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Holly Ridge, North Carolina
This project was funded in FY2019 through the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation and the NOAA Recreational Fishing Initiative.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation has restored 0.05 acres of fringing oyster reef and 0.07 acres of tidal salt marsh habitat to protect an additional 0.2 acres of tidal salt marsh habitat along 200 feet of estuarine shoreline at the Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve on Stump Sound. In addition to 9 tons of marl used to create the bottom layer of the oyster reef sill, staff, volunteers, and interns at UNC Wilmington filled over 1,400 bags with 800+ bushels of recycled oyster shells. Volunteers and interns assisted staff throughout each phase of the project. The oyster spat monitoring data collected at this site feeds into the Oyster Spat Monitoring Project, a volunteer effort coordinated by the Benthic Ecology Lab at the Center for Marine Science within UNC Wilmington.
North Carolina Coastal Federation has also been working to better engage Spanish-speaking stakeholders in their habitat restoration and protection activities. The Federation has been working with fluent Spanish speakers to review their outreach materials and develop a community engagement program. Part of this effort included updating and translating estuary habitat education signs at Morris Landing, and translating sections of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries Coastal Habitat Protection Plan and Angler publications.
Images and text provided by NCCF.