Strength in Numbers: 



Pooling Resources to 

 iVtake an Impact bycariaB. b u rgess 



The United States, captured at night by a space shuttle 

 camera, is ablaze with incandescent light. Illuminated 

 towns and cities form an almost perfect outline of our 

 country's coast. 



The result is more than just a pretty picture. 



It's a graphic illustration of the dense population in our 

 country's coastal plain. Demographers have predicted that 

 by the end of this century, 75 percent of Americans will 

 live within 75 miles of coastal waters. It's a prediction that 

 some think has already come true. 



Growth along the North Carolina coast is keeping with 

 the trend. By the year 2000, populations in Dare, Carteret 

 and New Hanover counties are expected to be triple the 

 1980 count. 



With this shift comes an increased pressure on our 

 watery natural resources and a growing concern over 

 how to maintain and preserve them. The issues we face 

 are countless — protection of wetlands, dwindling fresh 

 water supplies, sewage disposal problems, waning fisher- 



ies, declining water quality, preservation of habitat. We all 

 have a say in what happens. 



"Portions of the coastal environment belong to all of 

 us, " says Michael Corcoran of the N.C Wildlife Federa- 

 tion. "We need to exercise the rights of ownership. " 



Thousands of individuals are making their voices 

 heard as members of a chorus. Conservationists have 

 banded together to speak out on environmental regula- 

 tions; developers have grouped to push for balance in 

 economic growth. 



No matter what the position, people have found that 

 working together as an organized group increases their 

 effectiveness and their ability to get relevant and accurate 

 information. 



Some of these groups are large in scope and familiar in 

 name — Sierra Club, Nature Conservancy, Audubon 

 Society. Others are small but determined. 



All play a role in keeping an eye on our coast. 



NORTH CAROLINA 

 COASTAL FEDERATION 



When a city drainage project clouded the waters of a 

 Wilmington creek with clay last spring, nearby residents were a 

 little concerned. But when a developer proposed a community 

 pier to stretch 350 feet into the waterway, it was time to call a 

 meeting. 



"Hewlett's Creek is a small estuary, but it drains a very large 

 area of our city," says Betsey Talley, chairman of the newly formed 

 Hewlett's Creek Watershed Association. A primary nursery for 

 shellfish, the creek is shallow — less than a foot in some areas at 

 low tide, she says. 



The residents wonied about increased traffic and pollution. 

 "There is simply not enough water to support boats, unless it's just 

 a little johnboat," says Talley. 



The association won its fight; the plans for the pier were 

 withdrawn. But Talley and the other members didn't disband. 



"We became aware of many things that needed our attention 

 and that the residents along the creek needed to be better 

 stewards of the area ourselves — to sort of watch these things and 

 catch them before they happen," she says. 



2 NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 1991 



