North Carolina

As weather warms, nesting shorebirds and sea turtles join people heading to NC’s beaches

Published

2 weeks ago

April 26, 2024

As weather warms, nesting shorebirds and sea turtles join people heading to NC’s beaches

With people flocking to the coast, officials hope education and outreach can help efforts to share the sand with nesting birds and sea turtles.

As the weather warms, sun-seeking tourists aren’t the only ones drawn to North Carolina’s rich necklace of barrier islands along its 320 miles of coastline.

If you’re visiting the beach this summer, there’s a good chance you’ll see wildlife mixed in with visitors and the occasional resident.

But sharing valuable beach real estate with nesting shorebirds and sea turtles can be challenging.

Mix in the loss of habitat on many islands to development, the growing risk from climate change, and the increased threat of disturbance tied to human activities, dogs and even predators and the odds are often stacked against the native fauna.

The eggs and chicks of nesting shorebirds often blend in perfectly with the sand, making it easy for people or pets to accidentally step on them. Getting close to the nests or babies can be just as bad, scaring the parents off and leaving the eggs and chicks at the mercy of predators and the summer heat.

That’s where groups like the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and Audubon North Carolina come in to help level the playing field.

Hundreds of signs ring the state’s coastal nesting sanctuaries from Currituck Sound in the north to Sunset Beach in the south, warning visitors to respect nesting areas. In some locations, including Wrightsville Beach, volunteers help reinforce that message.

Hope Sutton, eastern wildlife diversity supervisor with the wildlife commission, said education and outreach efforts are some of the most powerful tools officials have to raise awareness about the birds’ requirements.

PHOTOS: Bird watching in the Wilmington area

“It’s a critical component, whether its students at Wrightsville Beach Elementary making cute signs to warn beachgoers to stay out of the refuge or adults learning about these birds through one of our outreach activities,” she said. “Our behavior patterns can really impact the chance of success many of these birds species have.”

The helping hand comes as regulators worry about the future of some of the state’s shorebirds.

North Carolina’s 2023 waterbird survey, which is conducted every three years and is a collaborative effort among government agencies and environmental groups, showed substantial dips in the numbers of many nesting shorebirds. Among wading birds, that list included cattle egrets, tricolored heron, little blue herons, snowy egrets and glossy ibis. Beach-nesting species showing substantial declines included the common tern, gull-billed tern, and Caspian tern.

Another species that is in trouble is the black skimmer, with North Carolina’s population decreasing by half since 1999. Because skimmers nest directly on the open sand, they are especially vulnerable to disturbance and loss of nesting sites.

But the survey wasn’t all bad news. Least tern numbers were found to be increasing, with many of the nests found on the beaches at the south end of Wrightsville Beach and on Lea-Hutaff Island in Pender County. Brown pelicans also are doing well, with 5,227 nests reported in 2023, well above the 15-year average of about 4,000 nests.

WHAT’S FLYING BY? Researchers go high-tech to track migratory birds along Pender County coast

Many of the shorebirds holding their own nest on spoil islands, like those in the Cape Fear River or Intracoastal Waterway, or on sections of protected natural areas like Masonboro Island that are hard to access.

But climate change is an unknown variable that could add to the pressure many species face. On low-lying manmade dredge islands, for example, rising seas and stronger tropical storms tied to warming temperatures could increase erosion and overwash threats.

“And the competition for sand is already tough and is likely to get worse in the coming decades,” Sutton said, referring to the limited nearshore sand resources and many coastal towns now seeking nourishment projects to boost their eroding beaches.

A warming climate also could prompt some birds to nest sooner.

Lindsay Addison, a coastal biologist with Audubon North Carolina, said learning to share the beach and knowing when to back away, such as when a shorebird starts acting irritated, can go a long way to help.

“Anyone who has lived down here for a while knows that there are more and more people now, and sometimes it’s really hard to anywhere along the coast and not run into a lot of people,” she said. “The birds also are experiencing that, and there are a lot of opportunities for people to disturb them and impact their survival.

“But if we just keep our distance and take some other steps, like keeping our dogs on a leash during certain times, it can make a really huge difference.”

Shorebird nesting season runs from March through mid-September.

Turtle time

Shorebirds aren’t the only ones looking to nest on area beaches. Peak sea turtle nesting season begins May 1 and continues through the end of October.

Most local beaches are monitored daily during sea turtle nesting season to look for evidence of nests, which are then monitored and protected if needed during the roughly two-month incubation period.

While sea turtle nesting numbers have been showing increases in recent years, regulators and environmentalists warn the marine reptiles still face many threats − especially during the decades they navigate the oceans before females return to their birth beach to nest.

While on the beach, threats dangers include holes dug in the sand and left by beachgoers, which can trap hatchlings after they emerge from the nest, and bright lights from homes and businesses that can distract nesting mothers and hatchlings and lead them away from the ocean.

CONSERVATION WIN? NC sees record number of green sea turtle nests in 2023

Sharing the beach

Tips from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission on how to share the beach with nesting wildlife this summer:

Respect the boundaries of the roped-off nesting areas
Keep dogs on a leash
Follow beach driving regulations
Throw away trash properly, including fishing line and kite strings
Don’t feed sea gulls or least terns
Don’t fly drones or kites near nesting sites

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on X/Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from the Green South Foundation and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full editorial control of the work.

Source link

Click to comment

North Carolina

North Carolina facing 7 charges after chase with Crisp Co. deputies

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Press Room

North Carolina facing 7 charges after chase with Crisp Co. deputies

CRISP COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) – A Charlotte man has been arrested on multiple charges after a Friday chase with deputies.

