cfrw.us Blog

Coming up. Click for more info.

 2008 Greenfield Lake Cypress Festival
Greenfield Lake has long been Wilmington’s hidden ecological jewel – a wonderful and convenient cypress ecosystem that most people have driven past but never really explored. That needs to change.

To that end Cape Fear River Watch is sponsoring the First Annual Greenfield Lake Cypress Festival on Saturday, October 11th.  This will be an all day event at the Greenfield Lake Amphitheater featuring live music, displays by various local environmentally minded organizations, an eco-treasure hunt, pirate storytelling, cypress walks, food and beverages, discounted paddle boat rides and who knows what else.

Individual tickets are $8 in advance or $10 at the gate.  Family pack tickets are $20 in advance or $25 day of show.

If you’d like to attend, exhibit, perform, volunteer or just ask some questions, check out the festival’s very own myspace page and then call Joe Abbate at 910-200-4002.

Name the Boat

Cape Fear River Watch is now the proud owner of a new (to us) non-emitting, battery powered, electric excursion boat on Greenfield Lake. This will be a big step up in both comfort and capacity from the big red electric canoe CFRW has been using to conduct tours of the lake.  The boat still needs a few upgrades/fixes before it’s ready for passengers (little things like seats and extra battery capacity need to be added) but it will soon be cleanly and silently plying the waters of Wilmington’s urban cypress eco-system taking passengers in search of migrating waterfowl, big ‘gators, ancient trees or photogenic scenes, depending on the tour and the time of year.

What the boat needs next is a name.  So we’re announcing our first ever “Name the Electric Boat” contest.  Kids under 16 are invited to send in their suggestions for the new boat’s name.  The name should suggest Greenfield’s alligators. The winner will receive a free Greenfield Lake Gator Tour for up to 6 guests.  The winning entry will be chosen by the RIVERKEEPER and announced at the Cypress Festival.  Send your entries to nametheboat@cfrw.us.

Concern about the planned Titan America Cement Plant and Limestone Quarry on the Northeast Cape Fear River is spreading. If you haven’t already seen/read/heard the following stories are recommended:

Mercury Rising by Keith Barber in the September 2008 issue of Wrightsville Beach Magazine

Titan Site Tagged Aquatic Resource of National Importance  by Marina Giovannelli on WHQR

Titan No Show, Forum Goes On by Keith Barber in Lumina News

Cement Company Eyes Pender by Amanda Hutcheson in Topsail Voice

What does an environmentalist do on his day off? Cleans up the environment, apparently.

CFRW Program Director Joe Abbate stepped away from the river over the 4th of July weekend to concentrate on his other job: running nature tours in the Intracoastal Waterway, around Wrightsville Beach, and on Masonboro Island aboard his 28′ customized beach catamaran: M/V Shamrock. But with thousands of patriotic revelers gathering on uninhabited Masonboro and hundreds of boats rafting up in the channel behind the island, the area was left a little lot worse for wear.

A few phone calls were made and an informal clean-up was mounted on the morning of the 5th. Joe and 7 friends headed out to Masonboro and commenced bagging and loading. And bagging. And loading. And on and on. By mid-morning Shamrock was fully loaded and it was time to return to the dock.

One of Joe’s phone calls had gone to Clif Cash and James Shelton of Green Coast Recycling (who have helped out on CFRW clean-ups and are also active in the efforts to save Island Creek from Titan Cement.) In addition to barrels, bags and their own hard-working selves, Clif and James brought their recycling truck to meet Shamrock at the dock. They filled it. To the very top.

The crew bagged, loaded, shipped, and transferred an estimated 1,500 lbs of beach trash by 11:00am. And by 11:30 Joe was back on Shamrock leading visitors on a nature tour of (a cleaner) Masonboro Island.

And how was your 4th of July weekend?

From our friends at the North Carolina Conservation Network

Near the end of every state legislative session, environmental advocates must block attempts to sneak anti-environment bills through the legislature at the last minute. This year will be no different.

This week a new anti-environment bill appeared in the state Senate: H822. This legislation would weaken the 13-year-old set back requirements for hog houses, allowing them to be re-built too close to neighboring homes and businesses.

