"Eagle Island," he says. "It's the remains of 

 the earlier lucrative rice plantation economy of 

 this region." 



Once privately owned, the 140-acre site 

 recendy was placed in conservancy. Baldridge 

 dreams of the day it will become a wildlife 

 refuge with Cape Fear River Watch as its 

 overseer. 



"There's not another wildlife refuge 

 within a hundred miles of here," he explains. 

 "It would be ideal for wetland demonstration 

 and a natural for binding since it's under the 

 eastern flyway." 



A tall cypress near the opening to 

 Alligator Creek is topped with an osprey's 

 nest, its former occupant by now 

 wintering in a warmer climate. 

 He steers the skiff into the creek, 

 one of the many outstanding 

 paddling routes offering up-close 

 views of coastal vegetation, 

 waterfowl and other wildlife. 

 Rounding a bend, a lake comes 

 into view. It was created when 

 sand from the middle of the 

 island was "borrowed" for the 

 construction of a nearby bridge. 

 The lake provides a secluded 

 environment for fish and fowl. 



In such a tranquil and 

 seemingly secluded setting, it's 

 difficult to believe that a bustling 

 port city is only minutes away. 



Reality check 



Baldridge is a realist. He 

 knows that environmental 

 sustainability of a jewel such as 

 Eagle Island — and the Cape 

 Fear River — requires vigilance 

 by the state and other concerned 

 "caretakers." In the Lower Cape 

 Fear, environmental advocacy is 

 growing in all sectors — government, 

 industry, university and private. 



But the Cape Fear River does not belong 

 exclusively to Wilmington or New Hanover 

 and Brunswick counties. Dependency on it, 

 and responsibility for it, is far greater. 



The Cape Fear is a vast and complex 

 river system flowing from its headwaters near 

 Greensboro into the Atlantic Ocean near 



Wilmington, covering more than 9,000 square 

 miles. It is fed by the Deep, Haw, Black, 

 South, and North East Cape Fear rivers, each 

 with dozens of intricate watersheds and unique 

 topographical and hydrological characteristics. 

 Its waters flow past 107 cities and towns with 

 cumulative populations approaching 1.75 

 million. 



The river basin is the largest, most highly 

 populated, most industrialized and the most 

 agriculturally diverse of the 17 river systems 

 in the state. Importantly, the Cape Fear is the 

 only North Carolina river that flows directly 

 into the Atlantic Ocean. 



Division of Water Quality (DWQ) is charged 

 with developing comprehensive plans for each 

 river basin every five years. 



"There is no one-size-fits-all plan for 

 water quality," explains Cam McNutt, an 

 environmental specialist with the DWQ 

 basinwide and estuary planning unit. The 

 Cape Fear River Basinwide Water Quality 

 Plan, adopted in July 2000 by the Environ- 

 mental Management Commission, identifies 

 causes of pollution of individual streams to 

 facilitate local efforts. 



The plans also outline DWQ strategies 

 for addressing point and nonpoint source 

 pollution of impaired waters. While DWQ 



Mike Mallin is among the cadre of researchers at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington 

 providing scientific information about the Cape Fear River. 



A plan for quality 



So, how does the N.C. Department of 

 Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 

 make environmental sense of a dynamic 

 natural resource of this size and scope? 



Charged by the state legislature with 

 protecting all aspects of the environment, the 

 department has adopted a basin-by-basin 

 approach to protecting water quality. Its 



prepares basin plans with stakeholder input, it 

 is up to local governments to implement many 

 of the nonpoint source remedies. 



Even with detailed guidelines, the 

 challenge is no less great. Since the initial 

 Cape Fear River plan was crafted in 1996, 

 population in the basin grew by 13.2 percent. 



Its "hot spots" include the fastest- 

 growing urban centers in the state — the 



8 WINTER 2001 



