Extension,” says Jon Page, extension associate engineer with BAE. “We have been able to apply our skill set in a very practical way to assist a community looking for solutions to the very relevant issue of extreme flooding and reducing flood risk,” he continues. Partners include N.C. Department of Transportation, N.C. Emergency Management and the N.C. Floodplain Mapping Program. The modeling work on the Cashie River and its watershed is expected to be complete by the end of the year, with results presented in January to the county and town. The feasibility study not only is yielding information for Windsor, but also will serve as a model for other coastal counties and towns. Doll and NC State researchers currently are working with N.C. DOT to develop similar watershed and floodplain-focused projects in the Tar, Neuse and Lumber river basins. Their new project will provide educa-tion and outreach on flood risk and mitigation alternatives, while also assisting communities recovering from Matthew — including Tarboro, Smithfield, Kinston and Lumberton — to iden-tify potential effective means of flood mitigation. HURRICANE ASSESSMENT IMPROVING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OPERATIONS B Y J A N E H A R R I S O N When severe weather, like a hurricane or large flood, strikes, do schools close or communities evacuate? How does information from the National Weather Service, or NWS, affect those decisions? To find out how that information is disseminated — and how the processes could be improved — NWS conducts a service assessment after every major weather event. Teams of experts seek to determine how effective the agency was in forecasting the event, as well as in communicating weather information to affected communities. I was on one of several teams asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the NWS response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. The teams now are developing a report to share best practices and lessons learned, all to help NWS officials to improve services to the nation. Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 3 storm with wind speeds of 111 to 129 miles per hour. After days of little movement but heavy rain, the storm headed back to the Gulf of Mexico. It returned along the Louisiana border as a tropical storm with wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph. Local weather forecasters and emergency managers described Harvey as a meandering storm full of “loop-de-loops.” But the real story with Harvey was its catastrophic flooding, caused by days of torrential, record-breaking rainfall — a story with which North Carolina is all too familiar. In fact, Harvey’s damage was so widespread and devastating, it required three service assessment teams. Last year, the NWS deployed only one such team after Hurricane Matthew. My team began our work in the sprawling urban expanse of Houston, then moved east to communities within the oil alley in Texas, a region that processes about a third of the country’s oil. In Louisiana, we visited another oil refinery stronghold at Lake Charles, then continued on to Baton Rouge and ended in New Orleans. A second team remained in Houston during our weeklong effort, while a third team went westward toward Corpus Christi and other severely affected areas. Scott Sauer C o n t i n u e d 24 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org The teams interviewed staff from NWS local weather forecast offices known as WFOs (i.e., Corpus Christi, Houston, Lake Charles and New Orleans), the Southern Regional Headquarters in Fort Worth, National Hurricane Center in Miami, and Weather Prediction Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, among others. We also spoke with local partners, such as emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists, to understand how they used NWS information to support their operations. As a social scientist with North Carolina Sea Grant, my role was to look for common themes in the conversations we had with local partners. I focused on partnerships and outreach, elements essential to the NWS mission. The findings could be used to identify best practices and suggest improvements for NWS operations across the nation — potentially affecting how North Carolina forecast offices operate. My assessment team left the gleaming buildings of Houston, the country’s fourth-most populated city, and headed for the towns and cities surrounded by salt bayou lands. From the rental car window, I spied coastal prairie grasslands, creeks and wide water basins along Highway 10, as well as flat lands recently waterlogged. Soaked drywall and once-loved possessions piled up in front of homes in the Texas towns of Port Arthur, Groves, Beaumont and Orange, all of which straddle the Texas/ Louisiana border along Sabine Lake and the Neches River. We learned how NWS plays a vital role in severe weather events in places such as Groves. The small town received 60.54 inches of rain during Harvey — the highest amount of rainfall ever recorded during any U.S. storm. Evacuation decisions, school and industry closures, and numerous other storm-related actions for Groves relied on direct communication between local NWS staff and emergency managers. A fire chief in Groves said this about the NWS: “What they say is gold.” He attributed his close relationship with WFO staff to monthly meetings that the emergency management community attends. The emergency managers — along with WFO staff — eat together, provide updates about their activities and get to know one another. When an extreme weather event does occur, they already have good working relationships and are able to work effectively together. With increased frequency and severity of storms predicted due to climate change, it is ever more important that weather forecasting be accurate and communication clear. Here in North Carolina, severe flooding has become the norm for many coastal communities. So the role of NWS in providing decision support services to emergency managers and the public is increasingly important. Serving on the assessment team has given me a deeper understanding of how NWS professionals and the emergency management community work together to reach affected populations during tropical storms and hurricanes. Thanks for your dedicated service y’all! CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: • Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, moved out to sea and then came ashore again in Louisiana. • Soggy materials line the roads in Groves, Texas, which received over 60 inches of rain during Harvey. • The emergency management community in Southwest Louisiana meets monthly to eat and to share updates. Courtesy NOAA Jane Harrison Jane Harrison coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 25 AROUND THE NETWORK SEA GRANT PROGRAMS RESPOND TO HURRICANE DESTRUCTION Some of our partner Sea Grant programs’ communicators share what is going on in their backyards after this autumn’s devastating storms. Conducting Hazard Planning for Gulf Oyster Farmers BY M E L I S S A SCHNE IDER In October, Alabama oyster farms weathered their first hurricane since the industry began in 2009. Experiencing Hurricane Nate, which made landfall in Mississippi as a Category 1 storm, gave Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium extension specialists and oyster farmers ideas on how to improve storm preparedness. For example, oyster farmers needed help after the hurricane to recover equipment that had floated away during the storm. Extension specialists are holding workshops for oyster farmers to share lessons learned from the storm, offer planning resources and identify ways to be better prepared. They are beginning the process of completing written hazard plans. South Carolina Sea Grant experts also are providing hurricane experiences related to oyster farming. One area identified as a challenge is the lack of available labor to move expensive sorters and tumblers to higher ground and to sink oyster bags and baskets to keep them out of the storm surge. As Nate was a fast-approaching storm, oyster farmers did not have much time to prepare their farms as well as their own homes. Future challenges could include how evacuation orders might affect preparation and recovery. Infrastructure issues — such as flooded roads and/or roads covered in sand — and extended loss of power also could affect operations. Learn more about oyster farming in Mississippi and Alabama at masgc.org/oyster-farming. Educating Floridians on FORTIFIED Homes BY M E L I S S A SCHNE IDER Hank Hodde, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium resilience outreach special-ist, visited the southeast coast of Florida shortly after Hurricane Irma to conduct damage assessments and increase outreach efforts for the FORTIFIED HomesTM program. His work is part of a new partnership between Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and Smart Home America. The nonprofit based in Mobile, Alabama, seeks to build stronger, more resilient and sustainable communities. The assessments are demonstrating that many homeowners are not completely prepared. Some residents still are using duct tape and inadequate wood-based shutters to prevent wind damage. Also, many homeowners don’t understand the stipulations of their insurance policy. They need more information on filing insurance claims and hiring reliable contractors to complete repairs after the storm. The Sea Grant programs in the Gulf of Mexico also are updating the state-specific guides — Homeowners’ Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards — that address some of these concerns. Keep up with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium at masgc.org. Helping Florida Keys Lobster Industry Recover BY BR A D BUCK Hurricane Irma displaced and damaged tens of thousands of spiny lobster traps in the Florida Keys. Florida Sea Grant is helping CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: • Florida Sea Grant is helping lobstermen locate and retrieve lobster traps that were displaced during Hurricane Irma to get the fishery back on track. • The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium is working with oyster farmers in the region to improve hazard planning for their businesses. • During a damage assessment in southeast Florida, Hank Hodde from Mississippi- Alabama Sea Grant, found inadequate window coverings. Hank Hodde/Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Courtesy Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Don Behringer C o n t i n u e d 26 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org lobstermen by quickly locating the traps lost during the storm. This is Florida’s largest commercial fishery, estimated to be worth $150 million in the Keys, according to Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman Association. Two days after the storm, the lobster industry and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, contacted Florida Sea Grant and requested its help in recovering and reusing viable traps, explains Shelly Krueger. She is a Florida Sea Grant agent with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension (UF/ IFAS) in Monroe County. With funding from Florida Sea Grant, two experienced spotter pilots flew planes the length of the Keys in late September. GPS-enabled cameras pinpointed the exact locations of lobster trap clusters in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Harry Crissy, UF/IFAS Extension Monroe County economic resource development agent, uploaded the coordinates into a GIS database. The data were shared with lobster fishermen and the FWC to help them retrieve the traps. “The work of Florida Sea Grant is the critical first step to getting the industry back up and running after this natural disaster,” Krueger says. This project is a partnership with the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association and the FWC. Read the full article, “Helping Lobstermen in Florida Keys Get Back to Business Post-Irma,” at flseagrant.org/ newsroom. Assisting Texas Communities After Harvey BY T E X A S S E A G R ANT S TA F F During Hurricane Harvey, Texas Sea Grant mobilized to help state and federal agencies at emergency shelters for people and livestock. The program also shared life-saving information via social media. After the storm, Texas Sea Grant worked with coastal communities to address their immediate needs for assistance. Staff members: • Distributed the Texas Homeowner’s Handbook to Prepare for Coastal Natural Hazards in English and Spanish to more than 40 FEMA disaster recovery centers in affected counties. • Performed rapid assessment of damages and needs of the fishing industry. • Conducted rapid estimates of economic impacts in multiple fisheries sectors to support local governments requesting recovery assistance. • Partnered with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service to facilitate their evaluation of the status of the commercial fishery. • Connected multiple federal agencies with local officials, industry and the public. • Partnered with FEMA to provide financial technical assistance to help local communities apply for disaster assistance. • Led efforts to recover sunken commercial fishing vessels. • Funded rapid response research on the health of dolphins and humans’ perception of the resilience of their communities. In addition, Texas Sea Grant is part of the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas, established in early September. To help Texans recover, rebuild and prepare for the future, the program has: • Launched the Texas A&M Community Resilience Collaborative to provide planning assistance to Texas communities that were affected by Hurricane Harvey. • Started helping communities and industries assess their resilience to disasters using community, fisheries, ports and tourism resilience indices. • Began assisting communities with long-term recovery planning and land use and zoning ordinance reviews. • Partnered with the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center and many industries to revise the Texas preparedness handbook based on new information learned from recent disasters. Severe storms will continue to threaten communities and economies in Texas. Accordingly, Texas Sea Grant is increasing its efforts to help local communities develop more robust plans and practices that will increase their resilience to future extreme events. Visit Texas Sea Grant’s post-Hurricane Harvey recovery resources under texasseagrant. org/programs for guidance, information and updates for hurricane survivors. A Glimpse at Devastation in Puerto Rico Colleagues from Puerto Rico Sea Grant share some images of the destruction after Hurricane Maria. Find updates from Puerto Rico Sea Grant at seagrantpr.org. • LEFT: Texas Sea Grant is part of a commission to help Texans recover and rebuild from Hurricane Harvey, while also preparing the state for future similar events. • RIGHT: The west coast of Puerto Rico sustained massive damage after Hurricane Maria. Courtesy Texas Sea Grant Raúl Omar Ortiz/Puerto Rico Sea Grant coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 27 AN E YE FOR THE D ETAILS: HARRIS S ERVES SEA GR ANT, S TATE By K at ie M o she r WHEN S ANDRA HARRIS A RRIVED FOR H ER INTERVIEW AT N C S TATE UNIVERSIT Y I N 1973, H ER TOP S CORES O N T YPING AND SHORTHAND T ESTS ALREADY H AD IM PRESSED HER SOON-TO-BE BOSS, HARDY B ERRY. “He said: You’ve got to get a start somewhere,” Harris recalls with a laugh. She joined Berry in the university’s information services and communications office, taking dictation and typing letters and news releases. That quick start led to a strong career — and membership in the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the State of North Carolina’s “highest honor of recognition.” Signed by Gov. Roy Cooper, her certificate notes his “special confidence in the integrity, learning and zeal” of Harris, who retired in October with a total of 37 years of state service, including 23 with North Carolina Sea Grant. Susan White, current Sea Grant executive director, and other directors during Harris’ tenure agree with the citation. “I have counted on Sandra’s attention to detail,” White says. “Sandra’s focus on advance planning CELEBRATING TWO COLLEAGUES In t he l a s t f ew m onths o f t he y e ar, N o r t h C ar o l ina S e a G rant b ade f ar ewe l l t o S and ra H ar r i s , o n o u r c ommuni c at i ons t e am, a nd V anda L ewi s , o n o u r e x t ens i o n t e am. But t r u l y, t he y b o t h w e r e k e y t o a l l o f S e a G rant ’s w o r k . Combined, t he y h ad s e r v e d t he s t at e f o r 6 7 y e ar s . H e r e , w e s har e a p p r e c iat i ons o f o u r f o rme r c o l l e a g ue s . shipped out, or catching grammatical errors on letters. That attention — and accuracy — had been clear even early in Harris’ campus career. “I was good at proofreading,” she notes with a smile. After taking some years away from the office to focus on her family, Harris worked for a while at Nationwide Insurance, where she always exceeded the daily quotas for her position. Despite offers to move up in the business world, she missed the atmosphere of the university. She returned to campus in 1994, joining Sea Grant. B.J. Copeland was director at the time. “Sandra always has been very reliable. She’s been very capable. She always gets her job done,” he says. “It’s been a really great thing for Sea Grant that she’s been here.” Ronald Hodson succeeded Co-peland as director. He recalls Harris’ ability to easily adapt, be it to changes in the program’s leadership, or to technology advances, such as new database software and the increasing importance of the Internet for sharing research and outreach information. “I like working on computers,” Harris says. At times, posting text and photos for online stories was like assembling a puzzle. She also often used detective skills to track down information needed by colleagues, partners or the public. “I always was amazed by how efficient Sandra was. She seemed to know what I was C U R R E N T S C o n t i n u e d E-Ching Lee • TOP: Sandra Harris retired in October with 37 years of state service, 23 of those years with North Carolina Sea Grant. • BOTTOM: Vanda Lewis is a friendly face many may have seen at events involving Sea Grant. Vanda Lewis ensured that actions were completed in clear, efficient and cost-effective ways,” she adds, noting that those tasks have included more than a few reminders to the management team regarding delivery deadlines for materials being 28 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org going to request, especially with posting materials online, before I asked,” says E-Ching Lee, former managing editor of Coastwatch. “I also counted on her attention to detail. Sandra’s eagle eyes have caught many errors in our stories and products.” Harris enjoyed being part of the Coastwatch team. “I like the stories about the people,” she says. Favorites include a profile of Muzel Bryant of Ocracoke, and articles on the storytellers and fish house owners of Carteret County. “I love the recipes,” she adds. Sometimes the work was intense. Harris played a key role in the national distribution of seafood safety manuals for a number of years. That effort “took over my life,” she recalls. In 2004, she was selected by NC State’s then Office of Research and Graduate Studies to move to the university level of the Award for Ex-cellence competition. Now known as NC State’s Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, that office is administrative home for Sea Grant. With expansion of her Sea Grant communications duties, Harris’ official job title was updated in 2015 to university program associate. Her duties also have included managing distribution for Coastwatch and varied publications, and serving as a key contact for the National Sea Grant Library. But at a retirement reception for Harris, coworkers past and present especially wanted to note her kindness. “Her friendly nature has been an asset to the team,” Hodson says. Harris had immediate plans for a special vacation with her husband. The beach has a special lure, she says. “I love walking in the sun.” A graduate of Broughton High School in Raleigh, Harris has strong ties to the community. And her days now also will have a greater family focus, in particular spending more time with her mother and 14 grandchildren. Overall, she will enjoy setting her own schedule — and maybe some time for herself. “I may renew my membership in our bowling league,” she adds. DRIVING INTO THE SUNSET: NEW ADVENTURES BECKON AF TER RETIREMENT By E -Ching L e e Vanda Lewis likes to stay in the background. Officially, she is an administrative support specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant, based in Morehead City. