The products — and the CHPPs speakers 

 who are open to invitations from community 

 organizations and local governments — are 

 meant to foster a sense of ownership, 

 stewardship and responsibility for coastal 

 habitat. The public meetings will bring together 

 citizens, scientists, state agency staff members 

 and decision makers to address tough issues. 



DENR is looking at the Chesapeake Bay 

 Foundation as a model for community 

 involvement here. What began there as a 

 grassroots movement two decades ago has 

 evolved into a multigovernment, interstate 

 partnership that includes Maryland, Virginia, 

 Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia; the 

 Chesapeake Bay Commission; and federal 

 government representatives. 



For Pete Peterson, the idea of presenting 

 ecosystem-based management plans rather 

 than bureaucratic-driven plans may be just the 

 approach needed. 



'It is a breath of fresh air," he says. 

 Peterson, an IRC member from the environ- 

 mental commission, is a professor of marine 

 biology at the University of North Carolina at 

 Chapel Hill's Institute for Marine Science. 



The three commissions working on this 

 single issue underscores its importance to the 

 public and politicians alike, Peterson says. 



ENERGIZED ADVOCATES 



Could the CHPPs process become a 

 catalyst to unify volunteers, nonprofits and 

 state and local governments? 



Time will tell. But about a dozen N.C. 

 Coastal Federation volunteers learn a potential 

 carry-over lesson about shell bottom habitat 

 one overcast Saturday in early spring. 



They arrive at J&B Aquaculture Farm 

 overlooking Stump Sound equipped with work 

 gloves, shovels, and plenty of determination to 

 "recycle" a mountain of about 400 bushels of 

 oyster shells. 



Some shovel. Others make quarter-bushel 

 mesh bags. Still more volunteers take turns 

 securing the bags with plastic twists. By mid- 

 day, the mountain is reduced to a mere pile, 

 and the bagged shells are neatly piled nearby. 



J&B partners Jim and Bonnie 

 Swartzenberg help transfer the bags into setting 

 tanks built for the project. Once oyster larvae 

 are introduced into the setting tanks, which are 



filled with filtered sound water, it is a matter of 

 waiting for spat to attach to the shells. From 

 there, the bags go into racks and are lowered 

 onto a J&B-leased sound site. They will remain 

 there until the spat hardens in about three weeks. 



Meanwhile, oyster shell bottom habitats 

 are being prepared to receive the next generation 

 of oysters. One site is a federation demonstration 

 project at Hoop Pole Creek in Atlantic Beach. 

 Martin Posey, a Sea Grant researcher at the 

 University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is 

 constructing another shell bottom habitat site. 

 Posey is conducting several oyster studies, 

 including shell bottom design and oyster spat 

 settlement. He also is exploring the potential of 

 oyster restoration in certain now-closed tidal 

 creeks. 



"All habitat is under pressure," Posey says. 

 "But the degree varies from place to place." 



In some areas, shell bottom habitat is being 

 destroyed by silt loading. In other places, water 

 quality poses a threat. In some areas, both are 

 issues. Turbid water and silting also contribute to 

 the decline of sea grasses, he adds. 



"The projects are a combination of habitat 

 restoration and water quality and habitat 

 improvement work." explains Ted Wilgis, the 

 federation's Cape Fear Coast Keeper. 



Oysters "planted" for demonstration or 

 research are not to be harvested for consump- 

 tion. Some will be placed for their filtering 

 capacity to clean up water. Others can produce 

 larvae for the future, he explains. 



More importantly, the volunteers who have 

 the battle scars from handling sharp oyster shells 

 are probably "hooked." 



"They love the hands-on activity," says 

 Tracy Skrabal, federation senior scientist. "In 

 one season they will gain a sense of the whole 

 oyster ecosystem. They can see that what they 

 do makes a difference. The educational value is 

 unbelievable. They've learned about shell 

 bottom habitat. And, learning that runoff 

 pollution is a major cause of habitat destruction, 

 they'll become advocates for clean water." 



Swartzenberg points across the sound to 

 Topsail Island. "Runoff is a major issue in these 

 sounds, which once were prolific nursery 

 grounds. I used to see only trees and green 

 when I looked across at the barrier island. Now, 

 I see only rooftops," he says. 



Neighbors on a nearby creek suffer the 



consequences of seasonally high nutrient levels. 

 Too many nutrients mean too much algae and 

 too little oxygen for living habitat to survive. 



CHPPs, Swartzenberg says, are important 

 to commercial fishing. He repeats a message he 

 delivers in the CHPPs promotional video: "We 

 have a shared responsibility to protect these 

 waters," he says. "We can have economic 

 growth and environmental sustainability." 



So, who should get involved in the CHPPs 

 discussion? Ask James Barry Gaskill, a 

 member of the CHPPs outreach advisory 

 committee who has been fishing and crabbing 

 for a living most of his life. 



He'll tell you, "Anyone who catches fish 

 or eats fish has a stake in the future." □ 



COASTAL HABITAT 

 PROTECTION PLANS 

 PUBLIC MEETINGS 



(All meetings begin at 7 p.m.) 



• JULY 23: 



N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh 



• JULY 24: 



Mooresville Citizens Center, Mooresville 



• JULY 29: 



Brunswick Electric Membership Cooperative, 

 Supply 



• JULY 30: 



Northeast Branch New Hanover County 

 Library, Wilmington 



• AUG. 13: 



East Carteret High School, Beaufort 



• AUG. 19: 



N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island, Manteo 



• AUG. 20: 



Town Council Chambers, Edenton 



• SEPT. 9: 

 Estuarium, Washington 



• SEPT. 10: 



Pamlico County High School, Bayboro 



To learn more about getting involved in the 

 CHPPs process, or to request copies of the 

 brochure, send e-mail tochpps@ncmail.net, 

 or go towww.ncfisheries.net. Copies of the 

 video are available for community organiza- 

 tions. Videos can be viewed at the N.C. 

 Estuarium in Washington and all North 

 Carolina Aquariums, and aboard many state 

 ferries. 



COASTWATCH 19 



