COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Wings Over Water Birding Activities 



Wildlife on the Outer Banks, 

 whether it flies, crawls, swims or runs, is a 

 never-ending source of interest and pleasure. 



In celebration of the remarkable 

 diversity of the Outer Banks' ecosystems, 

 the Fourth Annual Wings Over Water 

 festival offers the amateur as well as the 

 expert naturalist an opportunity to sample a 

 variety of bird watching and wildlife 

 activities. 



The festival, which includes more than 

 100 field trips, will be held Nov. 3-5 at 



several locations on the Outer Banks. 



Bird watchers can explore breathtak- 

 ing wildlife in the maritime forests at Nags 

 Head Woods and Buxton Woods, take a 

 canoe ride on the black waters of Milltail 

 Creek, or experience a red wolf howling. 



For more information on the three-day 

 event, call Jack Thigpen, North Carolina 

 Sea Grant, at 252/441-3663 or the Outer 

 Banks Chamber of Commerce at 252/441- 

 8144. For a full schedule, check the Web: 

 www.northeast-nc.com/wings/. - A.G. 



problems and solutions. 



Recipients are encouraged to work 

 along with academic researchers from 

 various universities and community colleges 

 to assure scientific validity of the projects. 

 With growing demands on coastal waters, 

 such collaboration can help protect marine 

 resources as well as the heritage of fishing 

 communities. 



North Carolina Sea Grant administers 

 the FRG program, which is funded by the 

 N.C. General Assembly. Since its creation in 

 1 994, nearly 200 projects from all regions of 

 the coast have been funded. 



The grant selection committee was 

 reformulated in 1999 to include representa- 

 tives from the N.C Marine Fisheries 



Commission and its advisory panels, the 

 N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, and 

 North Carolina Sea Grant. 



Ron Hodson, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant director, says the new selection 

 committee offers opportunities to 

 applicants who have good ideas but who 

 may not have adequate experience in 

 writing research proposals. "I am pleased," 

 he says, "that the new grants committee 

 has enabled us to include a revision 

 process that allows us to award more 

 grants." 



For more information on the FRG 

 program and a list of recipients, check the 

 Web at www.ncsu.edu/seagrant and follow 

 the research link. - C. H .V. 



September 

 Sweep-Up 



September is time to 

 celebrate a Sea Grant legacy: 

 The North Carolina Big Sweep. 



This year, volunteers will 

 gather across the state Sept. 1 6 

 to clean up the beaches, 

 sounds and inland waters. 



But if you can't participate 

 that day, don't fret, says Lundie 

 Spence, North Carolina Sea 

 Grant marine education 

 specialist and Big Sweep 

 founder. Environmental 

 awareness is a year-round 

 activity. 



"Every time you visit the 

 coast or a stream, look for litter 

 and debris," Spence says. "A 

 foam cup or plastic milk jug 

 can be dangerous to sea birds, 

 turtles and other creatures." 



If you would like to 

 volunteer for the official Big 

 Sweep program, now in its 

 14th year, contact the coordi- 

 nator in your county. For 

 general information, contact 

 the state headquarters at 

 919/404-1600. -K.M. 



COASTWATCH 



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