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Colleagues have described her as organized, efficient, talented, trustworthy, committed, positive and supportive. If you’ve seen Sea Grant’s food photographs in Coastwatch magazine or on marinersmenu.org, you’ve glimpsed her work. If you’ve signed up for aquaculture workshops, C U R R E N T S • TOP L EF T: Sandra Harris says her favorite Coastwatch stories were personality profiles, including one on Muzel Bryant. • TOP R IGHT: Harris celebrated her retirement with retired directors Ronald Hodson and B.J. Copeland, and Susan White, current director. • BELOW: In 2004, Harris and Walter Clark, both with Sea Grant, received awards from NC State University. E-Ching Lee Ocracoke’s former slaves left the island. The only two African Americans to move from the mainland to Ocracoke were Muzel’s grandparents, Harkus and Winnie Blount. No one knows why the couple chose the island, but there is some speculation that Winnie’s former owner occasionally visited Ocracoke, according to Alton Ballance, a Bryant family friend. Ballance is the author of Ocracokers, a definitive work on the island’s culture and history. Like many island men, Harkus earned a living as a carpenter and a boat builder, while Winnie worked as a domestic. Few written 20 HOLIDAY 2004 COASTWATCH 21 C o n t i n u e d Vacationers on Ocracoke Island, lured by its pristine coastline and rich maritime culture, seldom notice the tiny, quiet woman who, at 100, is one of the island’s most cherished and unique residents. On most days, friends and neighbors passing by her house will look for her sitting in her recliner, positioned just right to see through the storm door. A woman of kind heart and few words, she always returns a wave hello. Meet Muzel Bryant, whose lineage on Ocracoke goes back to the Civil War. While history books were chronicling the resolve of the postwar American spirit, equally passionate and entrepreneurial African American families, such as the Bryants, often were left out of the story. Muzel is a rare link to that near-forgotten past. “She’s a treasure in Outer Banks history,” says Walt Wolfram, a sociolinguist from North Carolina State University. Wolfram has studied Muzel’s speech and her life for a decade. “She’s the last living African American who was born and still lives on Ocracoke.” The first African Americans arrived on the Outer Banks during the early 1700s as slaves brought from Virginia and Maryland, according to Wolfram. By the Civil War, coastal North Carolina had a significant slave population, and more than 100 slaves lived on Ocracoke. After the war ended in 1865, all of “As a small child, she remembered people sitting around talking about people that tried to fly,” says Muzel’s caretaker, Kenny Ballance, referring to the Wright brothers’ flight over Kitty Hawk in 1903. Despite the astounding changes in technology, world politics and culture during her lifetime, Muzel takes things in stride. “Well,” she admits with a shrug, “there have been a lot of changes.” JUST LIKE FAMILY? Growing up, the Bryant children may have seemed like any other group of siblings as they played by the shore and “mommucked” their elders, a local term meaning “to irritate or bother.” And although many in the community felt they accepted the Bryants “just like family,” Wolfram discovered that certain social boundaries once existed between Muzel’s family and other Ocracokers. “They didn’t go to school with the regular kids,” Howard says. “But the white kids their age would teach them.” “And Mu’ was always very proud of the fact that she could read,” she adds. Ironically, when the community celebrated Muzel’s 100th birthday last March, the party was held at the same school she and her siblings could not attend. As Wolfram learned more about Muzel’s life on the island, he uncovered other, more subtle examples of those social boundaries. At one time the island had a dance hall, he says, describing it as a simple wooden room with a record player and a few metal chairs. “When we asked Muzel if she used to go to the dance hall, she said she did,” he reports. “However, when we asked her if she liked to dance, she said she didn’t know because she had never gone in; instead, she stayed outside, watching the others through the window.” Those kind of educational and social boundaries, coupled with the isolation of island life, may explain why many of Muzel’s siblings left Ocracoke. All of the Bryants’ nine children, except Muzel, Mildred and Julius, settled on the mainland, either in North Carolina or in northern states. The youngest, John Thomas, moved to Elkin and was a chauffeur for the Reynolds family, of tobacco fame. Two of Muzel’s brothers, Lewis and Jeffrey, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and her oldest brother, Artis, joined the Merchant Marines. Muzel’s sisters were equally ambitious. Mildred worked in Washington, N.C., and Baltimore for nearly 15 years, returning to the island in the early 1940s. Mamie moved to Connecticut and later taught school in New York City, where she still lives with her daughter. Annie Laura lived in Washington, N.C., where she may have received some schooling, according to Alton Ballance in CELEBRATING A CENTURY: The Life of Muzel Bryant B y K a t h l e e n A n g i o n e TOP LEFT: Muzel Bryant, age 11 (1915). TOP RIGHT: Muzel, age 25 (1929). ABOVE: Today, at age 100, Muzel is one of Ocracoke’s most cherished residents and an important link to Outer Banks history. details about their life exist, but it was likely difficult. Of the couple’s 12 children, only two — Annie Laura and Elsie Jane — lived to adulthood. Elsie Jane married Leonard Bryant near the turn of the 20th century, and they chose to stay on Ocracoke. Between 1902 and 1924, they had nine children, including Muzel. She was born on March 12, 1904 — only 39 years after slavery ended and 50 years before the civil rights movement began. “The connection over the century is just amazing,” says Julie Howard, Muzel’s friend and former next-door neighbor. TOP: Back row, from left: Muzel’s parents, Elsie Jane and Leonard with family friend. Front Row, from left: Muzel’s sister Mildred, brothers Lewis and Artis, Muzel and cousin. MIDDLE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Muzel’s sister Mamie, brother Artis, sister Annie Laura, and Muzel’s son Charles, who was born in 1925 and died in 1988. LEFT: Leonard Bryant, a sexton at the Methodist church, appears here with Ocracoke resident Doris Garrish. All historic family photos courtesy of Muzel Bryant Scott Taylor CW Nov-Dec 04.indd 24-25 11/3/17 9:25 AM Katie Mosher worked on the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant program or visited the Sea Grant table at the N.C. Seafood Festival in Morehead City, you’ve likely crossed paths with Lewis. “She’s always the first to say, ‘What do you need? How can I help?’” says Barry Nash, Sea Grant seafood technology and marketing specialist. Having grown up in a family with deep roots in Down East Carteret County, Lewis brings authentic flavor — figuratively and literally — to her work. Her knowledge of the cultural institutions, history and traditions of the area’s fishing heritage enriches the program’s efforts. She has written popular blog posts to share recipes learned from her mother and mother-in-law, and her way of life growing up Down East. “My background has an impact on my work,” acknowledges Lewis, a Harkers Island native. She is out on the water regularly with her husband James, who holds a commercial fisherman’s license. “We have shrimped, clammed and fished. It gave me an appreciation for how hard the coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 29 C U R R E N T S fishermen work. It’s a hard living. I just appreciate what they do a lot more having done it myself,” she explains. “Vanda has made our program more efficient and effective because she understands the content we’re working on and also can explain the impact we have on other’s lives,” says Jack Thigpen, Sea Grant extension director, pointing to her ability to make sense out of random ideas or data. Jim Murray, Sea Grant extension director prior to Thigpen, notes that Lewis brought an intangible quality to the table. “Overlying her skill set was a lifelong commitment to the Sea Grant organization and philosophy. Vanda very much understood that Sea Grant serves the public and she truly gave of herself with an unselfish spirit of public service.” Her commitment to improving workplace morale is evident to others. “Vanda takes time out of her busy schedule to check in with me on both my work and family,” notes Jeff Buckel, a fisheries biologist at NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. “She has been the face of Sea Grant to our laboratory in Morehead City, and to groups residing in or visiting the coast.” Lewis has been a point person for Sea Grant’s collaborations at the central coast. That area is home to university marine science labs; offices of state and federal agencies; an aquarium, museums, parks and reserve; and countless state and local organizations and businesses that collaborate on events, projects and initiatives. Nash singles out Lewis’ contribution to the Mariner’s Menu blog. She prepares, photographs and posts recipes for that site. “She combines her knowledge of seasonal information about seafood and her own cooking expertise to make sure a home cook could do it. That’s huge because many people like to eat seafood, but they don’t know how to prepare it,” he explains. Nash notes that Lewis also has developed seafood recipes for coastal processors who wish to sell prepared foods made with local ingredients. She ensures that the flavor, texture, aroma and appearance of items appeal to a broad range of consumer expectations. “Vanda’s expertise in this area far surpasses my own,” he explains. “She has truly helped enhance the visibility of North Carolina seafood and the state’s commercial fishing industry to our citizens.” However, all good things come to an end: Lewis retires at the end of 2017, the same time as her husband James. “It was a hard decision,” Lewis says. “I’ve worked 30 years. Initially I wondered what I was going to do to fill my day but James solved that.” The pair has plans to drive off into the sunset in their brand-new RV. She hopes to find new images to capture with her camera — and maybe blog about the sights she sees. “I’ve learned new and more things, been exposed to a lot of different things about environment and fisheries and grants. So I’ve learned a lot along the way,” Lewis says about her three decades with Sea Grant. “I’ve always tried to accept changes that have come, and challenges. And go with it.” And this time, the changes might be in the scenery outside her RV window as Lewis navigates her way to new adventures and sights. • TOP: In 2009, Vanda Lewis, pictured with Bob Hines, then a Sea Grant fisheries specialist, was selected to advance to the university-level for an employee excellence award. • BOT TOM L EF T: Food photography is a passion Lewis discovered and honed while at Sea Grant. • BOT TOM R IGHT: Lewis prepares, photographs and posts recipes for the Mariner’s Menu blog. E-Ching Lee Vanda Lewis NC Sea Grant file photo 30 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S THERE’S A LOT TO BE LEARNED FROM A TRIP OUT ON THE WATER. At work and in regular, everyday conversation, I constantly talk about changing water levels, tide gauges, coastal inundation and relative sea-level rise. To really understand what these words mean, I’ve found it best to get outside — and on the water — to experience natural resources and the factors that affect them. Always a water lover growing up in a Great Lakes state, I found more to learn when I moved to the N.C. coastal town of Beaufort almost six years ago. With beautiful waters beckoning to me daily, I have taken advantage of my location to take more kayak, stand-up paddleboard and sailing trips out on the water than I can count. One of the most important friends I’ve met here is known simply as “the tide.” I quickly realized that the tide is here to stay whether I like it or not, so it’s best to make friends if possible. The tide usually is a predictable friend. I know it will change course about every 6 hours and 12.5 minutes, due to the incoming, or flood, tide and outgoing, or ebb, tide. Sometimes the tide is bigger than normal Gaining an Education on the Water: Appreciating the Forces of Nature B Y S A R A H S P I E G L E R • ABOVE: Horses cross the shallow waters of the NC Rachel Carson Reserve during the crisp fall weather. Sarah Spiegler The natural tidal rhythms, originally passing acquaintances, have become close friends. I always want to know what the tide is doing because how it changes will influence where I go on the water, the energy I will need for that day’s paddle, and what I might see. coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 31 P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S (higher high tides) or smaller than normal (lower low tides). Sometimes I wish the tide would change its pattern based on where I want to paddle that day. Paddling while fighting the tide AND the wind can take all the energy I have. The natural tidal rhythms, originally passing acquaintances, have become close friends. I always want to know what the tide is doing because how it changes will influence where I go on the water, the energy I will need for that day’s paddle, and what I might see. Depending on the time of day and water level, a habitat such as salt marsh can look completely different. Marsh vegetation and oyster reefs may be exposed at low tide or completely covered and hidden at high tide. I’ve lost a few flip-flops to this friend. Once, I almost lost my kayak and paddle, when they started to float away while I was on the other side of the sand bar behind the Rachel Carson Reserve, enjoying a day out on the water with friends. One of my companions turned back and rescued our kayaks just in time before they floated out to sea. Another challenge is coming to terms with the wind, a companion that constantly changes while out on the water. Wind speed and direction seem minor on a Friday night while sheltered from the elements in my house. But those factors become very relevant Saturday morning when sitting in a small paddlecraft exposed to the elements. It is a fun coincidence that the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, that estimates wind speed by observing conditions on land or at sea, has the name of my town. The scale was actually named after Sir Francis Beaufort in 1805. I’ve learned to respect the wind as I have the tide. Rather than fighting it, I know the importance of working smarter, not harder. This often means getting out of the wind by heading for the “lee” side of the island where the wind is blocked. Paddling close to shore can be safer as well, because there often is less current — and less boat traffic. SHARING THE JOYS Paddling vessels take you to the next destination, employing exclusively human power. One of my favorite parts of paddling is the ease of getting under way using my own strength. I also love the sense of accomplishment when propelling myself to explore new places, often sites unreachable and unobservable to someone in a motorboat. It is when I paddle back to shore under human power — against the wind, tide and current — that I learn the most about how the natural elements and the coastal environment are interwoven. Returning home after a challenging paddle and battling the elements, I feel like I have allowed Mother Nature to C o n t i n u e d • TOP: Shackleford Banks is visible from the eastern end of Bird Shoals on the Rachel Carson Reserve. • LEF T: Sometimes I race on my paddleboard too. • RIGHT: A whelk lays its eggs in a shell case at the Rachel Carson site of the N.C. Coastal Reserve. Michael Miller Photography/Crystal Coast TDA Sarah Spiegler Sarah Spiegler 32 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S teach me to have respect for something I cannot control. One of the most inspiring parts of being an instructor for the American Canoe Association, or ACA, is teaching people while they are out of their comfort zone. I’ve seen many paddle students persevere, overcoming the pesky forces of wind, tide, current and inclement weather. I enjoy witnessing a novice gain new confidence from something as simple as hopping on a kayak or a stand-up paddleboard. Earlier this year, I led University of North Carolina Wilmington students on a 10-mile round-trip paddle from Shell Point at Harkers Island to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. I was proud to see these students, many with minimal paddling experience, accomplish this daunting feat. The wind and current picked up on the return trip, when many were fighting fatigue, while making their way in an unfamiliar and sometimes harsh environment. Just as important, these students, many who were environmental studies majors, learned about coastal resources in an outdoor setting after a semester in a classroom. Rad. One of my favorite lines in a 2017 Paddling Trip Guide article by Rapid Media says, “Every time we paddle, we go on a trip … there is a going out and a returning home. We never return the same person that we left.” I agree. PADDLING THROUGH HISTORY I have been fortunate to introduce many people to the beautiful waters of “my front yard.” I am lucky that I can see a small sliver of the water of Taylors Creek peeking between houses across the street. A 30-second walk out my front door allows me to check on my friends the tide and wind. A short paddle across Taylors Creek leads me to the Rachel Carson Reserve, a 2,300-acre island that is strongly influenced by the tides. Part of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, it is home to over 200 species of birds, approximately 35 wild horses, a variety of fiddler crabs, foxes, rabbits, snakes, racoons, turtles, fish, snails and sea urchins, and an assortment of marsh grasses. Many people regularly venture out to the reserve for a day trip. From a neighbor’s porch, I can spot the waters of Back Sound on the backside of the Rachel Carson Reserve. Back Sound flows between State a nd n at ional p arks, a long w ith r eser ve s ites, of fer m any oppor tunit ies for paddlers o f a ll s kill levels. These a re m y f avor ite p addle t r ips i n m y “ f ront y ard”: • 1. Taylors Creek in Beaufort to the Rachel Carson Reserve. Skill level: Easy. • 2. Beaufort to Shackleford Banks, part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Skill level: Intermediate. • 3. Beaufort to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, located on Cape Lookout National Seashore. Skill level: Advanced. • 4. Shell Point on Harkers Island to Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Skill level: Intermediate. • 5. The Down East community of Davis to the National Park Service cabins on Great Island, South Core Banks, part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Skill level: Advanced. • 6. Hammocks Beach State Park to Bear Island. Skill level: Easy to intermediate. • ABOVE: My kayak lets me get up close and personal with aquatic life, such as this sea urchin along the central coast. Sarah Spiegler coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 33 P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S the reserve and Shackleford Banks, a barrier island shielding Beaufort from the Atlantic Ocean. One of the islands in Cape Lookout National Seashore, Shackleford Banks measures approximately eight miles from its western tip to its eastern end. Shackleford has lost about a mile of land on the western end over the past four years due to erosion. The eastern end of the island is separated by Barden Inlet from South Core Banks, home of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Cape Lookout National Seashore includes Shackleford Banks, South Core Banks and North Core Banks, which together comprise over 50 miles of undeveloped ocean shoreline. It is a calm and serene place, ideal to experience a changing wilderness. This incredibly unique island chain is hands down my favorite place anywhere in North Carolina. And it’s also a great place for paddling. The national seashore is a barrier island chain, so it is influenced by the elements — tides, currents, wind and storms. The islands are constantly changing and never look the same each time I go. Because of the protections afforded when Cape Lookout became a national seashore in 1966, there are no roads on the seashore, no housing developments and no bridge to reach its islands from the mainland. We are allowing this island chain to change in a dynamic way like Mother Nature intended. In a trip to Cape Lookout, I can feel the tide of history from the remnants of long-gone communities. Shackleford Banks is home to over 120 wild horses called banker ponies that are believed to be descendants of the horses that survived Spanish shipwrecks in the 16th century. In the 1800s, the best-known community was Diamond City — named after the diamonds on the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. The predominantly whaling and fishing community occupied the east end of Shackleford Banks. Residents were forced from the island by hurricanes at the end of the century and many fled to Morehead City, a reminder of the harsh and ever-changing nature of a barrier island. A cemetery located in the middle of the maritime forest on Shackleford holds the remains of many of those who once called the island home. Now a museum, the Cape Lookout Lighthouse quarters once housed lightkeepers who lived in a harsh environment before modern conveniences. These resilient and gritty sentinels kept the oil burning daily to light the Fresnel lamp, climbing 201 steps to the top of the lighthouse from 1812 until 1950, when the light was automated. Now, only wildlife are resident on the National Seashore islands. Human visitors can swim, fish, bird, shell, hunt, boat, paddle, sail, hike and camp on these islands. Some spend the night sleeping in a tent bathed in the light of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse or nestled into the maritime forest of Shackleford Banks. One of my favorite sights while sitting around a campfire at “Shack” (as Shackleford Banks is affectionately referred to by locals) is the sight of a herd of wild horses trotting quietly down the beach. Just writing this makes me excited for the next time I can venture out on my next paddle trip. Sarah Spiegler is an avid outdoor enthusiast, American Canoe Association kayak and stand-up paddleboard instructor, a wilderness first responder, and has worked on sailboats in North Carolina and New Zealand. She previously served as the outreach specialist for the NOAA North Carolina Sentinel Site Cooperative. SAFE T Y T IP S • Respect the power of nature. Always check the wind, weather and tides before you leave. Postpone your trip until you have better conditions, if necessary. Stay updated when out on the water of changing conditions with numerous free apps on your smartphone. • Know your limits — be aware of your abilities. Do not paddle in conditions that are beyond your skill level. • Always wear your personal floatation device when you are paddling. Also, wear your leash, if you are on a stand-up paddleboard. Leave a float plan with a friend. Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, a rain jacket, shoes to protect your feet from oyster reefs, first-aid supplies, and a cell phone in a waterproof container. • If you are a beginner, plan your trips paddling with the tide, and then have a friend pick you up at your destination. Or, plan to start your trip paddling against the tide and paddle as far as you can, and then change directions and “ride” the tide back home. Paddling against the tide at the end of a trip often can feel overwhelming for a beginner and results in fatigue. When on a stand-up paddleboard, paddle against the wind when starting your trip for similar reasons. • If you are paddling in a new place, seek advice from local paddlers. They are usually happy to share tips and local knowledge about the area before you set out on your trip. • Above all, don’t forget a sense of adventure. Without that, all is lost. • ABOVE: I led a group of students from the University of North Carolina Wilmington on a paddle trip through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Sarah Spiegler 34 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org NORTH CAROLINA SEA GRANT CONTINUES TO OFFER FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS. Three new recipients are sponsored through Sea Grant collaborations with N.C. Space Grant and the Albemarle- Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. “These partnerships allow students to have unique opportunities for applied research on current topics. This allows for interdisciplinary exploration,” notes Susan White, Sea Grant executive director. SEA GRANT/SPACE GRANT Newly appointed graduate fellows will use satellite and remote-sensing data to explore oyster reefs and storm impacts on the North Carolina coast. They will be supported by North Carolina’s Space Grant and Sea Grant programs. Both are federal/state partnerships. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration houses the National Sea Grant College Program, while the National Partnerships Beget Fellowships NC Sea Grant Offers Joint Funding with NC Space Grant, APNEP B Y M A R I S A I N C R E M O N A Aeronautics and Space Administration hosts the Space Grant network. Learn more at ncspacegrant.org. “It is exciting for these programs to continue to provide specialized support for students,” notes Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant and North Carolina Space Grant. “NASA and NOAA have extensive data sets, with more being gathered every day. Our graduate fellows are using the information and visualizations to consider very real issues in our coastal communities.” ANNA W INDLE is a master’s student at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, studying coastal environmental management. Her advisor is David Johnston, based at the Duke Marine Laboratory. Windle will evaluate the impacts of commercial oyster harvest on reef health. She will work with her colleague, Sarah Poulin, also a master’s student at Duke. “This project will help to inform N.C. coastal managers about the current state of oyster reef health, and ultimately will act as a base level of oyster-reef health imagery and analysis for future studies,” Windle explains. She completed her bachelor’s degree in environmental science at Washington College in Maryland. Recently, Windle served as a research intern with Duke’s Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab in Beaufort. Currently, she is president of Duke’s student chapter of The Coastal Society. She is originally from Elkton, Maryland. LAURA M CGEE is a doctoral student at North Carolina State University, in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. Her advisor is Ruoying He, director of the Ocean Observing and Modeling Group. S E A S C I E N C E Anna Windle coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 35 McGee will research hurricane impacts on phytoplankton blooms and air/ sea carbon exchange off the North Carolina coast. “My work will quantify the two competing mechanisms that produce carbon caused by hurricanes and will shed light on the role of hurricanes on ocean acidification and climate change,” McGee shares. McGee completed her bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Recently, she worked with the Scientific Research and Education Network, or SciREN, to create a lesson plan for classroom teachers. She also has participated in several educational outreach efforts through NC State. She originally is from Winston-Salem. SEA GRANT/APNEP North Carolina Sea Grant and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership have selected MOLLIE YACANO as the programs’ 2018 joint fellow. “This partnership allows students to have hands-on research experience with local estuaries,” says John Fear, deputy director of Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system. The competitive fellowship, now in its third year, enables graduate students whose institutions are based in either North Carolina or Virginia, to conduct applied research within the North Carolina portion of the APNEP region. “Ms. Yacano’s research has relevance to multiple strategic priorities and goals of our partnership. Thus, we hold great anticipation for a successful project that will have widespread science and policy benefits,” explains Dean Carpenter, APNEP program scientist. Yacano is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences. Her advisor is Michael Piehler. S E A S C I E N C E She will look at how nitrogen is processed in sediments associated with the invasive genotype of Phragmites australis, also known as common reed. She will compare it with the native genotype of P. australis, as well as other dominant native marsh grasses. Marshes are known to act as buffer zones for excess man-made nitrogen, and often are considered the last line of defense before this nitrogen makes its way into adjacent estuarine waters and eventually the open ocean. “Understanding how invasive species, such as P. australis, change marsh ecosystem functions is vital in order to maintain and protect ecosystems on both local and global scales,” Yacano notes. She originally is from Richmond, Virginia, and completed her bachelor’s degree in marine science at Boston University. During her undergraduate career, Yacano worked on fisheries and environmental archaeology. She also has participated in numerous science-related educational outreach efforts in the Boston area. The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership is a cooperative effort hosted by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and receives funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more at apnep.org. For more about North Carolina Sea Grant fellowships, go to ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/fellowships. Or, contact John Fear at jmfear@ncsu.edu. Laura McGee Mollie Yacano 36 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org FALLING FOR OYSTERS Photos by Vanda Lewis • GARLIC BUTTER OYSTERS • GOLDEN-BROWN FRIED OYSTERS • BAKED OYSTERS WITH BACON MARINER’S MENUcoastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 37 AS T HE E LDEST O F T HREE G IRL S, I ’VE
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Full Text | Coastwatch S P A C E G R A N T • G H O S T F O R E S T S • E C O S Y S T E M B E N E F I T S • S T O R M R E S P O N S E S • H O L I D A Y • 2 0 1 7 • I S S U E 5 • $ 3 . 7 5 INSIGHT, PERCEPTION & RESILIENCE Collaborative Research Benefits Communities N O R T H C A R O L I N A S E A G R A N T Alamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Beaufort Bertie Bladen Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Caswell Catawba Chatham Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Davidson Dare Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Halifax Harnett Henderson Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lenoir Lincoln McDowell Macon Madison Martin Mitchell Moore Nash Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pender Person Pitt Polk Robeson Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey PKY 40 40 40 85 95 77 85 26 Asheville Asheboro Greensboro Durham Charlotte Raleigh Nags Head Washington Jacksonville Wilmington Fayetteville Morehead City New Bern Rocky Mount Winston-Salem Haywood Buncombe Avery Pasquotank Perquimans Currituck Camden Chowan Randolph Montgomery Mecklenburg Rockingham Lee Richmond Forsyth Guilford Carteret Hertford Brunswick Cherokee New Hanover I N T H I S I S S U E CONTRIBUT ING WRI T ER S : Brad Buck Danielle Costantini Diana Hackenburg Sandra Harris Jane Harrison Marisa Incremona E-Ching Lee Katie Mosher Melissa Schneider Lindsey Smart Sarah Spiegler CONTRIBUT ING PHOTOGR APHER S : Don Behringer April Blakeslee Brett Cottrell Brian Crawford Barbara Doll Jane Harrison Hank Hodde Cliff Hollis Bill Ingalls E-Ching Lee Vanda Lewis Missy McGaw Baxter Miller Katie Mosher Raúl Omar Ortiz Scott Sauer Stopher Slade Lindsey Smart Sarah Spiegler Scott Taylor Chuck Weirich Roger Winstead North Carolina’s diverse coast offers countless interesting subjects. The map indicates story settings in this issue — including Beaufort, Bertie, Dare and Carteret counties. Coastwatch Thankfulness is my year-round state of mind. In life, all things must change and evolve to fit current and future anticipated needs. From team retirements and departures to welcoming new partners, North Carolina Sea Grant has experienced its fair share of change this year — and will continue to do so in the coming year. In 2017, we said goodbye to team members with a combined total of more than eight decades of service to our program and the state. The list includes Sandra Harris and Vanda Lewis, two long-serving members of our team, as well as Coastwtach managing editor E-Ching Lee. Find out more about Sandra and Vanda on page 27. At the same time, we are welcoming new partners through collaborations with North Carolina Space Grant. In the coming months, we look forward to new perspectives from incoming hires for our extension director and communications team. Change also comes through identifying a new suite of research collaborations. These partnerships continue to strengthen Sea Grant’s critical connection to the needs of communities across our coastal regions, as well as with the interests of young scientists in the making. Some may find regular cycles of change challenging. Personally, I find them invigorating for this program, as well as for the individuals who are change-makers, both past and future! The opportunities to integrate new ideas, new energy and new perspectives enable Sea Grant to be responsive to our team’s need to grow. Fresh input also allows the program to collaborate in different ways with our many partners and the variety of coastal interests at our collective table. I am thankful for the opportunity I have had to continue to learn from our team this year and look forward to new opportunities to do so in the coming year. A State of Thanks: Reflecting on Transformation and Renewal F R O M T H E E X E C U T I V E D I R E C T O R As we close out the 2017 hurricane season, I also am thankful that North Carolina’s direct storm impacts were minimal this year as our state continues to rebuild and recover from the storms of 2016. The National Sea Grant network, including our North Carolina team, is working closely to support each program’s response and recovery actions to the series of severe hurricanes across the Atlantic, Gulf and Caribbean coasts. These efforts move forward at the same time we still are addressing the long-term needs of communities post-Hurricane Matthew here and in other states. The short- and long-term recovery needs of communities across the nation will continue to shape local, state and national policy. Activities could include developing best practices to implement proactive storm preparedness. We also seek to understand the reality of response and recovery actions that are most effective from local and national perspectives. And we continue to finely tune the ever-evolving chorus of risk communications designed to save lives and property. I am thankful for the overall excellence that underpins the work of our team and partners. These efforts highlight the positive impacts that individuals and communities along the coast and throughout the watersheds have made — and will continue to make — in so many places that we treasure. I am thankful we can, and will, continue to share these coastal stories with you. In the year ahead, I hope that you will have many opportunities to experience the steady rhythms of our coast, mixed with the constant change that time brings to all things. I wish you and your family all the best this coming year! I am thankful for your ongoing support for North Carolina Sea Grant. If you have coastal stories to share, you can reach me at snwhite3@ncsu.edu. I always enjoy hearing from you. —Susan White, Executive Director, North Carolina Sea Grant FEATURES COASTAL TIDINGS................................................................................ 2 WORKING TOGETHER Communities Collaborate, Engage with Researchers Find out about new projects that continue to bring scientists and communities together. ..................................................................................... 6 EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS: Space Grant is on the Move Katie Mosher describes how North Carolina Space Grant is helping future explorers. ..............................................................................................14 • Unraveling Mysteries of Ghost Forests Lindsey Smart discovers how saltwater intrusion is affecting maritime forests surrounding the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound. ..............................17 • Making the Most of Oyster Reef Filtering Seth Theuerkauf develops a tool to identify reef restoration areas that will optimize ecosystem benefits. ..............................................................18 BOOTS IN THE FIELD Sea Grant Participates in Hurricane Recovery Here’s a snapshot of Sea Grant’s efforts after major storms. .....................20 • Going with the Flow: Evaluating Flood Mitigation of the Cashie River Danielle Costantini outlines how Sea Grant and its partners are helping Windsor recover from Hurricane Matthew. .............................22 • Hurricane Assessment: Improving National Weather Service Operations Jane Harrison explains her work on a team that evaluated the National Weather Service response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. ...........................................................................................23 • Around the Network: Sea Grant Programs Respond to Hurricane Destruction In Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Puerto Rico, Sea Grant programs are rebuilding their communities. ...........................................................25 CURRENTS: Celebrating Two Colleagues Look back on the contributions of Sandra Harris and Vanda Lewis to North Carolina Sea Grant. ............................................................................ 27 PEOPLE AND PLACES: Gaining an Education on the Water: Appreciating the Forces of Nature Sarah Spiegler reflects on lessons learned while paddling the waters around the Crystal Coast. .............................................................................30 SEA SCIENCE: Partnerships Beget Fellowships NC Sea Grant Offers Joint Funding with NC Space Grant, APNEP Three new fellows receive funding to explore coastal issues. ....................34 MARINER’S MENU: Falling for Oysters Enjoy fresh and simple oyster recipes — just in time for the holidays. .... 36 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 1 Coastwatch 2 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org NATIONALOCEANIC ANDATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION US DEPARTMENTOFCOMMERCE Coastwatch North Carolina Sea Grant • 2017 • Holiday • Issue 5 Editor Katie Mosher Managing Editor E-Ching Lee Contributing Editors Barbara Branca Diana Hackenburg Designer Linda Noble Circulation Manager Sandra Harris The North Carolina Sea Grant College Program is a federal/state program that promotes stewardship of coastal and marine resources through research and outreach. It joined the National Sea Grant College Network in 1970 as an institutional program. Six years later, it was designated a Sea Grant College. Today, North Carolina Sea Grant supports research projects, an extension program and a communications staff. Susan White is executive director. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the state through the University of North Carolina. Coastwatch (ISSN: 1068-784X; USPS Periodical # 010464) is published five times a year (January/February, March/April/May, June/July, August/September/October, November/ December) by the North Carolina Sea Grant College Program, North Carolina State University, Box 8605, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-8605. Telephone: 919-515-2454. Fax: 919-515-7095. Subscriptions are $15. Email: katie_mosher@ncsu.edu URL: ncseagrant.org Periodical Postage paid at Raleigh, N.C. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Coastwatch, North Carolina Sea Grant, North Carolina State University, Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. FRONT COVER: Aerial photo of the Outer Banks by Baxter Miller. TABLE OF CONTENTS: Graphic based on photo of snapper by Vanda Lewis. PRINTED O N R ECYCLED PAPER. Enjoy Winter Birding This year marks the 10th anniversary of the North Carolina Birding Trail. A reception celebrating the occasion was held in late October at the National Wildlife Refuges Visitor Center on Roanoke Island. Kristin Cooper, self-professed amateur birder and First Lady of North Carolina, gave opening remarks. “It’s been a pleasure to see how communities throughout the state have embraced birding as a way to encourage ecotourism and lifelong learning,” shares Jack Thigpen, a founding member of the trail and North Carolina Sea Grant extension director. The organization has identified over 300 birding sites across the state and published regional birding guides through the University of North Carolina Press. Another birding event, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, will be from Dec. 14 to Jan. 5. Nationwide, tens of thousands of citizen North Carolina First Lady Kristin Cooper (center) with Audubon executive director Heather Hahn (left) and director of strategy and government relations, Greg Andeck (right). Brian Crawford/Audubon North Carolina C O A S T A L T I D I N G S scientists will participate in the annual bird census event. To learn more, visit audubon.org, hover over the Conservation tab, and click on Science. — M.I. Survey Says: Wildlife Watching on the Rise The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published the preliminary 2016 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife- Associated Recreation report. This survey provides information on the number of people who engaged in outdoor-associated wildlife activity, those activities in which they engaged, and the money they spent on their activities in 2016. The survey, which is conducted every five years, notes that participation in fishing and wildlife watching went up, but the number of hunters dropped by about 2 million people in the last five years. The most significant increases in participation involve watching — observing, feeding and photographing — wildlife. Expenditures by wildlife watchers rose 28 percent between 2011 and 2016. Find more information, on this and other surveys, at wsfrprograms.fws.gov. Select National Survey in the left menu. — E.L. