LEFT: N.C. Coastal Federation volunteers learn the importance of healthy shell bottom habitats to 



the Oyster fishery. Photo by Pam Smith 



RIGHT: Commercial fish species require a variety 

 of habitats through their life cycles. Photo by Scotto. Taylor 



(IRC), with two members from each commission, 

 is working with scientists from related state 

 agencies as well as university researchers to 

 describe and classify biological systems within 

 each habitat, determine the habitats' value to 

 coastal fisheries, and document threats. 



The public will be asked to consider 

 science-based remedies that the committee 

 recommends. 



Getting it all right will be critical to 

 protecting coastal resources for the future. 

 Committee members know that future regulatory 

 actions by each commission must be consistent 

 with the plans, once approved by the three 

 commissions and adopted by the General 

 Assembly. 



After several false starts over a two-year 

 period, the commissions regrouped last fall, hit 

 the restart button and re-energized the process. 



"There is no more important task for all 

 three commissions than to develop Coastal 

 Habitat Protection Plans. This is a task so 

 important that no one commission can do it 

 alone," DENR Secretary William Ross told a 

 joint meeting last fall at the N. C. Aquarium at 

 Fort Fisher. 



"Natural resources are not inexhaustible," 

 Ross said. "Many communities in the state see 



signs that they may be crossing important 

 thresholds in the carrying capacity of natural 

 resources." 



While growth may be a foregone conclusion 

 at the coast, Ross sees CHPPs as proactive 

 measures with far-reaching benefits. The key 

 could be helping citizens and decision makers 

 make the link between land uses and healthy 

 fisheries. 



"We must extend the conservation message 

 from the mountains to the open waters," Ross 

 concluded. 



To do so, says B.J. Copeland, "We will 

 need to make our case so compelling, that citizens 

 and legislators want to get involved." 



Copeland, former North Carolina Sea Grant 

 director, represents the marine fisheries commis- 

 sion on the IRC. He adds, "We may not need new 

 regulations, but we do need to figure what we 

 have and how they can work to protect habitat." 



"The only way to make any of this work is 

 to involve the people of North Carolina," says 

 Will Fowler, an IRC panel member from the 

 environmental commission. 



One sure way is to show how doing things 

 differently will produce a positive economic 

 outcome, adds Fowler, retired owner of Coast 

 Realty and Construction on Emerald Isle. 



GETTING THE WORD OUT 



Mike Street agrees that getting the public 

 involved is critical. Street, DMF coastal habitat 

 specialist, is working with the IRC to shepherd 

 the CHPPs development process. He and staff 

 members are researching the science that 

 underpins each draft chapter for IRC scrutiny. 



But for all the supporting science, Street 

 knows it will be public support that will count in 

 the final analysis. Involving the public, he says, 

 creates advocates. 



Street and DENR are working on education 

 and outreach efforts that include print and video 

 materials, funded with a grant from the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 



A colorful brochure presents the CHPPs 

 mandate and describes each habitat, while a 12- 

 page tabloid, targeted for insertion in 25,000 

 coastal newspapers, provides more detailed 

 scientific information. 



A professionally produced video, Fish and 

 CHPPs, introduces viewers to fellow citizens 

 with strong ties to the coast, including a 

 commercial fisher, a recreational angler and an 

 oyster farmer. Ross provides a running narration 

 and invites viewers to get involved in the 

 discussion. 



Continued on 19 



COASTWATCH 17 



