teachers seeking continuing education credits, 

 and local candidates for public office. 



River Watch staff and volunteers sponsor 

 a water quality demonstration site at 

 Greenfield Lake and are about to launch a 

 wetland restoration project with the City of 

 Wilmington at Burnt Mill Creek. Soon, 

 Baldridge hopes to add Eagle Island to the list 

 of responsibilities. 



The organization also looks for ways to 

 involve the community in the discussion of 

 important environmental issues, such as the 

 Cape Fear River plan. 



And for his part, McNutt welcomes 

 comments, scientific and anecdotal informa- 

 tion from citizens across the state. The river, 

 after all, is an important natural resource that 

 supports industry, transportation, recreation, 

 drinking water supplies and the aesthetic 

 enjoyment of all North Carolinians. □ 



The Cape Fear River is a critical natural resource that provides aesthetic enjoyment and 

 supports water supplies, industry, transportation and recreation for many North Carolinians. 



However, even with the Cape Fear's 

 dynamic, direct outlet to the ocean, scientific 

 evidence clearly shows that pulses of sediment 

 and nutrient pollution released into the Cape 

 Fear in the upper Piedmont region have a 

 lingering impact far downriver in the sensitive 

 shellfish beds in the lower region. 



"I think this makes a strong case for 

 mandatory buffers along the Cape Fear, just as 

 it is dictated for the Neuse," says Mallin. 



Riverkeeper Baldridge agrees that the 

 plan should incorporate mandates for 

 protecting critical wetlands in the Cape Fear 

 basin. He believes the public shares this view. 

 Certainly, public awareness of water quality 

 issues has been at an all-time high since the 

 1999 post-hurricane flooding. 



Baldridge and Mallin collaborated on 

 Fishery Resource Grant (FRG) projects to 

 assess the river's water quality after hurri- 

 canes. Sea Grant administers the state- 

 supported FRG program. 



Their study found that after a hurricane, 

 bacteria from organic wastes — from sources 

 such as sewage and hog waste lagoons — 

 create an increased biochemical oxygen 

 demand. Decreased levels of dissolved 

 oxygen cause fish to die along with river 



bottom organisms — critical fish food. 

 Persistent loss of an abundant food source can 

 impact future fish populations. 



Their work contributed to scientific 

 evidence that convinced the state to restrict 

 locating hog lagoons in flood plains. 



Growinggrassroots 



An earlier FRG grant that supported the 

 purchase of water-sampling equipment 

 allowed Baldridge to become part of the 

 quick-response effort. The FRG work enabled 

 River Watch to form a unique liaison with 

 university researchers and community 

 members who live near and use the river. He 

 and the fishing community have a mutually 

 beneficial relationship. He has gained 

 knowledge from their experience, and they are 

 comfortable contacting him about problems 

 on the river because "they know we share their 

 concerns," he says. 



Baldridge believes the public and 

 politicians have water quality issues on the 

 radar screen. To help keep it that way, the 

 grassroots group conducts community 

 education programs that target diverse groups 

 — commercial and recreational fishers, 

 youngsters from an after-school program, 



Want to 

 know morer 



To learn more about the 

 Cape Fear River Basinwide Water 

 Quality Plan, contact the Division 

 of Water Qualty at 919/733- 

 5083; or e-mail Cam McNutt at 

 cam.ncnutt@ncmail.net. 



To learn more about the 

 ongoing, coastal water studies by 

 Mallin, Skrabal and colleagues, 

 visit the University of North 

 Carolina at Wilmington's Website 

 for the Center for Marine Science 

 at www. uncwil.edu/cmsr/, and 

 click on the research icon. 



To learn about the Cape 

 Fear River Watch outreach 

 programs, call 910/762-5606, or 

 e-mail Bouty Baldridge at 

 cfrw@wilmington.org. Or, go to 

 capefearriverwa tch . Wilmington . org/ 

 on the Internet. 



COASTWATCH 