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey found that more people participated in fishing and wildlife watching in 2016 than in 2011. Missy McGaw/N.C. WRC coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 3 Brett Cottrell/New Hanover County C O A S T A L T I D I N G S This composite image shows the progression of a partial solar eclipse over Ross Lake, in Northern Cascades National Park, Washington, on Aug. 21, 2017. Eclipse Star Party Shares Success Nearly 100,000 people participated in the Carolinas Solar Eclipse Party, hosted by North Carolina Space Grant and Morehead Planetarium, with events throughout North and South Carolina. The tally included people who attended events and those who viewed the educational videos created for the eclipse. “Throughout the summer, talk of the eclipse was a buzz everywhere — on the news, via social media, in local restaurants and beauty salons. I was truly inspired to see and hear the excitement,” shares Jobi Cook, North Carolina Space Grant associate director. “The Solar Eclipse Parties gave the public a place to learn, discover and witness the solar eclipse — whether total or partial — in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere,” she continues. “We plan to build upon that excitement as we plan for the next big space event: the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 2019.” Space Grant also will support the North Carolina Statewide Star Party, part of the North Carolina Science Festival in April 2018. The Morehead Planetarium continues to hold monthly sky events on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Find out more at moreheadplanetarium.org. — M.I. Winter Activities Abound Enjoy the culture of the North Carolina coast throughout the holiday season with festivals and events. Visit Harkers Island Dec. 2 and 3 for two events. The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center is hosting the Waterfowl Weekend. Updates are at coresound.com. In addition, the Core Sound Decoy Guild holds its annual Core Sound Decoy Festival at Harkers Island Elementary School. The guild is celebrating 30 years with an event the evening of Dec. 2. For more details, visit decoyguild.com/decoyfestival. The Swan Days Festival celebrates the return of the Alaskan tundra swan to the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. Held Dec. 9, this event is an opportunity to learn about the history of Lake Mattamuskeet and the Native Americans who are indigenous to the area. Activities are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To learn more, see swandays.com. Beloved in Wilmington, Enchanted Airlie is a signature event of the Airlie Gardens. Through the end of the year, enjoy sparkling lights and festive sounds as you stroll half a mile through the gardens. Order your tickets at airliegardens.org/events-news/enchanted-airlie. Visit the N.C. Aquarium at Fort Fisher in December and experience the 2017 Cape Fear Festival of Trees. Visitors can admire dazzling, decorated trees against the backdrop of the aquarium. For a list of events at all aquariums, visit ncaquariums.com. Celebrate the history of North Carolina with the 114th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight. Visit the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills Dec. 17 beginning at 9 a.m. to learn about this historic event. For details, go to outerbanks.org. — D.C. Enjoy the mild weather at the coast while strolling through the Airlie Gardens decorated with lights and music. Bill Ingalls/NASA WRRI Hosts 20th Conference The Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system, or WRRI, is currently accepting abstracts for its conference, now in its 20th year. The event will be March 14 to 15 at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh. Each year, the gathering highlights diverse topics in water research, management and policy in North Carolina. Students, researchers, professionals and community representatives are encouraged to attend. “We will offer presentations, panels, posters and networking. We especially strive to involve students and encourage them to share their research,” notes Nicole Wilkinson, WRRI coordinator for research and outreach. Registration and a detailed agenda will be available in January. For more information, or to inquire about opportunities to present your research, visit go.ncsu.edu/wrriac or email Nicole Wilkinson at nicole_wilkinson@ncsu.edu. — M.I. Roger Winstead/NC State University Statewide water concerns will be addressed during next year’s conference. Webinar to Focus on Matthew Response, Recovery The N.C. Water Resources Research Institute, or WRRI, will host a webinar on community response to and recovery from Hurricane Matthew in early 2018. This is a follow-up to a panel session hosted by the Water Resources Committee for the N.C. American Water Works Association at their annual conference in Raleigh. In that session, agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Geological Survey, and local water utilities discussed their response to the storm. The webinar would include perspectives from communities that continue to be affected by Matthew more than a year after the storm. “In the past year, I have learned a great deal about the lasting effects of the storm, the limbo that folks are in, and the ongoing social and lifestyle implications of storm impacts and slow recovery,” says Nicole Wilkinson, who is helping to plan this meeting. “It is important to learn about local community perspectives about storm recovery. We wanted to ensure this side of the story also is told.” Wilkinson is coordinator for research and outreach for WRRI, and serves on the AWWA Water Resources Committee. Keep an eye on the WRRI website, wrri.ncsu.edu, for details. — E.L. Bland and Ann Cary Simpson have collaborated on books that celebrate the coastal region. Simpson Honored with Caldwe l l Award Bland Simpson has received the 2017 John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities. The North Carolina Humanities Council’s highest honor “recognizes those exceptional individuals who, throughout their lives and careers, have strengthened the educational, cultural, and civic life of North Carolinians.” He was selected for his numerous achievements as a professor, author, musician and environmentalist, as well as for his work as a North Carolina public humanities advocate. Simpson has written numerous books with coastal themes, some with his wife, photographer Ann Cary Simpson. Excerpts have been featured in Coastwatch, including from Little Rivers and Waterway Tales: A Carolinian’s Eastern Streams in the Winter 2016 issue. He encourages readers to be aware. “Let us keep our eyes on every rivulet and rill, every creek, crick, branch, run, stream, prong, fork, river, pocosin, swamp, basin, estuary, cove, bay and sound,” he notes. “Let us make our many waters living models to the world.” Earlier this year, Simpson was the featured speaker at North Carolina Sea Grant’s Coastal Conference. He is a Kenan Distinguished Professor of English and Creative Writing — an honor reserved for exceptional faculty — at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Learn about Simpson’s books, published through the University of North Carolina Press, at uncpress.org/author/bland-simpson/. — M.I. Scott Taylor/Courtesy UNC Press 4 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org Hurricane Matthew moves along the southeastern U.S. coast on Oct. 8, 2016. NASA/NOAA GOES Project C O A S T A L T I D I N G S Recently Published Papers Include Sea Grant Research Several recent peer-reviewed papers on coastal research have involved scientists with funding from North Carolina Sea Grant and its partners. Topics included oyster reefs and invasive marsh grass. • Justin Ridge, Antonio B. Rodriguez and Joel Fodrie. Evidence of Exceptional Oyster-Reef Resilience to Fluctuations in Sea Level. Ecology and Evolution. doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3473. • Jason Peters, David Eggleston, Brandon Puckett and Seth Theuerkauf. Oyster Demographics in Harvested Reefs vs. No-Take Reserves: Implications for Larval Spillover and Restoration Success. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi.org/10.3389/ fmars.2017.00326. • Seth Theuerkauf, David Eggleston, Kathrynlynn Theuerkauf, Brandon Puckett and Ethan Theuerkauf. Density-Dependent Role of an Invasive Marsh Grass, Phragmites australis, on Ecosystem Service Provision. PLOS ONE. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173007. Ridge was a former Sea Grant and N.C. Coastal Reserve fellow. Seth Theuerkauf conducted Phragmites research as a coastal research fellow, and oyster research as a Sea Grant/North Carolina Space Grant fellow. — E.L. Several North Carolina Sea Grant-funded researchers have published peer-reviewed papers focused on oyster reefs and marsh grass. Roger Winstead/NC State University Courtesy Sturgeon City coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 5 Collaborative Proposals Due in February North Carolina Sea Grant seeks applications for its Community Collaborative Research Grant Program, or CCRG. This is part of an ongoing partnership with the William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science at NC State University. “The initial CCRG projects already have shown great return on the investments. Results have included needed data, informative exhibits and community discussions,” says John Fear, Sea Grant deputy director. “We look forward to the new round of applications.” Funded projects will pair coastal communities with university researchers to study high-priority coastal issues that meet Sea Grant’s mission. Applications are due Feb. 12, 2018. The research is varied and involves many parts of coastal communities. Read the final report for a CCRG project — a pilot study offering cape shark in Cape Hatteras Secondary School’s cafeteria — at go.ncsu.edu/STS_capeshark. The findings also are summarized as part of the Blue Economy series at ncseagrant. ncsu.edu/blueeconomy. In addition, previous projects have been chronicled as blog posts on the Sea Grant website, written up as Coastwatch stories and featured on UNC-TV. Find out more about the CCRG program at ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/ccrg. Go to page 6 to learn about recently funded projects. — E.L. BELOW: A collaborative project at Sturgeon City was featured on UNC-TV. The North Carolina Aquaculture Development Conference is set for March 7 to 10 in New Bern. The annual meeting brings together the interested public, current and prospective fish farmers, scientists, and others who want to know more about finfish and shellfish aquaculture in the state. Chuck Weirich, North Carolina Sea Grant marine aquaculture specialist, will provide updates on marine aquaculture in the state, including research and outreach projects. “Several of our researchers and partners will participate, including South Carolina Sea Grant,” Weirich says. The event will be held at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center, the same venue as last year but in a larger space. The events on March 10 will focus specifically on marine aquaculture. Participants can engage in aquaponics workshops on March 7. A freshwater farm tour is March 8 with conference presentations on March 9. The famous Cultured Seafood Festival will take place on the evening of March 9, and is billed as “all you care to eat.” For more information and to register, visit ncaquaculture.org. Early bird registration pricing is applicable until Feb. 22. — M.I. Scott Taylor C O A S T A L T I D I N G S On Saturday, March 10, the conference will focus on marine aquaculture. Sea Grant Specialist Joins Food Safety Committee Barry Nash, North Carolina Sea Grant seafood technology and marketing specialist, is representing the state on a nationwide steering committee focused on food safety. He recently joined the Seafood HACCP Alliance Steering Committee for the Association of Food & Drug Officials. Nash is one of several representatives from Sea Grant programs nationwide on the committee. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point — HACCP — addresses food safety through the analysis and control of hazards from the receipt of raw ingredients and their manufacturing to the distribution and consumption of the finished product. The program is managed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The steering committee develops and administers safety-training programs for the seafood industry and regulators worldwide. Nash has supervised or participated in teaching 25 seafood HACCP workshops for handlers in the state. — E.L. National Sea Grant Director Jon Pennock, top left, joined Sea Grant professionals, including North Carolina’s Barry Nash, bottom right, who serve on the Seafood HACCP Alliance steering committee. Courtesy National Sea Grant Program 2018 NC AQUACULTURE CONFERENCE OPENS REGISTRATION 6 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org Working Baxter Miller B Y D I A N A H A C K E N B U R G Communities • BELOW: The Community Collaborative Research Grant program pairs local knowledge with scientific expertise to address pressing coastal issues. coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 7 Together Inspiration comes in many forms: a vibrant cultural festival, getting a bird’s-eye view of the coast, fighting an invasion of the living dead. These are among the unique experiences galvanizing five new projects receiving funding from the N.C. Community Collaborative Research Grant program. In its second year, the program leverages support from the William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science at North Carolina State University with funding from North Carolina Sea Grant. “Our initial round of funding in 2016 proved successful in achieving research and outreach outcomes for local communities, so we were eager to continue supporting new community-based collaborations,” shares Susan White, Sea Grant executive director. “We are excited about the possibilities these projects present — and the enduring value and impact that will result as we work together to address issues and opportunities advancing the economic and social well-being of our state,” adds Raj Narayan, associate director of the Kenan Institute. “The newly selected projects will continue to build on Sea Grant's vision and leadership for community engagement and empowerment.” John Fear, deputy director of Sea Grant, also notes the communities’ involvement as a program strength. “The selected projects strongly adhere to the spirit and intent of the original mission, with scientists and local experts working together as a team.” That emphasis on collaboration appeals to the teams as well. “When you have that partner in the community, you get research that is really meaningful and addresses a problem that needs to be solved,” says Whitney Knollenberg, a lead investigator on one of the new projects. “It is not research just for the sake of research.” C o n t i n u e d Collaborate, Engage with Researchers 8 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org RISING: A VISUAL AND ORAL HISTORY PERSPECTIVE OF CLIMATE-RELATED CHANGE ON NORTH CAROLINA’S INNER AND OUTER BANKS Baxter Miller of Stancil, Miller, & Co., with Barbara Garrity- Blake of Duke Marine Lab, Christine Avenarius of East Carolina University, Karen Willis Amspacher of the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center, Alton Ballance of the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching, Ben Cahoon of Cahoon & Kasten Architects and the UNC Coastal Studies Foundation, Stan Riggs of East Carolina University, Ryan Stancil of Bit & Grain, Susan West of Coastal Voices, and Jessica Whitehead of North Carolina Sea Grant “The stories told by those who live, work, worship, celebrate, grieve and experience life on our coast often transcend political discourse,” Miller explains. “We want to bring the stories out from behind the data, numbers and science and bring these narratives to life in a way that communicates the threats and the CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • A helicopter tour offered Baxter Miller a new perspective on the places she had known as a child. • She gained a better appreciation for the fragility and isolation of barrier islands. • The team plans to combine oral histories and photography into a traveling exhibit. • Coastal North Carolina is vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Living at the water’s edge, coastal North Carolinians are the gatekeepers of stories about coastal change and community resilience. Team leader Baxter Miller will combine coastal residents’ insights on the past and perceptions of the future with modern fine art photography. Her goal is to create a new focal point for starting conversations about the increasing threats from climate change. “The stories told by those who live, work, worship, celebrate, grieve and experience life on our coast often transcend political discourse. We want to bring the stories out from behind the data, numbers and science and bring these narratives to life in a way that communicates the threats and the seriousness of these issues.” — BAX TER MI L LER Baxter Miller Baxter Miller Baxter Miller Baxter Miller coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 9 C o n t i n u e d seriousness of these issues.” Inspiration for the project came from a helicopter tour that offered Miller a new perspective on the places she knew intimately from a childhood on the coast. “Rising above the surface to see this tiny spit of land, I gained a whole new apprecia-tion for the isolation and dynamic fragility of our barrier island system, as well as the resilience of its people.” Studying those photographs afterward, Miller and fellow team member Ryan Stancil “had a lightbulb hit us both at the same time: We need to explore this with oral history.” They recruited a number of well-known and respected community partners to join them, along with an expert on the science of climate change and community planning, Sea Grant’s Jessica Whitehead. “I’ve given a lot of scientific presentations, but people always really want to know what climate change will do to their backyard,” Whitehead says. “It’s hard to connect with a line on a graph. But what your neighbor sees, and what it means for her life and livelihood, is a whole other story.” The partners plan to identify a diverse set of stakeholders for a series of oral history interviews that will be analyzed and synthesized alongside aerial photographs into a traveling exhibit. Stops will include locations on the coast, as well as in eastern North Carolina and in the Triangle. People also can follow along with the project via Facebook. Ensuring the research had a practical, outreach component was really important to the design of this project. “People, including planners and community managers, don’t necessarily take these things seriously until there’s a perceived immediate threat. Our hope is to heighten awareness so planning occurs sooner rather than later,” Miller says. IDENTIFYING THE CRITERIA CONSUMERS USE TO SELECT VALUE-ADDED SEAFOOD Ryan Speckman and Lin Peterson of Locals Seafood, with Tom Armstrong of Vinnie's Steakhouse and Tavern, and Barry Nash of North Carolina Sea Grant Would you be more willing to try local seafood at home if it required little time or skills in the kitchen? That’s what the owners of Locals Seafood hope to find out by testing and developing ready-to- cook and ready-to- eat products like marinated fillets, dips and meal kits. “We want to figure out how to get more local seafood on people’s plates,” explains co-owner Ryan Speckman, who describes Locals as an inland fish house. “Our core belief is in helping North Carolina’s seafood CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • Spanish mackerel is an underutilized species that Ryan Speckman and his team want to offer. • The researchers seek to learn consumers’ perceptions of aquacultured oysters. • The team’s goal is to get more local seafood on people’s plates. • Speckman, left, co-owns Locals Seafood with Lin Peterson. Courtesy Locals Seafood Courtesy Locals Seafood Courtesy Locals Seafood Courtesy Locals Seafood 10 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org manufacture healthy, transportable meals made with local seafood,” Nash explains. He will lead focus groups and the distribution of a survey to learn consumers’ preferences and expectations for taste, nutrition, convenience and price. Then, the team will give products developed by Chef Tom Armstrong of Vinnie’s Steakhouse in Raleigh to individuals from the focus groups to try at home. They hope initially to present their findings at local conferences. The next step will be looking for ways to produce these food items on a larger scale. “But first we need to develop the markets for these species and products. It’s an opportunity to think outside the box and work together to come up with solutions,” Speckman says. INVESTIGATING BIOLOGICAL INVASIONS IN N.C. COASTS AND ESTUARIES: FROM A TO ZOMBIE April M.H. Blakeslee of East Carolina University, with Tom Stroud and Russ Chesson of the North Carolina Estuarium, and Kayla Clark of East Carolina An invasion of the body snatchers is happening now in North Carolina’s waters. Though not exactly the zombie apocalypse, industry and this could be a way of providing new opportunities for expanding local markets.” As evidenced by the rise of pre-packaged foods and meal-kit businesses, many Americans are looking for fresh, healthy options that fit with busy lifestyles. “Nearly two-thirds of consumers believe protein aids weight loss and one-third believe it boosts metabolism. Marine species tend to be high in protein, low in fat and contain heart-healthy omega-3s,” says team member Barry Nash, Sea Grant’s seafood technology and marketing specialist. While convenience products aren’t necessar-ily unique, this team will explore them from a new angle by focusing on less-known species caught by North Carolina commer-cial fishermen. “We hope that adding convenience will increase the likelihood someone is willing to try something they have never heard of before, like cape shark or amberjack,” Speckman notes. He adds that featuring underutilized fish also could help keep the final price points reasonable while still increasing what the fishermen get paid at the dock. “We want to figure out how to get more local seafood on people’s plates. Our core belief is in helping North Carolina’s seafood industry and this could be a way of providing new opportunities for expanding local markets.” — RYAN S P ECKMAN “Product development is time-consuming and costly, and processors have limited capital. Sea Grant helps processors develop and safely CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • A parasite has been infecting North Carolina mud crabs, making them sterile and tricking the crabs into caring for the invader’s young. • April Blakeslee and her students conduct surveys of the crabs along the Pamlico and Neuse rivers every six to eight weeks. • Blakeslee depends on citizen scientists to help collect mud crabs for her study. April Blakeslee April Blakeslee April Blakeslee coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 11 this biological invasion could directly affect ecosystem services we care about, explains marine ecologist April Blakeslee. She studies Loxothylacus panopaei, a parasitic barnacle that infects native N.C. mud crabs. Native to the Gulf of Mexico, the parasitic barnacle first arrived in the mid-Atlantic in the 1960s and has spread prolifically, sometimes infecting 90 percent of the local mud crabs. “When the barnacle finds a mud crab, it hijacks the crab’s internal physiology,” Blakeslee explains. “They fool the crab into thinking they are caring for their young when really it’s a sac-full of barnacle babies.” However, the mud crabs may be able to escape this fate by retreating to areas of lower salinity, such as estuaries, where the barnacles cannot survive. The research team is studying multiple North Carolina estuary sites, looking for parasites and tracking other organisms that live alongside the crabs. Volunteers and students are helping with the sampling. The data even are available at the N.C. Estuarium in Washington. The barnacle is just one of many invasive species wreaking havoc in coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Blakeslee and Kayla Clark, an art student at East Carolina University, developed a new exhibit featuring the crab “zombies” and