FROM THE EDITOR 



Catching Up 



here's no doubt about it: Summer is here. 

 The days are long, hot and humid. 



But as I gather my thoughts, I feel as if I am 

 writing one of those holiday letters — you know, 

 where you brag about the family and share news 

 about friends. 



First, the bragging. 



Earth Day 2000 had special meaning as we 

 joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration in honoring Lundie Spence as an 

 environmental hero. For more than 20 years, 

 Lundie has been a leader in environmental and 

 marine education in North Carolina. One of her 

 greatest gifts to North Carolina has been her 

 ability to connect people — often from diverse 

 agencies or backgrounds — to get a job done. 

 She brings together researchers and regulators, 

 teachers and museum staff. 



At our reception honoring Lundie, the stories flowed. There 

 was the time she dropped spread-eagle on a trail to explain the 

 nature of low-growing shrubs. And there was the graduate student 

 from Brazil who needed kitchen pots. Lundie knew someone with a 

 set gathering dust. 



Sea Grant colleague Barbara Doll was a graduate student when 

 she met Lundie, then advisor for a student environmental club. "I 

 knew I wanted to be like Lundie," she explains. 



And Barbara, Sea Grant's water quality specialist and current 

 advisor to the same student group, now is earning accolades for her 

 own extension efforts that create even more partnerships across the 

 state. Details on Barbara's latest honors are on page 3. 



Sea Grant offers special thanks to Arthur H. Hemmerlein, a 

 physician in Emerald Isle, for his lifesaving suggestion. 



When he saw one of our popular rip current posters, he 

 recalled his own family's panic. "My wife and son were on inner 

 tubes and suddenly they started heading out to sea," he says. "I went 

 out to pull them back in, but I didn't really know what to do. 

 Luckily, we had something to hang onto." 



He appreciated the direct nature of the poster — with simple 

 instructions and illustrations — but he needed a smaller size to give 



patients, neighbors and tourists. We agreed, 

 knowing the brochures could be distributed at 

 schools, visitor centers and hotels. Nine other 

 Sea Grant programs quickly joined our effort. 



Dr. Hemmerlein plans to distribute 5,000 

 from Swansboro to Cedar Island. Mackinac 

 County in Michigan ordered 7,500 — yes, there 

 are rip currents in the Great Lakes. Orders are 

 coming in from coastal rental agencies and rescue 

 squads. Read more about rip currents on page 4. 



If you missed the East Carolina University 

 conference that considered the still lingering 

 effects of Hurricane Floyd on the environment 

 and communities in eastern North Carolina, you can 

 check the conference Web site. Go to www.ecu.edu 

 and follow the links. Sea Grant was a co-sponsor 

 of the event. 



Preparation was the buzzword for another event — the 

 second annual Hurricane Expo in Wilmington. Sponsored by 

 Project Impact in New Hanover County, the expo drew a crowd 

 of 8,000. If you missed the home retrofitting workshops by Sea 

 Grant's Spencer Rogers and experts from Clemson University, 

 check the web at www.ncsu.edu/seagrant. Follow the extension 

 link to coastal engineering. 



At both the conference and the expo, I enjoyed meeting 

 many Coastwatch fans. Colleagues have done the same at other 

 events, including the Engelhard Seafood Festival and Neuse River 

 Day in New Bern. It is always nice to see Sea Grant's old friends 

 and new acquaintances. 



On a more somber note, I close by offering condolences to 

 the families of two friends of the coast. Many of you will recall 

 photos of 87-year-old Bill Rice working oyster beds, part of a 

 Winter 2000 story. He died this spring after a yacht swamped his 

 small boat as he relayed oysters with his daughter and son-in-law. 



In early June, Dirk Frankenberg died of a heart attack. The 

 research community knew Dirk for his leadership in marine 

 sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 

 public knew him as the author of coastal guides and editor of a 

 new book, Exploring North Carolina s Natural Areas. 



Katie Mosher, Managing Editor 



CONTRIBUTORS 



Writers: 



Ann Green B Katie Mosher ° Pam Smith 



Photographers: 



Michael Halminski Herman Lankford Jim Page H.L. Powell 



u Pam Smith a Scott D. Taylor JackThigpen 