H822 appears headed on a fast track to the Senate floor with little to no debate. Ammonia emissions and odors from hog houses have been shown to represent a public health risk to community members – especially to children who live or play nearby.

Under current law, hog producers must get the approval of their neighbors to rebuild or modify farm structures if they cannot meet the legal set back requirements. H822 would remove that requirement and allow construction or repair without notifying neighbors. H822 is a threat to the public health of people living near hog farms – we need your help to stop it before it goes any further.

Tell your legislators and the Governor to oppose H822!

This from our friends at the NC Coastal Federation: Volunteers are needed for two projects to help protect and restore an eroding shoreline at the Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve on Stump Sound in Onslow County.

Project: Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve Shoreline Restoration Project

When: Oyster shellbag installation on Saturday July 19nd 10 am – 3 pm (volunteers welcome for entire time or just a couple of hours)

Shoreline planting on Tuesday July 22^nd 10 am – 2pm (volunteers welcome for entire time or just a couple of hours

Where: Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve in Holly Ridge (~ 45 min north of Wilmington)

What: Volunteers are needed to help protect and restore an eroding shoreline at the Morris Landing Clean Water Preserve. The shoreline project involves oyster reef and salt marsh restoration:

1. On Saturday July 19^th volunteers and NCCF staff will place oyster shell bags along the shoreline in shallow water. The bags are passed by hand along a chain of people and then stacked into a reef formation. We will have stations set up so people can work at a pace and level that suits them. There will be lifting of the shell bags by those volunteers who would like to and are able. Each bag weighs between 20-40lbs.
2. On Tuesday July 22^nd we will be planting ~ 2,500 saltmarsh cordgrass seedlings along the shoreline behind the shell bags. This shoreline saltmarsh restoration engages volunteers in digging small holes along the sandy beach, placing a saltmarsh cordgrass seedling in the hole and tamping the hole closed.

What is provided: NCCF will provide lunch, extra drinks & snacks. NCCF supplies all the equipment and gloves.

Volunteers, please:

1. Wear cool and comfortable clothes that can get dirty.
2. Footwear is very important to consider. Old tennis shoes are usually best or something with rubber soles and covered toes that can be securely fastened to your feet. Shoes will be worn at all times. No bare feet, sandals, tevas, aquasocks, flip-flops or crocs please!
3. Bring sunscreen, and a hat. We will have extra sunscreen.
4. Please be sure to bring any medication you will need especially in case you stay longer than intended

Age Range: The age range for these activities is from age 10 and up.

With all of our events we will have an introduction to the project and the importance of restoring oysters and coastal habitats. We will share some educational materials and exhibits with you. Then we will go over the logistics, safety and comfort issues for the day. We ask all volunteers to fill out a release form.

RSVP: If you would like to help out on either Saturday or Tuesday, please sign up with Ted Wilgis at (910) 790-3275 or tedw@nccoast.org. You’ll receive a confirmation email with directions to Morris Landing. If possible, we will set up carpooling opportunities for volunteers coming from the same areas, but please feel free to set up your own carpools as well.

According to two blue-ribbon commissions, America’s oceans are in trouble. The commissions called for greater care in managing our oceans and greater involvement of American citizens in decision-making. Instead of following that lead, however, the National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing to weaken the nation’s bedrock environmental review and public participation law in fisheries management. The proposal opens the door for fishery managers to skip environmental review altogether and severely curtail the public’s right to have a say in how our oceans are managed. Take a moment to tell the fisheries service to throw its proposal overboard!

Click Here to Take Action Now

The Waterkeeper Alliance® threw a big outdoor birthday party on the lawn in front of the Legislature Building in Raleigh last week for the thousands of children in eastern NC who can’t have outdoor birthday parties because of the pervasive and nauseating stench of “it” (hog waste) that emanates from the region’s slaughterhouses and “lagoons” attached to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The birthday party was the centerpiece of the Alliance’s annual 50 hour vigil on the lawn to urge the governor and the legislature to get off their collective tookus and do something about “it.” Following the party, a delegation led by Lower Neuse Riverkeeper Larry Baldwin walked over to the Governor’s Mansion to hand deliver a gallon jug of the sweet contents of one of those lagoons to Governor Mike Easley, who once promised to eliminate such lagoons in 5 years. That was in 1999. After being told that the Governor wasn’t home, the delegation walked back to the Governor’s office in the capitol and delivered the jug there with a polite note. The current whereabouts of the jug of “it” are unknown, but there are millions more gallons where it came from. Just a guess, but there will probably need to be another vigil on the lawn next year. Here’s hoping our next Governor does more than make promises. Text of open letter delivered with “it” to the Governor:

Text of open letter delivered with “it” to the Governor:

Dear Governor Easley:

Today at noon a broad-based coalition of grassroots community and environmental representatives will arrive at the front gate of the Governor’s Mansion in Raleigh to deliver one gallon of hog waste to you.