other unwelcome invaders. It launched at the Estuarium days before Halloween. “When the barnacle finds a mud crab, it hijacks the crab’s internal physiology. They fool the crab into thinking they are caring for their young when really it’s a sac-full of barnacle babies.” — A PR I L B L AK E S L E E The interactive display, designed by Clark, focuses on biological invaders in North Carolina, specifically those that thrive in aquatic habitats. Live crabs — healthy and infected — are on display, along with the field data, photos and videos. She wants to make the exhibit appeal to young and old. “Our goal is to provide outreach and education about invasive species to local audiences, notably children visiting the Estuarium. Visitors also will learn how they can prevent the spread of invaders by not releasing unwanted pets into area waterways, cleaning boats of attached algae, plants or animals, cleaning boots, etc.,” Blakeslee wrote in a Coastwatch Currents blog post for the exhibit’s opening. “In other words, every person can make a difference in conservation-related efforts,” she adds. Clark had those audiences in mind, as well. “Melding art and science is a mutually beneficial relationship,” she says. “Artists, specifically graphic designers like myself, are trained to display information so it is consciously and subconsciously instantly digestible. This can be highly valuable in conveying scientific results to the public.” IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY CAPITALS FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM WORKFORCE ON OCRACOKE ISLAND Whitney Knollenberg of North Carolina State University, with David Tweedie of Ocracoke Alive!, David Griffith of East Carolina University, Barbara Garrity-Blake of Duke University Marine Lab, and Jane Harrison of North Carolina Sea Grant Ocracoke Island is a special place, with a close-knit feel that appeals to visitors and residents alike. Researcher Whitney Knollenberg wants to help keep that magic alive by helping the community understand what resources it needs to build, maintain and sustain its tourism workforce. “Ocracoke is isolated. It takes an hour ferry ride to get there. People are not going to commute there. Even with a well-paying seasonal job, buying a house and supporting a family there is really hard,” explains Knollenberg, an expert on tourism. Knollenberg approached David Tweedie of Ocracoke Alive! with the project idea at the Festival Latino de Ocracoke, a celebration of the many Hispanic families who call the island home — and who play an important role in the tourism industry. “They already know there are challenges, especially with housing. I’m hoping this project will reveal what’s working, what is attractive about living and • TOP: The researchers want to know if the unwitting hosts can escape the parasites by moving to lower-salinity waters. • BOTTOM: Just before Halloween, an exhibit on the zombie crabs opened at the N.C. Estuarium in Washington. C o n t i n u e d April Blakeslee Cliff Hollis/ECU working in Ocracoke — but also some of the things that can be improved.” “Ocracoke is isolated. It takes an hour ferry ride to get there. People are not going to commute there. Even with a well-paying seasonal job, buying a house and supporting a family there is really hard. They already know there are challenges, especially with housing. I’m hoping this project will reveal what’s working, what is attractive about living and working in Ocracoke — but also some of the things that can be improved.” — W HI TNE Y K NOL L ENB ERG Team members, including Sea Grant coastal economist Jane Harrison, will conduct interviews with employers and host bilingual focus groups with employees. Feedback will be used to determine the community’s strengths when it comes to supporting tourism, as well as areas for future investment. The team will present findings at a community workshop, with hopes of identifying priority actions for the next five years. Knollenberg anticipates that they’ll need to be creative to address community challenges. “I can’t put Ocracoke any closer to the mainland or create more land,” she says. In many ways, she adds, “it’s a prime place to do 12 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org sustainable workforce research. But it’s also a challenging place to do it. In the end, though, it will be helpful for every person on the island to have a more sustainable, stable tourism workforce.” COMMERCIALIZATION OF LOW-CALCIUM BLUE-CRAB SHEDDING TECHNOLOGY David Cerino of Carteret Community College, with Adam Tyler of Marshallberg, N.C., Thomas C. McArthur III of the North Carolina State University Marine Aquaculture Research Center, and Chuck Weirich of North Carolina Sea Grant Like new parents, soft-shell crab pro-ducers don’t get a lot of sleep during the molting season. However, new technologies could help them reclaim their nights by extending the time the crabs stay soft. During the spring and early summer in North Carolina, blue crabs approaching their molt are collected from coastal waters and placed in crab-shedding CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • Ocracoke Island is rich in history. • The island is home to many landmarks, including the Ocracoke Lighthouse, one of the oldest operating lighthouses in the country. • Many people are drawn to the community’s close-knit feel. • Visitors take ferry rides to get to Ocracoke. Vanda Lewis Vanda Lewis Vanda Lewis Vanda Lewis coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 13 systems consisting of a series of shallow tanks or trays through which water flows or recirculates. The tanks must be monitored every two to three hours for harvesting before the molted crabs begin to harden again. “Extending the time crabs stay soft could really help producers, especially those with limited staff and other obligations, such as other commercial fishing operations,” says David Cerino, who heads the aquaculture department at Carteret Community College. Cerino leads a team in developing water-treatment processes that could give commercial producers using recirculating systems more flexibility in harvesting soft-shell crabs. The project is based on previous research funded by a Sea Grant minigrant that found reducing calcium in shedding systems increases the window for harvesting up to 24 hours. “We can take processes similar to those municipal water treatment systems use to soften water to remove calcium carbonate and other hardening substances,” Cerino explains. Lab tests will identify the most consistent and cost-effective water-treatment process before two commercial producers implement the low-calcium recirculating systems. The team then will monitor the systems’ overall water quality, as well as crab survival and time available for harvesting. “This research will allow us to develop a step-by-step protocol and estimate the cost of implementing low-calcium CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: • Researchers are looking to extend the time soft-shell crab producers have to harvest molting crabs. • David Cerino, who heads the aquaculture department at Carteret Community College, is leading the study. • The team will look into developing water-treatment processes to increase harvest time. • Removing calcium carbonate from the water can slow the hardening process once crabs shed their shells. shedding systems on a commercial scale,” states Chuck Weirich, Sea Grant marine aquaculture specialist and a member of the project team. “Then, we can transfer this technology to other producers in the state.” “This research will allow us to develop a step-by-step protocol and estimate the cost of implementing low-calcium shedding systems on a commercial scale. Then, we can transfer this technology to other producers in the state.” — C H UCK W E I R ICH This could help improve output of the soft-shell industry that already generates over $2 million annually. “Marine aquaculture offers great opportunities for economic development on the coast. Advances such as this benefit not only producers but also consumers who love seafood,” Weirich adds. Vanda Lewis Chuck Weirich Chuck Weirich Vanda Lewis 14 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org By Katie Mosher Space Grant is on the Move • LEFT: As an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Zena Cardman participated in the Mars Desert Research Station field course. Courtesy Zena Cardman N coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 15 C o n t i n u e d orth Carolina Space Grant is launching efforts to strengthen current collaborations and to explore new horizons. With Susan White as the program’s new director, strategic planning sessions are sparking opportunities for partnerships that include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, along with researchers, students, educators and industry partners across the state. “There are some very good themes that can make Space Grant stronger,” Anthony Calamai of Appalachian State University, a member of the program’s executive board, describes topics considered during recent discussions. Formerly dean of Appalachian’s College of Arts and Sciences and now with a focus on science education, he notes that Space Grant’s advisors also are eager to see the program build upon successful interdisciplinary and multicampus initiatives of North Carolina Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system. White leads all three programs, all with headquarters at NC State University. “There are great synergies across the programs,” Calamai adds. Industry partners agree: “Lord Corporation greatly values our partnership with N.C. Space Grant — and we look forward to continuing our strong relationship with Susan at the helm,” notes Mark Jolly, who is the company’s representative on a panel of industry advisors. Alan Rebar, NC State’s vice chancellor for research, innovation and economic development, echoes praise for White, who initially had been named interim director for Space Grant earlier this year. “Dr. White brings a wealth of experience in leading federal/state programs that are recognized as trusted partners in developing innovative research and outreach applications within North Carolina and across the nation,” Rebar explains. NASA is Space Grant’s funding partner. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supports Sea Grant, while the U.S. Geological Survey has WRRI. Each program has a distinct mission, but all three offer targeted research, outreach and education projects to address critical issues. Sea Grant and WRRI also will learn from Space Grant’s innovations, adds White, who previously served on the Space Grant advisory council. “This is an exciting time,” she says. “In particular, I am eager to leverage Space Grant’s vibrant programs — including strong partnerships with industry — to equip the current and future workforce.” Opportunities Abound Two of N.C. Space Grant’s student scholars — Christina H. Koch from NC State and Zena Cardman from UNC Chapel Hill — are now in the NASA astronaut corps, a point of tremendous pride. But N.C. Space Grant programs benefit many students eager for STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — careers. “From its inception, Space Grant has focused involving and supporting faculty and students in space-related research and outreach,” notes executive board member Elva Jones from Winston-Salem State University. For example, Calamai cites a student who moved from undergraduate studies at UNC Chapel Hill to a master’s program in physics and engineering at Appalachian, and then to a doctoral program in engineering at Duke University, and now to a career in industry in the Washington, D.C., area. Jobi Cook, N.C. Space Grant’s associate director, recalls a motorcycle mechanic intent upon changing his focus. A Space Grant community college scholar, he went on to UNC Charlotte and eventually to a job at U.S. Marine Station Cherry Point. In fact, the state’s military bases are key partners. Space Grant helps students to learn about military careers related to aeronautics and flight sciences through a partnership with the Department of Defense, officials at Cherry Point and an engineering program at NC State. In 2018, that will include another Aircraft Readiness Engineering Workshop, an intensive week that brings students from community colleges and universities to Cherry Point and New River air stations. FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: • Students from UNC Pembroke experienced weightlessness aboard a NASA KC-135 during a research mission. • Applications are open now for the 2018 Aircraft Readiness Workshop to be held in Havelock in May. • Ten community colleges have participated in high-altitude ballooning design and research projects sponsored by North Carolina Space Grant. Courtesy Mitchell Community College Courtesy U.S. Navy Fleet Readiness Center East Courtesy UNC Pembroke 16 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org “We create an experience for college students to introduce them to the world of military aviation and the jobs associated,” explains Bill Fortney, of the NC State program that is housed at Craven Community College’s campus in Havelock, just across from Cherry Point. The base employs more than 700 civilian engineers. “The students are out with Department of Defense engineers, getting the inside scoop that goes beyond their classroom experience,” he adds. The week includes mishap investigations, time on the flight lines with active-duty forces and in a military simulator, and even building remote-control aircraft. More information is available at ncspacegrant.org, with applications due in March. Lord’s 10-week summer internships offer students “real-world STEM experiences in a cutting edge industrial environment,” Jolly notes. “Since 2008, over 60 students have participated in this program, with nine subsequently hired on full time.” The company has worked with Space Grant to offer aerospace-related experiences to teachers during the summer breaks. “Each extern then developed curriculum for modules and courses at their respective high schools based on their work experience,” he adds. Future Beckons White and Cook are especially excited about plans to expand Space Grant’s educational programs. They will build upon a successful partnership with the Morehead Planetarium, along with museums, parks and other sites that hosted eclipse events. “Those events drew a combined audience of 100,000 people of all ages,” White says. Also, Space Grant outreach to K-12 teachers in 2018 will include expanding a network of more than 50 educators in Eastern North Carolina who recently completed NASA training. New programs may include workshops focusing on hot topics that would keep students’ attention while covering critical knowledge and skills. “In North Carolina, drones are used in agriculture,” says Cook, citing just one example of how unmanned vehicles are in demand. “We also will be working with teachers-in-training,” she adds. They will complete an online module, learn from mentor teachers via webinars, and then test lessons in their own classrooms. The topics will be interdisciplinary. “We will be infusing strategies to bring in the arts,” Cook says, showing how STEM expands to STEAM. That training will culminate in the educator scholars traveling to NASA’s Langley Research Center to present posters about their experiences. White is eager to deepen such connections across the program and the state — so that lessons are using data from NASA, or discussing challenges identified by military and industry partners. “We are building a career pipeline, from classrooms to community colleges and universities, and on to professional lives in indus-try, military and government sectors,” she says. “We are building a career pipeline, from classrooms to community colleges and universities, and on to professional lives in industry, military and government sectors.” — SUSAN WHI TE All those categories of partners will be invited to a 2019 symposium to highlight the depth and breadth of Space Grant missions — and to identify future orbits. “We are learning from Sea Grant’s Coastal Conference,” Cook says. Overall, White sees a bright future for N.C. Space Grant. “Our mission is to develop the next generation of explorers.” Learn more about North Carolina Space Grant and Sea Grant programs’ joint graduate fellows on pages 17 to 19. The interdisciplinary research projects focus on the state’s nearshore areas and coastal watersheds, and use varied measurement instruments and data from NASA and NOAA. • TOP: A camera captured the point that a Durham Technical Community College high-altitude balloon burst. • MIDDLE: The UNC Charlotte Forty- Niner Robotic Mining Team competes annually at NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida. • BOTTOM: In recent years, two N.C. Space Grant scholars have joined the NASA astronaut corps. Christina Hammock Koch, left, was at NC State University. Zena Cardman, right, was at UNC-Chapel Hill. Courtesy NASA Courtesy NASA Courtesy UNC Charlotte Courtesy Durham Technical Community College Unraveling Mysteries of Ghost Forests By Lindsey Smart You’ve heard of haunted houses — but what about ghost forests? Far from being frighteningly fun, ghost forests are a growing concern along much of the East Coast. In North Carolina, they are increasingly common along the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula in the rural eastern part of the state. Bare, pale trunks line areas where once-healthy coastal forests thrived, a stark visual indicator of sea-level rise. These coastal forests just can’t keep pace with the encroaching saltwater that is creeping farther inland into the soil and surface waters of the coastal plain. This combination of saltwater intrusion and forest retreat is transforming freshwater landscapes long before rising seas permanently inundate the land. Coastal systems are inherently dynamic and sea levels have been rising since the end of the last ice age many thousands of years ago. But the current rate at which these changes are taking place has many scientists taking note. How much of that landscape has changed over the past decade? What is the spatial extent of this change? Where on the peninsula is this change occurring the fastest? With funding from North Carolina’s Sea Grant and Space Grant programs and the help of Paul J. Taillie, a doctoral candidate and wildlife biologist at NC State University, I decided to address these questions. I am a member of an interdisciplinary team from NC State’s College of Natural Resources that is tackling a number of issues related to saltwater intrusion and its impacts. We refer to ourselves as the SALT team, for Salinization: Adaptive Capacity Building for Land-use and Tourism Development, found at ncsu-salt. weebly.com. Our applied research seeks solutions to critical land and water issues. A main goal of the project is to outline potential solutions that local communities may adopt to cope with problems associated with saltwater intrusion. My research is looking to better understand mutually beneficial ways that humans and wildlife can adapt to these changing coastal landscapes. Sea-level rise is among many stressors on forests worldwide — ecosystems already threatened by land clearing, fires, disease and invasive species. Overall, these combined changes are diminishing the ability of plants to fight climate change. Plants are well known for their role in absorbing carbon dioxide. Scientists call this process carbon storage or carbon sequestration. This important ecosystem service means that plants are providing clean air for humans and wildlife. Sea-level rise threatens the very ability of forests to provide all of these important benefits to wildlife and humans. The reduction in carbon sequestration due to sea-level rise can exacerbate climate change and its negative impacts. Forest retreat also fragments — and at times even eliminates — important habitat for some wildlife species. It limits the ability of coastal forests to serve as buffers from storms and storm surge. With the loss of these forests, interior areas can be exposed during large storm events that were previously protected. I have used satellite imagery and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data, and combined these with highly accurate field data to map the changes across the landscape. Satellite imagery data create near-seamless pictures of Earth’s surface and help us visualize and measure vegetation health or decline through images of land coverage. LiDAR data, usually collected via airplane, provide three-dimensional information on the vertical structures of the Earth’s surface. This information helps scientists understand the structure, height and volume of features on the landscape. Combined, satellite imagery captures visual characteristics of forest health, while LiDAR depicts the three-dimensional characteristics of forest health. These two data sources enabled us to map vegetation changes across the entire study area. The resulting maps tell a compel-ling story of an extremely dynamic and complex environment with mixed coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 17 FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: • Ghost forests are an increasingly common sight along North Carolina’s coast. • This map shows the vulnerability of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula to sea-level rise based on elevation data. • LiDAR and satellite imagery show a mix of woody and herbaceous vegetation. Paul Taillie (inset), wildlife biologist and graduate student, surveyed a forested wetland plot with similar characteristics. C o n t i n u e d Lindsey Smart Lindsey Smart Lindsey Smart patterns of vegetation growth and decline. The patterns of change on the landscape indicate a very diverse land-use history, evidence of past fires and the effects of sea-level rise. Areas of vegetation decline were evident close to the sounds. Large decreases in vegetation near the shoreline suggest that once-healthy forests have retreated, likely as a result of