Around noon on May 4, a Crisp County deputy tried to make a traffic stop on an SUV at the intersection of GA 30 W and Old Albany Road. During the stop, the deputy learned that the vehicle was reported stolen out of North Carolina.

The driver of the vehicle then reportedly left the scene, which led to a chase through Cordele, onto the interstate and into Dooly County where the driver crashed at the 108-mile marker of GA 401/I75, according to a sheriff’s office statement.

A search of the suspect’s car ended with law enforcement finding a bag of suspected marijuana, a bag and bar of suspected psilocybin and other items, per a release.

Ronavon Kelley, 22, was arrested and charged with

Theft by bringing stolen property into the state
Fleeing and attempt to elude
Possession of marijuana with the Intent to distribute
Possession of psilocybin with the intent to distribute
Possession of psilocybin
Two counts of fraud – financial identity

He was taken to the Crisp County Detention Center after his arrest.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

Source link

North Carolina

5 years after a federal lawsuit, North Carolina voter ID trial is set to begin

Published

9 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Press Room

5 years after a federal lawsuit, North Carolina voter ID trial is set to begin

Gary D. Robertson
| Associated Press

Raleigh, N.C. — A federal lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s photo voter identification law is set to go to trial Monday, with arguments expected to focus on whether the requirement unlawfully discriminates against Black and Hispanic citizens or serves legitimate state interests to boost public confidence in elections.

The non-jury trial in Winston-Salem begins more than five years after the state NAACP and several local chapters sued over the voter ID law enacted by the Republican-dominated General Assembly in late 2018.

This litigation, along with similar lawsuits in state courts, delayed implementation of the requirement until last year’s municipal elections. The 1.8 million voters who cast ballots in the March primaries also had to comply. State election data showed fewer than 500 provisional ballots cast because of ID-related issues in the primary ultimately didn’t count.

The November general election — with races for president, governor and other statewide seats — could see turnout three times greater than the primary. And the nation’s ninth-largest state is a presidential battleground where statewide races are often close.

A favorable NAACP ruling from U.S. District Judge Loretta Biggs could block the requirement in the fall. The trial is expected to last several days, with Biggs already signaling in a document that she won’t immediately rule from the bench.

The NAACP lawyers contend the voter ID requirement, along with two other voting-related provisions in the 2018 law, violate the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act in part because lawmakers enacted them with discriminatory intent.

In a pretrial brief, attorneys for the state and local chapters of the civil rights group cite data showing Black and Latino voters are more than twice as likely to lack a qualifying ID with a photo than white voters. They plan to bring in witnesses who will say they encountered voting problems in the March primary.

“Absent relief, thousands of North Carolinians will similarly have their right to vote unconstitutionally abridged,” the NAACP lawyers wrote. They also said evidence will show North Carolina lawmakers rushed through the legislation — mere weeks after voters approved a constitutional amendment mandating photo ID — without considering its impact on minority voters.

Attorneys representing Republican legislative leaders and State Board of Elections members defending the law in court said in briefs that the rules impose only a minimal burden on voters.

They point out that the law greatly expanded the number of qualifying IDs compared with what was approved in a 2013 voter ID law that federal judges struck down as discriminatory. Free IDs are provided by county election and Division of Motor Vehicles offices, and people lacking photo ID at the polls should have their votes count if they fill out an exception form or bring in their ID to election officials before the final tallies.

“The General Assembly enacted (the law) after the People of North Carolina mandated the legislature to create a voter ID law. The bipartisan legislation did not have a discriminatory intent, and Plaintiffs cannot overcome the presumption of legislative good faith,” lawyers for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger wrote in a brief. Preventing voter fraud is also a legitimate state interest for the law, the attorneys wrote. Nationwide, however, voter identity fraud is rare.

Biggs, who was nominated to court by President Barack Obama, already has ruled frequently in this case.

In late 2019 she issued a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the law, saying it was tainted because the 2013 law had been struck down on similar grounds of racial bias. But the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her decision, writing that she had put too much emphasis on the past conduct of the General Assembly when evaluating the 2018 law. When Biggs declined to allow Berger and Moore to join the lawsuit as defendants, they appealed, and the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately sided with them in 2022.

Biggs opened the door for a trial when the state Supreme Court determined the photo ID law comported with the state constitution.

Thirty-six states have laws requesting or requiring identification at the polls, 21 of which seek photo ID, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Source link

North Carolina

10 things to know about tourism along North Carolina’s coast

Published

16 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Press Room

10 things to know about tourism along North Carolina’s coast

Whether you’re looking for sandy beaches or cool mountain streams, North Carolina’s got it. That’s why the state has become a popular destination for those in the eastern United States.

Each year, Visit North Carolina, the unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina focused on travel and tourism, examines the data to determine just how much visitors contribute to the state and local economies. While the county breakdowns from 2023 won’t be released until later this year, here’s a look at data from 2022.

Summer bucket list: 24 things to do in 2024 in the Wilmington area

6^th

The state’s rank among U.S. states for domestic visitation.

7th

New Hanover County’s rank in visitor spending among North Carolina’s 100 counties.

11.2 million

The number of visitors who traveled to the state’s coastal region.

80%

The number of those visitors who stayed overnight.

Summer

The most popular time for travelers to visit the coast.

2.9

Average party size for coastal visitors.

40%

The percentage of travel parties that included children under 18.

$1,341

The average expenditure for parties traveling to the coastal region in 2022.

Where did visitors travel from?

The top states of origin for overnight visitors to the coastal region in 2022 were: North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Georgia.

45%

The percentage of coastal region visitors in 2022 who were in-state residents.

Data Source: 2022 North Carolina Regional Visitor Profile, a publication of Visit North Carolina, a unit of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina. Research staff of Visit North Carolina created this report based on data from TravelTrakAmerica.

Source link