Where you reside and work in Raleigh, you and your family do not have to live with the terrible odor and other consequences of hog waste, including its serious health impacts. We suffer from it daily. It makes our lives unbearable.

When asking for our votes, you made a written promise to us that you would rid this state of hog lagoons in five years or less. Unfortunately, your promise made remains a debt unpaid. Today all of the lagoons that existed when you took office are still there, disrupting our lives and injuring our health as before. Our streams and rivers continue to be poisoned by hog pollution. In fact, under your term as Governor the situation has worsened as many more lagoons have been added.

In recent media reports you claim to have solved this problem through legislation passed last year. It is foolish and inappropriate to take that position. We live with the problem and we know the truth. Say what you will; history will judge you, not on your words, but on your actions, or the lack of them.

It is not our goal in bringing this hog waste to you to cause you any physical harm. Our purpose is to share just one gallon of this unhealthy fecal marinade with you. We were specifically denied permission to bring hog waste to Halifax Mall as it was deemed “hazardous”. This is the same substance that is sprayed over our homes and communities, but when we bring it to your backyard it becomes toxic waste. It is our hope that you will open it and take a deep breath as we do daily. Then you will know what kind of existence you have condemned us to suffer. When you are finished, please dispose of the waste by applying it to your garden. You will find its lingering effects to be present for many days.

It is our request that you have the courage to meet with us at the Mansion. You will find us cordial and willing to listen to what you have to say. If you choose not to meet with us we will walk to your office and deliver our package there.

Governor, we are not law breakers. We will not bring hog waste onto Halifax Mall. However, we will not stop reminding you of your responsibility to honor your promises. We will be back every year until our lives and communities get the respect and protections that they deserve. We respect the laws, especially those granted under the Constitution of the United States, but we have been denied the most basic of protections: the rights to breathe clean air, drink clean water and fully enjoy our property. In large measure, you are responsible for that.

Sincerely,

Cape Fear River Watch

Concerned Citizens for Tillery

NC Environmental Justice Network

Neuse River Foundation

New River Foundation

Pamlico-Tar River Foundation

Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help

Waterkeeper Alliance

First Saturday Seminar – Cape Fear COASTKEEPER® Mike Giles will be the featured speaker and “Political Advocacy” will the be the topic at June’s First Saturday Seminar on Saturday, June 7th at 9:00am at Cape Fear River Watch’s Environmental Education Center at 617 Surry St. in Wilmington. The North Carolina Coastal Federation will be taking an especially active role among the Watershed Alliance at this year’s Clean Water Lobby Day on June 4th – releasing their “State of the Coast” report and championing the proposed new stormwater rules – and Mike will be the perfect speaker to give a rundown of accomplishments by this year’s crop of grassroots lobbyists. He will also provide us with the inside dish on what important current conservation legislation most bears watching not only during the coming legislative session in Raleigh, but on the local and national levels as well. Who says advocacy can’t be a thrilling spectator sport? As usual: pancakes at 8:30, seminar at 9:00.

The North Carolina Conservation Network is recruiting Rainmakers. No, nothing to do with the drought. Each Rainmaker will work for one of the Eastern North Carolina Riverkeeper organizations – including Cape Fear River Watch – to implement a comprehensive fundraising plan. Increasing the organization’s membership base and donor revenue stream will be a core Rainmakers goal.

The full job description and application form can be viewed on NCCN’s website. If you’d like to work with some of the finest environmental organizations in the region with training and support from a proven leader, then this is your opportunity. If you know somebody who would like to work for some of the finest environmental organizations in the region, then pass on this message because this could be his or her opportunity.