rising sea level. These findings have important implications for the region’s ability to store carbon. In these forests, large amounts of carbon are stored belowground in the organic soils composed of decaying organic matter, but also aboveground as living and dead plant matter. Trees have a greater ability to store aboveground carbon than smaller plants like grasses. Therefore, areas where pine trees are giving way to more salt-tolerant marsh grasses are losing aboveground carbon-storage potential. Our data corroborate this and show a net decrease in overall aboveground carbon-storage potential in the study area. These results are the first step in understanding potential vegetation dynamics caused by many drivers. Understanding specific mechanisms for the changes in vegetation will be a critical next step in showing empirically what has been talked about anecdotally for quite some time. Linking these changes in forests directly to sea-level rise and increased salinity are essential for thinking about and planning for future change. When planning for future change, it’s important to remember that people’s land-use activities and their responses to sea-level rise can either act to mitigate or exacerbate the impacts of sea-level rise on the landscape. That is why it’s important to understand what those living and working in this region are going to do in response to these increasingly salient coastal threats. To capture landowners’ thoughts on different climate adaptation strategies, I’ve also conducted a social survey on the Albemarle- Pamlico Peninsula as part of my dissertation research. Ultimately, the goal is to combine the social survey data with these land-change maps and use them as decision-support tools to guide adaptive land-use policy and climate change adaptation strategies. Lindsey Smart is a doctoral candidate in the Center for Geospatial Analytics within the College of Natural Resources at NC State University. She received a North Carolina Sea Grant/Space Grant fellowship. She previously worked for the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. Making the Most of Oyster Reef Filtering By E-Ching Lee Oyster reefs do a lot of good for an ecosystem. Here’s a quick list: They filter and clean the water, clear out sediment so sunlight can reach the plants at the water bottom, and provide fishes with places to live and hide. Reefs also help to protect shorelines from storms, breaking up powerful waves as they rush inland. Researchers call these ecosystem services: gains that oyster reefs bring to their surroundings — and also to the people who live, work and play in those places. With a drastic decline in the state’s oyster population, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are among many groups planting new beds to restore these bivalves. Their goal is to build healthy reefs to sustain the oyster population in the state. Any other benefits — good recreational fishing reefs, suitable fish nurseries or cleaner water — often are secondary goals that have been difficult to measure. Seth Theuerkauf, a recent doctoral graduate from NC State University, is bringing ecosystem services into the equation, to make rebuilding efforts more cost efficient and successful. He wants to ensure there will be oysters in the state’s future while simultaneously improving the coastal environment — and to add more “bang for the buck” for the public dollars spent on these restorations. For his fellowship funded by North Carolina’s Sea Grant and Space Grant programs, Theuerkauf focused on maximizing water filtration, an ecosystem function for which oysters are well known and that benefits aquatic animals and plants, as well as humans. “I selected filtration, given the growing interest in oysters as a tool to help meet water quality enhancement goals,” he explains. Not all reef restoration sites are equal — for oysters and for the humans who want to reap their benefits. Theuerkauf used geospatial analysis to layer maps of multiple factors important for restoration. With this method, he identified areas in Pamlico Sound that would enable restored reefs to thrive, while maximizing the resulting water filtration services they provided. “It matters where you do your restoration to provide the most ecosystem services,” Theuerkauf acknowledges. Currently, oyster reef restorers use the Reef Persistence habitat suitability index, or 18 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org • TOP: The team focused on the area of the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula within the red rectangle in subsequent maps. • BOTTOM: Forest loss along the study area perimeter between 2001 and 2014 possibly resulted from saltwater intrusion and sea-level rise. Lindsey Smart Lindsey Smart HSI, to identify potential sites. That tool — developed by Brandon Puckett, then a doctoral candidate at NC State and now research coordinator of the N.C. Coastal Reserve — helps users find locations where replanted oyster reefs might thrive and persist. Building upon this idea, Theuerkauf developed a GIS-based model that prioritizes water filtration when selecting a restoration site. He also combined the original HSI and his updated version into a hybrid scenario that balances reef persistence with water quality enhancement. Theuerkauf used several variables to determine the suitability of a site. Concentrations of chlorophyll a, derived from satellite data, indicate the volume of food available for the oysters. Water-flow velocities denote the ability of currents to deliver food to the reef, and flush sediment and particulate matter. Dissolved oxygen can identify dead zones where there is too little oxygen in the water. “It’s a tool — a decision-support tool — that is useful to identify areas for restoration,” Theuerkauf says. “Agencies such as DMF can use it as a scoping tool to narrow the range of areas they want to focus on.” The next step is to integrate the data within The Nature Conservancy’s Restoration Explorer web-based tool, which currently offers the Reef Persistence HSI model at coastalresilience.org/restoration-explorer- focuses-on-oysters. He also spoke with people who ultimately would use his models early on in the process. This was a step that Puckett and David Eggleston, who leads NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology, spearheaded when they developed the first HSI. Since it was introduced in 2010, the original HSI has been tweaked and updated based on suggestions from DMF and the Corps of Engineers in Wilmington. Both agencies use the HSI to help inform their restoration efforts. “We integrated stakeholder feedback early on to discuss what the model would look like,” Theuerkauf recalls. “Stakeholders were invested and had a say.” Planning meetings included participants from DMF, The Nature Conservancy and the N.C. Coastal Federation. Each voiced what they wanted in such a tool. Michael Piehler, a biogeochemist and ecologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences, also provided input. “It’s a tool, a decision-support tool, that is useful to identify areas for restoration. Agencies such as DMF can use it as a scoping tool to narrow the range of areas they want to focus on.” — SE T H THEUERK AUF Recommendations from this group helped Theuerkauf determine what data to include and the weights to assign to each layer of information. This was an opportunity to work collaboratively with stakeholders, identify and integrate what they prioritized, and generate a tool that contributes to advancing oyster restoration in North Carolina. “Developing a tool that balanced state-of-the-art science with the human dimensions of oyster restoration was a valuable learning experience for me as a scientist,” he says. Seth Theuerkauf is a spatial scientist with The Nature Conservancy and NOAA. He is a recent doctoral graduate in biological oceanography at NC State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 19 FROM TOP TO BOTTOM: • The water filtration habitat suitability index can identify optimal (green) to unsuitable (red) areas for reef restoration. • Oysters clean and filter water around them. • The bivalves also offer habitat for fish and other wildlife. • North Carolina’s wild oyster reefs are a fraction of their historical highs. Vanda Lewis Stopher Slade Stopher Slade Seth Theuerkauf 20 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org Raúl Omar Ortiz/Puerto Rico Sea GrantBOOTS IN THE FIELD coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 21 S E A G R A N T P A R T I C I P AT E S I N H U R R I C A N E R E C O V E R Y C o n t i n u e d AUTUMN OFTEN BRINGS HURRICANES — OR MEMORIES OF PAST STORMS. This August through October was no exception, marked by many devastating hurricanes to the United States, and even one that blew through Ireland and the United Kingdom. In addition, October marked the first anniversary of Hurricane Matthew. We provide updates on how North Carolina Sea Grant extension specialists are helping agencies learn and communities rebuild after these storms. Future issues of Coastwatch will offer more stories on hurricane recovery in the state. • LEFT: In the aftermath of major storms, Sea Grant programs in affected areas, such as in Puerto Rico pictured here, are stepping up to help communities recover and rebuild. 22 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org University’s Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department have been working with local leaders to study the recent extreme flood events and evaluate flood mitigation methods. Bertie County secured a grant from the Golden Leaf Foundation to fund two studies of the Cashie River Basin and floodplain. The initial efforts can help the Town of Windsor and Bertie County move forward with a specific plan. Barbara Doll, Sea Grant’s water quality protection and restoration specialist, is leading the research. The team, which includes six engineers from NC State BAE, began the study in June 2017. “We hope to identify the most practical and feasible actions the county and town can pursue to decrease flood risk during extreme events, and to mitigate impacts of flooding during future storms,” Doll explains. “This effort will help prevent wasted time and resources on approaches that will afford little or no benefit.” The team is investigating structural and watershed flood-mitigation mechanisms. “We are looking at ways to reduce the amount of water that spills over from the river into the town during floods. We also are evaluating how much water is coming from the 180-square-mile watershed, and investigating ways to temporarily store and/or slow down the water,” Doll adds. To alleviate flooding, the team is determining the feasibility of three separate components. The first is evaluating river engineering alternatives. These structural measures could include modifying existing bridge and culvert configurations, or raising two roads and equipping the culvert pipes beneath the roads with backflow preventers or tide gates. The tide gates would allow water to drain away from town during small storms, and would block floodwaters from entering town GOING WITH THE FLOW EVALUATING FLOOD MITIGATION OF THE CASHIE RIVER BY DANI E L L E C OSTANT INI Hurricane Mathew changed the way many residents of central and eastern North Carolina think about flooding — including those in the Town of Windsor. The Cashie River flows through the middle of this Bertie County town on its way to the Roanoke River. Many days, the waters provide a great route for kayaking. But fall 2016 brought two powerful tropical systems. Tropical Storm Julia dumped flooding rains in September. Just weeks later, Hurricane Matthew brought record flooding in October, causing extensive damage to roads, bridges, homes and Windsor’s business district. “Immediately following the flooding and devastation from Tropical Storm Julia and Hurricane Matthew, Windsor Mayor Jim Hoggard and Bertie County officials spent countless hours reaching out to regional resources for technical assistance in an effort to take a long-term look at the flooding in the Cashie River Basin,” shares Scott Sauer, Bertie County manager. North Carolina Sea Grant and NC State CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: • Researchers examine a bridge crossing in Bertie County that was replaced after flooding from Hurricane Matthew breached the road. • Tropical Storm Julia flooded downtown Windsor. • Windsor leaders are seeking help from Sea Grant, NC State University and state agencies to prevent future flooding, such as from Hurricane Matthew. Scott Sauer Barbara Doll coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 23 during large flood events. By obtaining and reviewing existing flood models, as well as flood data from last fall’s extreme events, researchers can identify solutions that are most likely to have the greatest impact. “Initial results indicate there may be little benefit from increasing the capacity of bridges along the lower river,” Doll states. Increasing the capacity of the floodplain around Windsor also was evaluated but showed no appreciable decrease in flooding near the town. This is because of the nearly flat slope of the river’s water surface once it reaches the bridge — there is nowhere for all the water to go. Strong winds pushing the water from the Albemarle Sound and Roanoke River upstream also can exacerbate the problem and lead to flooding. Two other options, however, could be more promising. “Raising select roads at their low points and outfitting these areas with tide gates would help to reduce some flood risk. But that may not be effective in the larger floods like Julia and Matthew, and likely would not be certified under the National Flood Insurance Program,” she adds. Another component of the study is to evaluate land-use change, and to quantify the impacts on the Cashie River Basin and the Town of Windsor. Land use identifies the purpose of the land, such as forests, agriculture use or development. Models then allow the team to verify how the land cover has changed since 1992, and to quantify the impacts of those changes on hydrology and hydraulics — how much water and how fast it moves — in the river basin. The team also is focused on the third component: evaluating upland water storage potential. These storage areas — or reservoirs — are designed to decrease the magnitude of the flood flow. Slowing down the speed of the flow may ultimately decrease the flood risk in Windsor. “We have identified several undeveloped areas for potential storage of water and are building a detailed watershed model, which takes quite a bit of time and effort. Once the model is finished, we can test the ability of these areas to help reduce downstream flooding,” Doll explains. Opportunities to store water on agricultural lands have yet to be identified. The team scouted the watershed and found few agricultural ditches. “This has been an integrated technical approach using data already available through our state programs and agencies — and by leveraging skills and expertise of several research groups in the BAE department, Sea Grant and others within N.C. Cooperative Extension,” says Jon Page, extension associate engineer with BAE. “We have been able to apply our skill set in a very practical way to assist a community looking for solutions to the very relevant issue of extreme flooding and reducing flood risk,” he continues. Partners include N.C. Department of Transportation, N.C. Emergency Management and the N.C. Floodplain Mapping Program. The modeling work on the Cashie River and its watershed is expected to be complete by the end of the year, with results presented in January to the county and town. The feasibility study not only is yielding information for Windsor, but also will serve as a model for other coastal counties and towns. Doll and NC State researchers currently are working with N.C. DOT to develop similar watershed and floodplain-focused projects in the Tar, Neuse and Lumber river basins. Their new project will provide educa-tion and outreach on flood risk and mitigation alternatives, while also assisting communities recovering from Matthew — including Tarboro, Smithfield, Kinston and Lumberton — to iden-tify potential effective means of flood mitigation. HURRICANE ASSESSMENT IMPROVING NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OPERATIONS B Y J A N E H A R R I S O N When severe weather, like a hurricane or large flood, strikes, do schools close or communities evacuate? How does information from the National Weather Service, or NWS, affect those decisions? To find out how that information is disseminated — and how the processes could be improved — NWS conducts a service assessment after every major weather event. Teams of experts seek to determine how effective the agency was in forecasting the event, as well as in communicating weather information to affected communities. I was on one of several teams asked to evaluate the effectiveness of the NWS response to Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana. The teams now are developing a report to share best practices and lessons learned, all to help NWS officials to improve services to the nation. Hurricane Harvey made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, as a Category 3 storm with wind speeds of 111 to 129 miles per hour. After days of little movement but heavy rain, the storm headed back to the Gulf of Mexico. It returned along the Louisiana border as a tropical storm with wind speeds of 39 to 73 mph. Local weather forecasters and emergency managers described Harvey as a meandering storm full of “loop-de-loops.” But the real story with Harvey was its catastrophic flooding, caused by days of torrential, record-breaking rainfall — a story with which North Carolina is all too familiar. In fact, Harvey’s damage was so widespread and devastating, it required three service assessment teams. Last year, the NWS deployed only one such team after Hurricane Matthew. My team began our work in the sprawling urban expanse of Houston, then moved east to communities within the oil alley in Texas, a region that processes about a third of the country’s oil. In Louisiana, we visited another oil refinery stronghold at Lake Charles, then continued on to Baton Rouge and ended in New Orleans. A second team remained in Houston during our weeklong effort, while a third team went westward toward Corpus Christi and other severely affected areas. Scott Sauer C o n t i n u e d 24 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org The teams interviewed staff from NWS local weather forecast offices known as WFOs (i.e., Corpus Christi, Houston, Lake Charles and New Orleans), the Southern Regional Headquarters in Fort Worth, National Hurricane Center in Miami, and Weather Prediction Center in Silver Spring, Maryland, among others. We also spoke with local partners, such as emergency managers and broadcast meteorologists, to understand how they used NWS information to support their operations. As a social scientist with North Carolina Sea Grant, my role was to look for common themes in the conversations we had with local partners. I focused on partnerships and outreach, elements essential to the NWS mission. The findings could be used to identify best practices and suggest improvements for NWS operations across the nation — potentially affecting how North Carolina forecast offices operate. My assessment team left the gleaming buildings of Houston, the country’s fourth-most populated city, and headed for the towns and cities surrounded by salt bayou lands. From the rental car window, I spied coastal prairie grasslands, creeks and wide water basins along Highway 10, as well as flat lands recently waterlogged. Soaked drywall and once-loved possessions piled up in front of homes in the Texas towns of Port Arthur, Groves, Beaumont and Orange, all of which straddle the Texas/ Louisiana border along Sabine Lake and the Neches River. We learned how NWS plays a vital role in severe weather events in places such as Groves. The small town received 60.54 inches of rain during Harvey — the highest amount of rainfall ever recorded during any U.S. storm. Evacuation decisions, school and industry closures, and numerous other storm-related actions for Groves relied on direct communication between local NWS staff and emergency managers. A fire chief in Groves said this about the NWS: “What they say is gold.” He attributed his close relationship with WFO staff to monthly meetings that the emergency management community attends. The emergency managers — along with WFO staff — eat together, provide updates about their activities and get to know one another. When an extreme weather event does occur, they already have good working relationships and are able to work effectively together. With increased frequency and severity of storms predicted due to climate change, it is ever more important that weather forecasting be accurate and communication clear. Here in North Carolina, severe flooding has become the norm for many coastal communities. So the role of NWS in providing decision support services to emergency managers and the public is increasingly important. Serving on the assessment team has given me a deeper understanding of how NWS professionals and the emergency management community work together to reach affected populations during tropical storms and hurricanes. Thanks for your dedicated service y’all! CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: • Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, moved out to sea and then came ashore again in Louisiana. • Soggy materials line the roads in Groves, Texas, which received over 60 inches of rain during Harvey. • The emergency management community in Southwest Louisiana meets monthly to eat and to share updates. Courtesy NOAA Jane Harrison Jane Harrison coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 25 AROUND THE NETWORK SEA GRANT PROGRAMS RESPOND TO HURRICANE DESTRUCTION Some of our partner Sea Grant programs’ communicators share what is going on in their backyards after this autumn’s devastating