FROM 



THE EDITOR 



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Post-Storm Recovery 



; we enter this holiday season, our 

 thoughts are with folks still recovering from the 

 devastating impacts of Hurricanes Katrina and 

 Rita. 



Though hundreds of miles away, residents of 

 eastern North Carolina who coped with the effects 

 of Hurricane Floyd feel a special "flood survivor" 

 kinship with many along the Gulf Coast. 



People along the Gulf continue to cope with 

 the recovery — including Jeff Gearhart, formerly 

 of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and now working for the National 

 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Mississippi. 



In an e-mail to colleagues after Katrina he said he and his family were 

 staying with friends. "My house was flooded with about 7 feet of water, and 

 we lost everything." 



Sea Grant colleagues in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas are 

 helping damaged communities recover — in many cases, like Jeff's, they also 

 are dealing with losses at their own homes and offices. 



"Our aquarium in Biloxi, Miss., was directly in the path of Katrina's 

 fury and the results were catastrophic. Our facility, exhibits, and most of our 

 contents are a total loss," writes Sharon Walker, Mississippi- Alabama Sea 

 Grant education director and administrator of the J.L. Scott Marine Education 

 Center and Aquarium. 



The loss also included the library for the National Marine Educators 

 Association, but Sharon and her team see the storm as a teachable moment: 

 "Even though our physical structures may now be a part of the 'wind-wrecked 

 and storm-surged' landscape of coastal Mississippi, our marine education 

 programs will continue as a part of this area's marine rebirth," 



Spencer Rogers, North Carolina Sea Grant's coastal erosion specialist, is 

 helping analyze the storm's impact. He spent several weeks evaluating damage 

 from Mobile, Ala, to New Orleans as part of a team from the American 



ABOVE: Hurricane Katrina ravaged the J.L. Scott Marine 

 Education Center and Aquarium in Biloxi, Miss. 



Society of Civil Engineers — and he says the 

 damage is unlike anything he has seen before. 



While attending the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington, Shonda Borden worked 

 with Spencer in our Wilmington office. Now she is a 

 Sea Grant extension specialist in Alabama. 



"Seafood has been declared safe to eat. 

 Regular testing is done on fish, oysters, sediments 

 and water, and will be done for some time," she 

 reports. "Those fishermen who still have boats and 

 can afford the gas will hopefully be able to recoup some of their losses." 



Sea Grant and the National Marine Fisheries Service have post- 

 storm collaborations in the Gulf, including adding a Vietnamese-speaking 

 extension agent to work with fishing communities. Sea Grant also will assist 

 communities in planning how they will rebuild. 



And Louisiana Sea Grant continues to work with Louisiana State 

 University's ongoing forum on coastal challenges. In January 2005 — months 

 before Katrina hit — a panel of scientists gave a stark assessment of the current 

 status of wetland loss, hurricane vulnerability, spatial data and coastal resource 

 economics. 



Sources for updates on recovery efforts include: 



• National Sea Grant Coastal Hazards Theme Team: www.haznet. 

 org/iuiz_hazards/liazard _katrina.htm 



• Louisiana Sea Grant: www.laseagrant.org 



• Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant: www.masgc.org/ 



• J.L. Scott Marine Education Center: www.aquarium.usm.edu 



• Texas Sea Grant: http://texas-sea-grant.tamu.edu/ 



• NOAA: www.noaa.gov 



Recovery efforts will continue well into 2006. We want Gulf Coast 

 residents to know that we have not forgotten them. 



Katie Mosher, Managing Editor 



IN THIS 



ISSUE 



Contributing Writers: 

 Travis Adams ° Kathleen Angione a Ann Green 

 Jamie Harris □ Katie Mosher ° Erin Seiling 



Contributing Photographers: 

 Kathleen Angione ° Mark Courtney n Michael Halminski 

 Ray Midgett □ Sarah Putnam o Dan Sears 

 Erin Seiling a Paul Stephen ° Scott Taylor 

 Janelle Vadnais □ Drew Wilson □ EmilieZucher 



North Carolina 's diverse coast offers countless interesting subjects. The large dots on the map 

 indicate story settings in this issue — including Carteret and Dare counties, and Topsail Island. 



