COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Soundfront Series Debuts 



Nc 



Jorth Carolina Sea Grant has 

 introduced the first four documents of The 

 Soundfront Series. The guidebooks, designed 

 to assist property owners and community 

 planners and managers, focus on sustainable 

 growth along estuarine shorelines in North 

 Carolina. 



The long-term environmental health of 

 the land, water and other natural resources 

 requires awareness, understanding and 

 implementation of sustainable design and 

 management options. 



North Carolina Sea Grant teamed with 

 the N.C. Division of Coastal Management 

 and the North Carolina State University 

 College of Design to develop the informa- 

 tional guidebooks. Funding for the publica- 

 tions came from the National Oceanic and 

 Atmospheric Administration. 



The series includes: 

 • Shoreline Erosion in North Carolina 



Estuaries, by Stanley R. Riggs of East 

 Carolina University, UNC-SG-01-1 1, $7; 



• Managing Erosion on Estuarine Shore- 

 lines, by Tracy E. Skrabal of the N.C. Coastal 

 Federation and Spencer Rogers of North 

 Carolina Sea Grant, UNC-SG-01-12, $4; 



• Protecting Estuarine Water Quality 

 Through Design, by Nancy White of the NC 

 State College of Design, UNC-SG-01-1 3, $7; 

 and 



• Protecting the Estuarine Region Through 

 Policy and Management, by Walter Clark of 

 North Carolina Sea Grant, UNC-SG-01-14, $4. 



The guidebooks may be ordered 

 individually at indicated prices, or as a set for 

 $20. All prices include shipping. Later this 

 fall, they will be available online at 

 www.ncsu. edu/seagrant. 



To order the books, send the request with 

 a check to North Carolina Sea Grant, NCSU 

 Box 8605, Raleigh, NC 27695-8605. - P.S. 



Celebrate Down East Heritage 



Wa 



'ant to learn more about Down East 

 traditions — from storytelling to boat building? 



Attend the Core Sound Waterfowl 

 Weekend Dec. 6-8 at the new Core Sound 

 Waterfowl Museum on Harkers Island. The 

 festival will feature waterfowl carvers, artists, 

 copper sculptors, model boat builders, as well 

 as traditional music, duck-blind building and 

 hiking. 



The festival kicks off with the Harkers 

 Island outdoor decorating contest. 



For more information, call 252/728-1 500 

 or visit the Web: www.coresound.com/weekend.htm. 



— A.G. 



Rare Herb 

 Rebounds 



The seabeach amaranth, a threatened 

 shore herb, is rebounding on the newly 

 nourished Indian Beach. A sea turtle 

 monitor made the find in July while 

 patrolling Indian Beach for turtle nests. 



Many in the scientific community 

 feared that beach nourishment would have 

 negative impacts on native species, such as 

 amaranth. "It has been found in multiple 

 locations along the renourished beach," 

 says David Nash. 



Nash, Cooperative Extension 

 commercial horticulture and coastal 

 management specialist for Brunswick and 

 New Hanover counties, says he has seen 

 amaranth making a comeback on other 

 nourished beaches in North Carolina. 



"We are seeing a lot of robust plants," 

 he says. "Apparently the newly widened 

 beaches provide the protection the rare 

 herb requires." 



Eroding beaches discourage the 

 growth of the seabeach amaranth. Once 

 common from South Carolina to Massachu- 

 setts, its range has shrunk along with its 

 habitat. Now, it is found only sparsely in 

 North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland. 



Nash has applied for a special permit 

 to enable him to collect seed from the 

 amaranth for greenhouse propagation. The 

 plant plays an important role in coastal 

 ecology, acting as a sandtrap. As the plant 

 decays, it adds valuable nutrients to the 

 sand. The plant is usually found on 

 overwash flats, lower foredunes and upper 

 strands of noneroding beaches. 



-P.S. 



COASTWATCH 3 