storms. Conducting Hazard Planning for Gulf Oyster Farmers BY M E L I S S A SCHNE IDER In October, Alabama oyster farms weathered their first hurricane since the industry began in 2009. Experiencing Hurricane Nate, which made landfall in Mississippi as a Category 1 storm, gave Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium extension specialists and oyster farmers ideas on how to improve storm preparedness. For example, oyster farmers needed help after the hurricane to recover equipment that had floated away during the storm. Extension specialists are holding workshops for oyster farmers to share lessons learned from the storm, offer planning resources and identify ways to be better prepared. They are beginning the process of completing written hazard plans. South Carolina Sea Grant experts also are providing hurricane experiences related to oyster farming. One area identified as a challenge is the lack of available labor to move expensive sorters and tumblers to higher ground and to sink oyster bags and baskets to keep them out of the storm surge. As Nate was a fast-approaching storm, oyster farmers did not have much time to prepare their farms as well as their own homes. Future challenges could include how evacuation orders might affect preparation and recovery. Infrastructure issues — such as flooded roads and/or roads covered in sand — and extended loss of power also could affect operations. Learn more about oyster farming in Mississippi and Alabama at masgc.org/oyster-farming. Educating Floridians on FORTIFIED Homes BY M E L I S S A SCHNE IDER Hank Hodde, Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium resilience outreach special-ist, visited the southeast coast of Florida shortly after Hurricane Irma to conduct damage assessments and increase outreach efforts for the FORTIFIED HomesTM program. His work is part of a new partnership between Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and Smart Home America. The nonprofit based in Mobile, Alabama, seeks to build stronger, more resilient and sustainable communities. The assessments are demonstrating that many homeowners are not completely prepared. Some residents still are using duct tape and inadequate wood-based shutters to prevent wind damage. Also, many homeowners don’t understand the stipulations of their insurance policy. They need more information on filing insurance claims and hiring reliable contractors to complete repairs after the storm. The Sea Grant programs in the Gulf of Mexico also are updating the state-specific guides — Homeowners’ Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards — that address some of these concerns. Keep up with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium at masgc.org. Helping Florida Keys Lobster Industry Recover BY BR A D BUCK Hurricane Irma displaced and damaged tens of thousands of spiny lobster traps in the Florida Keys. Florida Sea Grant is helping CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: • Florida Sea Grant is helping lobstermen locate and retrieve lobster traps that were displaced during Hurricane Irma to get the fishery back on track. • The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium is working with oyster farmers in the region to improve hazard planning for their businesses. • During a damage assessment in southeast Florida, Hank Hodde from Mississippi- Alabama Sea Grant, found inadequate window coverings. Hank Hodde/Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Courtesy Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Don Behringer C o n t i n u e d 26 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org lobstermen by quickly locating the traps lost during the storm. This is Florida’s largest commercial fishery, estimated to be worth $150 million in the Keys, according to Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman Association. Two days after the storm, the lobster industry and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, or FWC, contacted Florida Sea Grant and requested its help in recovering and reusing viable traps, explains Shelly Krueger. She is a Florida Sea Grant agent with the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension (UF/ IFAS) in Monroe County. With funding from Florida Sea Grant, two experienced spotter pilots flew planes the length of the Keys in late September. GPS-enabled cameras pinpointed the exact locations of lobster trap clusters in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. Harry Crissy, UF/IFAS Extension Monroe County economic resource development agent, uploaded the coordinates into a GIS database. The data were shared with lobster fishermen and the FWC to help them retrieve the traps. “The work of Florida Sea Grant is the critical first step to getting the industry back up and running after this natural disaster,” Krueger says. This project is a partnership with the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association and the FWC. Read the full article, “Helping Lobstermen in Florida Keys Get Back to Business Post-Irma,” at flseagrant.org/ newsroom. Assisting Texas Communities After Harvey BY T E X A S S E A G R ANT S TA F F During Hurricane Harvey, Texas Sea Grant mobilized to help state and federal agencies at emergency shelters for people and livestock. The program also shared life-saving information via social media. After the storm, Texas Sea Grant worked with coastal communities to address their immediate needs for assistance. Staff members: • Distributed the Texas Homeowner’s Handbook to Prepare for Coastal Natural Hazards in English and Spanish to more than 40 FEMA disaster recovery centers in affected counties. • Performed rapid assessment of damages and needs of the fishing industry. • Conducted rapid estimates of economic impacts in multiple fisheries sectors to support local governments requesting recovery assistance. • Partnered with NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service to facilitate their evaluation of the status of the commercial fishery. • Connected multiple federal agencies with local officials, industry and the public. • Partnered with FEMA to provide financial technical assistance to help local communities apply for disaster assistance. • Led efforts to recover sunken commercial fishing vessels. • Funded rapid response research on the health of dolphins and humans’ perception of the resilience of their communities. In addition, Texas Sea Grant is part of the Governor’s Commission to Rebuild Texas, established in early September. To help Texans recover, rebuild and prepare for the future, the program has: • Launched the Texas A&M Community Resilience Collaborative to provide planning assistance to Texas communities that were affected by Hurricane Harvey. • Started helping communities and industries assess their resilience to disasters using community, fisheries, ports and tourism resilience indices. • Began assisting communities with long-term recovery planning and land use and zoning ordinance reviews. • Partnered with the National Disaster Preparedness Training Center and many industries to revise the Texas preparedness handbook based on new information learned from recent disasters. Severe storms will continue to threaten communities and economies in Texas. Accordingly, Texas Sea Grant is increasing its efforts to help local communities develop more robust plans and practices that will increase their resilience to future extreme events. Visit Texas Sea Grant’s post-Hurricane Harvey recovery resources under texasseagrant. org/programs for guidance, information and updates for hurricane survivors. A Glimpse at Devastation in Puerto Rico Colleagues from Puerto Rico Sea Grant share some images of the destruction after Hurricane Maria. Find updates from Puerto Rico Sea Grant at seagrantpr.org. • LEFT: Texas Sea Grant is part of a commission to help Texans recover and rebuild from Hurricane Harvey, while also preparing the state for future similar events. • RIGHT: The west coast of Puerto Rico sustained massive damage after Hurricane Maria. Courtesy Texas Sea Grant Raúl Omar Ortiz/Puerto Rico Sea Grant coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 27 AN E YE FOR THE D ETAILS: HARRIS S ERVES SEA GR ANT, S TATE By K at ie M o she r WHEN S ANDRA HARRIS A RRIVED FOR H ER INTERVIEW AT N C S TATE UNIVERSIT Y I N 1973, H ER TOP S CORES O N T YPING AND SHORTHAND T ESTS ALREADY H AD IM PRESSED HER SOON-TO-BE BOSS, HARDY B ERRY. “He said: You’ve got to get a start somewhere,” Harris recalls with a laugh. She joined Berry in the university’s information services and communications office, taking dictation and typing letters and news releases. That quick start led to a strong career — and membership in the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the State of North Carolina’s “highest honor of recognition.” Signed by Gov. Roy Cooper, her certificate notes his “special confidence in the integrity, learning and zeal” of Harris, who retired in October with a total of 37 years of state service, including 23 with North Carolina Sea Grant. Susan White, current Sea Grant executive director, and other directors during Harris’ tenure agree with the citation. “I have counted on Sandra’s attention to detail,” White says. “Sandra’s focus on advance planning CELEBRATING TWO COLLEAGUES In t he l a s t f ew m onths o f t he y e ar, N o r t h C ar o l ina S e a G rant b ade f ar ewe l l t o S and ra H ar r i s , o n o u r c ommuni c at i ons t e am, a nd V anda L ewi s , o n o u r e x t ens i o n t e am. But t r u l y, t he y b o t h w e r e k e y t o a l l o f S e a G rant ’s w o r k . Combined, t he y h ad s e r v e d t he s t at e f o r 6 7 y e ar s . H e r e , w e s har e a p p r e c iat i ons o f o u r f o rme r c o l l e a g ue s . shipped out, or catching grammatical errors on letters. That attention — and accuracy — had been clear even early in Harris’ campus career. “I was good at proofreading,” she notes with a smile. After taking some years away from the office to focus on her family, Harris worked for a while at Nationwide Insurance, where she always exceeded the daily quotas for her position. Despite offers to move up in the business world, she missed the atmosphere of the university. She returned to campus in 1994, joining Sea Grant. B.J. Copeland was director at the time. “Sandra always has been very reliable. She’s been very capable. She always gets her job done,” he says. “It’s been a really great thing for Sea Grant that she’s been here.” Ronald Hodson succeeded Co-peland as director. He recalls Harris’ ability to easily adapt, be it to changes in the program’s leadership, or to technology advances, such as new database software and the increasing importance of the Internet for sharing research and outreach information. “I like working on computers,” Harris says. At times, posting text and photos for online stories was like assembling a puzzle. She also often used detective skills to track down information needed by colleagues, partners or the public. “I always was amazed by how efficient Sandra was. She seemed to know what I was C U R R E N T S C o n t i n u e d E-Ching Lee • TOP: Sandra Harris retired in October with 37 years of state service, 23 of those years with North Carolina Sea Grant. • BOTTOM: Vanda Lewis is a friendly face many may have seen at events involving Sea Grant. Vanda Lewis ensured that actions were completed in clear, efficient and cost-effective ways,” she adds, noting that those tasks have included more than a few reminders to the management team regarding delivery deadlines for materials being 28 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org going to request, especially with posting materials online, before I asked,” says E-Ching Lee, former managing editor of Coastwatch. “I also counted on her attention to detail. Sandra’s eagle eyes have caught many errors in our stories and products.” Harris enjoyed being part of the Coastwatch team. “I like the stories about the people,” she says. Favorites include a profile of Muzel Bryant of Ocracoke, and articles on the storytellers and fish house owners of Carteret County. “I love the recipes,” she adds. Sometimes the work was intense. Harris played a key role in the national distribution of seafood safety manuals for a number of years. That effort “took over my life,” she recalls. In 2004, she was selected by NC State’s then Office of Research and Graduate Studies to move to the university level of the Award for Ex-cellence competition. Now known as NC State’s Office of Research, Innovation and Economic Development, that office is administrative home for Sea Grant. With expansion of her Sea Grant communications duties, Harris’ official job title was updated in 2015 to university program associate. Her duties also have included managing distribution for Coastwatch and varied publications, and serving as a key contact for the National Sea Grant Library. But at a retirement reception for Harris, coworkers past and present especially wanted to note her kindness. “Her friendly nature has been an asset to the team,” Hodson says. Harris had immediate plans for a special vacation with her husband. The beach has a special lure, she says. “I love walking in the sun.” A graduate of Broughton High School in Raleigh, Harris has strong ties to the community. And her days now also will have a greater family focus, in particular spending more time with her mother and 14 grandchildren. Overall, she will enjoy setting her own schedule — and maybe some time for herself. “I may renew my membership in our bowling league,” she adds. DRIVING INTO THE SUNSET: NEW ADVENTURES BECKON AF TER RETIREMENT By E -Ching L e e Vanda Lewis likes to stay in the background. Officially, she is an administrative support specialist for North Carolina Sea Grant, based in Morehead City. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Colleagues have described her as organized, efficient, talented, trustworthy, committed, positive and supportive. If you’ve seen Sea Grant’s food photographs in Coastwatch magazine or on marinersmenu.org, you’ve glimpsed her work. If you’ve signed up for aquaculture workshops, C U R R E N T S • TOP L EF T: Sandra Harris says her favorite Coastwatch stories were personality profiles, including one on Muzel Bryant. • TOP R IGHT: Harris celebrated her retirement with retired directors Ronald Hodson and B.J. Copeland, and Susan White, current director. • BELOW: In 2004, Harris and Walter Clark, both with Sea Grant, received awards from NC State University. E-Ching Lee Ocracoke’s former slaves left the island. The only two African Americans to move from the mainland to Ocracoke were Muzel’s grandparents, Harkus and Winnie Blount. No one knows why the couple chose the island, but there is some speculation that Winnie’s former owner occasionally visited Ocracoke, according to Alton Ballance, a Bryant family friend. Ballance is the author of Ocracokers, a definitive work on the island’s culture and history. Like many island men, Harkus earned a living as a carpenter and a boat builder, while Winnie worked as a domestic. Few written 20 HOLIDAY 2004 COASTWATCH 21 C o n t i n u e d Vacationers on Ocracoke Island, lured by its pristine coastline and rich maritime culture, seldom notice the tiny, quiet woman who, at 100, is one of the island’s most cherished and unique residents. On most days, friends and neighbors passing by her house will look for her sitting in her recliner, positioned just right to see through the storm door. A woman of kind heart and few words, she always returns a wave hello. Meet Muzel Bryant, whose lineage on Ocracoke goes back to the Civil War. While history books were chronicling the resolve of the postwar American spirit, equally passionate and entrepreneurial African American families, such as the Bryants, often were left out of the story. Muzel is a rare link to that near-forgotten past. “She’s a treasure in Outer Banks history,” says Walt Wolfram, a sociolinguist from North Carolina State University. Wolfram has studied Muzel’s speech and her life for a decade. “She’s the last living African American who was born and still lives on Ocracoke.” The first African Americans arrived on the Outer Banks during the early 1700s as slaves brought from Virginia and Maryland, according to Wolfram. By the Civil War, coastal North Carolina had a significant slave population, and more than 100 slaves lived on Ocracoke. After the war ended in 1865, all of “As a small child, she remembered people sitting around talking about people that tried to fly,” says Muzel’s caretaker, Kenny Ballance, referring to the Wright brothers’ flight over Kitty Hawk in 1903. Despite the astounding changes in technology, world politics and culture during her lifetime, Muzel takes things in stride. “Well,” she admits with a shrug, “there have been a lot of changes.” JUST LIKE FAMILY? Growing up, the Bryant children may have seemed like any other group of siblings as they played by the shore and “mommucked” their elders, a local term meaning “to irritate or bother.” And although many in the community felt they accepted the Bryants “just like family,” Wolfram discovered that certain social boundaries once existed between Muzel’s family and other Ocracokers. “They didn’t go to school with the regular kids,” Howard says. “But the white kids their age would teach them.” “And Mu’ was always very proud of the fact that she could read,” she adds. Ironically, when the community celebrated Muzel’s 100th birthday last March, the party was held at the same school she and her siblings could not attend. As Wolfram learned more about Muzel’s life on the island, he uncovered other, more subtle examples of those social boundaries. At one time the island had a dance hall, he says, describing it as a simple wooden room with a record player and a few metal chairs. “When we asked Muzel if she used to go to the dance hall, she said she did,” he reports. “However, when we asked her if she liked to dance, she said she didn’t know because she had never gone in; instead, she stayed outside, watching the others through the window.” Those kind of educational and social boundaries, coupled with the isolation of island life, may explain why many of Muzel’s siblings left Ocracoke. All of the Bryants’ nine children, except Muzel, Mildred and Julius, settled on the mainland, either in North Carolina or in northern states. The youngest, John Thomas, moved to Elkin and was a chauffeur for the Reynolds family, of tobacco fame. Two of Muzel’s brothers, Lewis and Jeffrey, worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and her oldest brother, Artis, joined the Merchant Marines. Muzel’s sisters were equally ambitious. Mildred worked in Washington, N.C., and Baltimore for nearly 15 years, returning to the island in the early 1940s. Mamie moved to Connecticut and later taught school in New York City, where she still lives with her daughter. Annie Laura lived in Washington, N.C., where she may have received some schooling, according to Alton Ballance in CELEBRATING A CENTURY: The Life of Muzel Bryant B y K a t h l e e n A n g i o n e TOP LEFT: Muzel Bryant, age 11 (1915). TOP RIGHT: Muzel, age 25 (1929). ABOVE: Today, at age 100, Muzel is one of Ocracoke’s most cherished residents and an important link to Outer Banks history. details about their life exist, but it was likely difficult. Of the couple’s 12 children, only two — Annie Laura and Elsie Jane — lived to adulthood. Elsie Jane married Leonard Bryant near the turn of the 20th century, and they chose to stay on Ocracoke. Between 1902 and 1924, they had nine children, including Muzel. She was born on March 12, 1904 — only 39 years after slavery ended and 50 years before the civil rights movement began. “The connection over the century is just amazing,” says Julie Howard, Muzel’s friend and former next-door neighbor. TOP: Back row, from left: Muzel’s parents, Elsie Jane and Leonard with family friend. Front Row, from left: Muzel’s sister Mildred, brothers Lewis and Artis, Muzel and cousin. MIDDLE, LEFT TO RIGHT: Muzel’s sister Mamie, brother Artis, sister Annie Laura, and Muzel’s son Charles, who was born in 1925 and died in 1988. LEFT: Leonard Bryant, a sexton at the Methodist church, appears here with Ocracoke resident Doris Garrish. All historic family photos courtesy of Muzel Bryant Scott Taylor CW Nov-Dec 04.indd 24-25 11/3/17 9:25 AM Katie Mosher worked on the N.C. Fishery Resource Grant program or visited the Sea Grant table at the N.C. Seafood Festival in Morehead City, you’ve likely crossed paths with Lewis. “She’s always the first to say, ‘What do you need? How can I help?’” says Barry Nash, Sea Grant seafood technology and marketing specialist. Having grown up in a family with deep roots in Down East Carteret County, Lewis brings authentic flavor — figuratively and literally — to her work. Her knowledge of the cultural institutions, history and traditions of the area’s fishing heritage enriches the program’s efforts. She has written popular blog posts to share recipes learned from her mother and mother-in-law, and her way of life growing up Down East. “My background has an impact on my work,” acknowledges Lewis, a Harkers Island native. She is out on the water regularly with her husband James, who holds a commercial fisherman’s license. “We have shrimped, clammed and fished. It gave me an appreciation for how hard the coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 29 C U R R E N T S fishermen work. It’s a hard living. I just appreciate what they do a lot more having done it myself,” she explains. “Vanda has made our program more efficient and effective because she understands the content we’re working on and also can explain the impact we have on other’s lives,” says Jack Thigpen, Sea Grant extension director, pointing to her ability to make sense out of random ideas or data. Jim Murray, Sea Grant extension director prior to Thigpen, notes that Lewis brought an intangible quality to the table. “Overlying her skill set was a lifelong commitment to the Sea Grant organization and philosophy. Vanda very much understood that Sea Grant serves the public and she truly gave of herself with an unselfish spirit of public service.” Her commitment to improving workplace morale is evident to others. “Vanda takes time out of her busy schedule to check in with me on both my work and family,” notes Jeff Buckel, a fisheries biologist at NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. “She has been the face of Sea Grant to our laboratory in Morehead City, and to groups residing in or visiting the coast.” Lewis has been a point person for Sea Grant’s collaborations at the central coast. That area is home to university marine science labs; offices of state and federal agencies; an aquarium, museums, parks and reserve; and countless state and local organizations and businesses that collaborate on events, projects and initiatives. Nash singles out Lewis’ contribution to the Mariner’s Menu blog. She prepares, photographs and posts recipes for that site. “She combines her knowledge of seasonal information about seafood and her own cooking expertise to make sure a home cook could do it. That’s huge because many people like to eat seafood, but they don’t know how to prepare it,” he explains. Nash notes that Lewis also has developed seafood recipes for coastal processors who wish to sell prepared foods made with local ingredients. She ensures that the flavor, texture, aroma and appearance of items appeal to a broad range of consumer expectations. “Vanda’s expertise in this area far surpasses my own,” he explains. “She has truly helped enhance the visibility of North Carolina seafood and the state’s commercial fishing industry to our citizens.” However, all good things come to an end: Lewis retires at the end of 2017, the same time as her husband James. “It was a hard decision,” Lewis says. “I’ve worked 30 years. Initially I wondered what I was going to do to fill my day but James solved that.” The pair has plans to drive off into the sunset in their brand-new RV. She hopes to find new images to capture with her camera — and maybe blog about the sights she sees. “I’ve learned new and more things, been exposed to a lot of different things about environment and fisheries and grants. So I’ve learned a lot along the way,” Lewis says about her three decades with Sea Grant. “I’ve always tried to accept changes that have come, and challenges. And go with it.” And this time, the changes might be in the scenery outside her RV window as Lewis navigates her way to new adventures and sights. • TOP: In 2009, Vanda Lewis, pictured with Bob Hines, then a Sea Grant fisheries specialist, was selected to advance to the university-level for an employee excellence award. • BOT TOM L EF T: Food photography is a passion Lewis discovered and honed while at Sea Grant. • BOT TOM R IGHT: Lewis prepares, photographs and posts recipes for the Mariner’s Menu blog. E-Ching Lee Vanda Lewis NC Sea Grant file photo 30 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S THERE’S A LOT TO BE LEARNED FROM A TRIP OUT ON THE WATER. At work and in regular, everyday conversation, I constantly talk about changing water levels, tide gauges, coastal inundation and relative sea-level rise. To really understand what these words mean, I’ve found it best to get outside — and on the water — to experience natural resources and the factors that affect them. Always a water lover growing up in a Great Lakes state, I found more to learn when I moved to the N.C. coastal town of Beaufort almost six years ago. With beautiful waters beckoning to me daily, I have taken advantage of my location to take more kayak, stand-up paddleboard and sailing trips out on the water than I can count. One of the most important friends I’ve met here is known simply as “the tide.” I quickly realized that the tide is here to stay whether I like it or not, so it’s best to make friends if possible. The tide usually is a predictable friend. I know it will change course about every 6 hours and 12.5 minutes, due to the incoming, or flood, tide and outgoing, or ebb, tide. Sometimes the tide is bigger than normal Gaining an Education on the Water: Appreciating the Forces of Nature B Y S A R A H S P I E G L E R • ABOVE: Horses cross the shallow waters of the NC Rachel Carson Reserve during the crisp fall weather. Sarah Spiegler The natural tidal rhythms, originally passing acquaintances, have become close friends. I always want to know what the tide is doing because how it changes will influence where I go on the water, the energy I will need for that day’s paddle, and what I might see. coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 31 P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S (higher high tides) or smaller than normal (lower low tides). Sometimes I wish the tide would change its pattern based on where I want to paddle that day. Paddling while fighting the tide AND the wind can take all the energy I have. The natural tidal rhythms, originally passing acquaintances, have become close friends. I always want to know what the tide is doing because how it changes will influence where I go on the water, the energy I will need for that day’s paddle, and what I might see. Depending on the time of day and water level, a habitat such as salt marsh can look completely different. Marsh vegetation and oyster reefs may be exposed at low tide or completely covered and hidden at high tide. I’ve lost a few flip-flops to this friend. Once, I almost lost my kayak and paddle, when they started to float away while I was on the other side of the sand bar behind the Rachel Carson Reserve, enjoying a day out on the water with friends. One of my companions turned back and rescued our kayaks just in time before they floated out to sea. Another challenge is coming to terms with the wind, a companion that constantly changes while out on the water. Wind speed and direction seem minor on a Friday night while sheltered from the elements in my house. But those factors become very relevant Saturday morning when sitting in a small paddlecraft exposed to the elements. It is a fun coincidence that the Beaufort Wind Force Scale, that estimates wind speed by observing conditions on land or at sea, has the name of my town. The scale was actually named after Sir Francis Beaufort in 1805. I’ve learned to respect the wind as I have the tide. Rather than fighting it, I know the importance of working smarter, not harder. This often means getting out of the wind by heading for the “lee” side of the island where the wind is blocked. Paddling close to shore can be safer as well, because there often is less current — and less boat traffic. SHARING THE JOYS Paddling vessels take you to the next destination, employing exclusively human power. One of my favorite parts of paddling is the ease of getting under way using my own strength. I also love the sense of accomplishment when propelling myself to explore new places, often sites unreachable and unobservable to someone in a motorboat. It is when I paddle back to shore under human power — against the wind, tide and current — that I learn the most about how the natural elements and the coastal environment are interwoven. Returning home after a challenging paddle and battling the elements, I feel like I have allowed Mother Nature to C o n t i n u e d • TOP: Shackleford Banks is visible from the eastern end of Bird Shoals on the Rachel Carson Reserve. • LEF T: Sometimes I race on my paddleboard too. • RIGHT: A whelk lays its eggs in a shell case at the Rachel Carson site of the N.C. Coastal Reserve. Michael Miller Photography/Crystal Coast TDA Sarah Spiegler Sarah Spiegler 32 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S teach me to have respect for something I cannot control. One of the most inspiring parts of being an instructor for the American Canoe Association, or ACA, is teaching people while they are out of their comfort zone. I’ve seen many paddle students persevere, overcoming the pesky forces of wind, tide, current and inclement weather. I enjoy witnessing a novice gain new confidence from something as simple as hopping on a kayak or a stand-up paddleboard. Earlier this year, I led University of North Carolina Wilmington students on a 10-mile round-trip paddle from Shell Point at Harkers Island to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. I was proud to see these students, many with minimal paddling experience, accomplish this daunting feat. The wind and current picked up on the return trip, when many were fighting fatigue, while making their way in an unfamiliar and sometimes harsh environment. Just as important, these students, many who were environmental studies majors, learned about coastal resources in an outdoor setting after a semester in a classroom. Rad. One of my favorite lines in a 2017 Paddling Trip Guide article by Rapid Media says, “Every time we paddle, we go on a trip … there is a going out and a returning home. We never return the same person that we left.” I agree. PADDLING THROUGH HISTORY I have been fortunate to introduce many people to the beautiful waters of “my front yard.” I am lucky that I can see a small sliver of the water of Taylors Creek peeking between houses across the street. A 30-second walk out my front door allows me to check on my friends the tide and wind. A short paddle across Taylors Creek leads me to the Rachel Carson Reserve, a 2,300-acre island that is strongly influenced by the tides. Part of the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, it is home to over 200 species of birds, approximately 35 wild horses, a variety of fiddler crabs, foxes, rabbits, snakes, racoons, turtles, fish, snails and sea urchins, and an assortment of marsh grasses. Many people regularly venture out to the reserve for a day trip. From a neighbor’s porch, I can spot the waters of Back Sound on the backside of the Rachel Carson Reserve. Back Sound flows between State a nd n at ional p arks, a long w ith r eser ve s ites, of fer m any oppor tunit ies for paddlers o f a ll s kill levels. These a re m y f avor ite p addle t r ips i n m y “ f ront y ard”: • 1. Taylors Creek in Beaufort to the Rachel Carson Reserve. Skill level: Easy. • 2. Beaufort to Shackleford Banks, part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Skill level: Intermediate. • 3. Beaufort to the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, located on Cape Lookout National Seashore. Skill level: Advanced. • 4. Shell Point on Harkers Island to Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Skill level: Intermediate. • 5. The Down East community of Davis to the National Park Service cabins on Great Island, South Core Banks, part of Cape Lookout National Seashore. Skill level: Advanced. • 6. Hammocks Beach State Park to Bear Island. Skill level: Easy to intermediate. • ABOVE: My kayak lets me get up close and personal with aquatic life, such as this sea urchin along the central coast. Sarah Spiegler coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 33 P E O P L E A N D P L A C E S the reserve and Shackleford Banks, a barrier island shielding Beaufort from the Atlantic Ocean. One of the islands in Cape Lookout National Seashore, Shackleford Banks measures approximately eight miles from its western tip to its eastern end. Shackleford has lost about a mile of land on the western end over the past four years due to erosion. The eastern end of the island is separated by Barden Inlet from South Core Banks, home of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. Cape Lookout National Seashore includes Shackleford Banks, South Core Banks and North Core Banks, which together comprise over 50 miles of undeveloped ocean shoreline. It is a calm and serene place, ideal to experience a changing wilderness. This incredibly unique island chain is hands down my favorite place anywhere in North Carolina. And it’s also a great place for paddling. The national seashore is a barrier island chain, so it is influenced by the elements — tides, currents, wind and storms. The islands are constantly changing and never look the same each time I go. Because of the protections afforded when Cape Lookout became a national seashore in 1966, there are no roads on the seashore, no housing developments and no bridge to reach its islands from the mainland. We are allowing this island chain to change in a dynamic way like Mother Nature intended. In a trip to Cape Lookout, I can feel the tide of history from the remnants of long-gone communities. Shackleford Banks is home to over 120 wild horses called banker ponies that are believed to be descendants of the horses that survived Spanish shipwrecks in the 16th century. In the 1800s, the best-known community was Diamond City — named after the diamonds on the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. The predominantly whaling and fishing community occupied the east end of Shackleford Banks. Residents were forced from the island by hurricanes at the end of the century and many fled to Morehead City, a reminder of the harsh and ever-changing nature of a barrier island. A cemetery located in the middle of the maritime forest on Shackleford holds the remains of many of those who once called the island home. Now a museum, the Cape Lookout Lighthouse quarters once housed lightkeepers who lived in a harsh environment before modern conveniences. These resilient and gritty sentinels kept the oil burning daily to light the Fresnel lamp, climbing 201 steps to the top of the lighthouse from 1812 until 1950, when the light was automated. Now, only wildlife are resident on the National Seashore islands. Human visitors can swim, fish, bird, shell, hunt, boat, paddle, sail, hike and camp on these islands. Some spend the night sleeping in a tent bathed in the light of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse or nestled into the maritime forest of Shackleford Banks. One of my favorite sights while sitting around a campfire at “Shack” (as Shackleford Banks is affectionately referred to by locals) is the sight of a herd of wild horses trotting quietly down the beach. Just writing this makes me excited for the next time I can venture out on my next paddle trip. Sarah Spiegler is an avid outdoor enthusiast, American Canoe Association kayak and stand-up paddleboard instructor, a wilderness first responder, and has worked on sailboats in North Carolina and New Zealand. She previously served as the outreach specialist for the NOAA North Carolina Sentinel Site Cooperative. SAFE T Y T IP S • Respect the power of nature. Always check the wind, weather and tides before you leave. Postpone your trip until you have better conditions, if necessary. Stay updated when out on the water of changing conditions with numerous free apps on your smartphone. • Know your limits — be aware of your abilities. Do not paddle in conditions that are beyond your skill level. • Always wear your personal floatation device when you are paddling. Also, wear your leash, if you are on a stand-up paddleboard. Leave a float plan with a friend. Bring water, snacks, sunscreen, a rain jacket, shoes to protect your feet from oyster reefs, first-aid supplies, and a cell phone in a waterproof container. • If you are a beginner, plan your trips paddling with the tide, and then have a friend pick you up at your destination. Or, plan to start your trip paddling against the tide and paddle as far as you can, and then change directions and “ride” the tide back home. Paddling against the tide at the end of a trip often can feel overwhelming for a beginner and results in fatigue. When on a stand-up paddleboard, paddle against the wind when starting your trip for similar reasons. • If you are paddling in a new place, seek advice from local paddlers. They are usually happy to share tips and local knowledge about the area before you set out on your trip. • Above all, don’t forget a sense of adventure. Without that, all is lost. • ABOVE: I led a group of students from the University of North Carolina Wilmington on a paddle trip through the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Sarah Spiegler 34 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org NORTH CAROLINA SEA GRANT CONTINUES TO OFFER FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUTSTANDING GRADUATE STUDENTS. Three new recipients are sponsored through Sea Grant collaborations with N.C. Space Grant and the Albemarle- Pamlico National Estuary Partnership. “These partnerships allow students to have unique opportunities for applied research on current topics. This allows for interdisciplinary exploration,” notes Susan White, Sea Grant executive director. SEA GRANT/SPACE GRANT Newly appointed graduate fellows will use satellite and remote-sensing data to explore oyster reefs and storm impacts on the North Carolina coast. They will be supported by North Carolina’s Space Grant and Sea Grant programs. Both are federal/state partnerships. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration houses the National Sea Grant College Program, while the National Partnerships Beget Fellowships NC Sea Grant Offers Joint Funding with NC Space Grant, APNEP B Y M A R I S A I N C R E M O N A Aeronautics and Space Administration hosts the Space Grant network. Learn more at ncspacegrant.org. “It is exciting for these programs to continue to provide specialized support for students,” notes Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant and North Carolina Space Grant. “NASA and NOAA have extensive data sets, with more being gathered every day. Our graduate fellows are using the information and visualizations to consider very real issues in our coastal communities.” ANNA W INDLE is a master’s student at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, studying coastal environmental management. Her advisor is David Johnston, based at the Duke Marine Laboratory. Windle will evaluate the impacts of commercial oyster harvest on reef health. She will work with her colleague, Sarah Poulin, also a master’s student at Duke. “This project will help to inform N.C. coastal managers about the current state of oyster reef health, and ultimately will act as a base level of oyster-reef health imagery and analysis for future studies,” Windle explains. She completed her bachelor’s degree in environmental science at Washington College in Maryland. Recently, Windle served as a research intern with Duke’s Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab in Beaufort. Currently, she is president of Duke’s student chapter of The Coastal Society. She is originally from Elkton, Maryland. LAURA M CGEE is a doctoral student at North Carolina State University, in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences. Her advisor is Ruoying He, director of the Ocean Observing and Modeling Group. S E A S C I E N C E Anna Windle coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 35 McGee will research hurricane impacts on phytoplankton blooms and air/ sea carbon exchange off the North Carolina coast. “My work will quantify the two competing mechanisms that produce carbon caused by hurricanes and will shed light on the role of hurricanes on ocean acidification and climate change,” McGee shares. McGee completed her bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Recently, she worked with the Scientific Research and Education Network, or SciREN, to create a lesson plan for classroom teachers. She also has participated in several educational outreach efforts through NC State. She originally is from Winston-Salem. SEA GRANT/APNEP North Carolina Sea Grant and the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership have selected MOLLIE YACANO as the programs’ 2018 joint fellow. “This partnership allows students to have hands-on research experience with local estuaries,” says John Fear, deputy director of Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system. The competitive fellowship, now in its third year, enables graduate students whose institutions are based in either North Carolina or Virginia, to conduct applied research within the North Carolina portion of the APNEP region. “Ms. Yacano’s research has relevance to multiple strategic priorities and goals of our partnership. Thus, we hold great anticipation for a successful project that will have widespread science and policy benefits,” explains Dean Carpenter, APNEP program scientist. Yacano is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences. Her advisor is Michael Piehler. S E A S C I E N C E She will look at how nitrogen is processed in sediments associated with the invasive genotype of Phragmites australis, also known as common reed. She will compare it with the native genotype of P. australis, as well as other dominant native marsh grasses. Marshes are known to act as buffer zones for excess man-made nitrogen, and often are considered the last line of defense before this nitrogen makes its way into adjacent estuarine waters and eventually the open ocean. “Understanding how invasive species, such as P. australis, change marsh ecosystem functions is vital in order to maintain and protect ecosystems on both local and global scales,” Yacano notes. She originally is from Richmond, Virginia, and completed her bachelor’s degree in marine science at Boston University. During her undergraduate career, Yacano worked on fisheries and environmental archaeology. She also has participated in numerous science-related educational outreach efforts in the Boston area. The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership is a cooperative effort hosted by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and receives funding from the Environmental Protection Agency. Learn more at apnep.org. For more about North Carolina Sea Grant fellowships, go to ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/fellowships. Or, contact John Fear at jmfear@ncsu.edu. Laura McGee Mollie Yacano 36 coastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org FALLING FOR OYSTERS Photos by Vanda Lewis • GARLIC BUTTER OYSTERS • GOLDEN-BROWN FRIED OYSTERS • BAKED OYSTERS WITH BACON MARINER’S MENUcoastwatch | holiday 2017 | www.ncseagrant.org 37 AS T HE E LDEST O F T HREE G IRL S, I ’VE |
OCLC number | 4844651 |