new century, but the new millennium, 

 Sea Grant's role will be critical to the 

 future of the coast — and the entire state 

 — Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue of New Bern 

 told Sea Grant's 25th anniversary crowd 

 in Raleigh. 



"Our marshes, swamps, forests, lakes 

 and rivers. Our phenomenal estuarine 

 system and oceanfront," she says. "North 

 Carolina's coast is one of the richest 

 natural environments in the world." 



National Sea Grant College and Program 

 Act of 1966. 



"In truth, if Sea Grant wasn't invented 

 in 1966, someone would invent it today. 

 People depend on Sea Grant for good 

 information and to help them survive," 

 Copeland says. "You can't argue with 

 priorities when they are to improve the quality 

 of life and enhance economic opportunities. 

 That's what Sea Grant is all about." 



The national program — which 



Carolina and Duke universities. "Clearly, 

 four programs were not going to be funded 

 here," Copeland says. 



To solve the problem, the new 

 governor, Bob Scott, took on dual roles — 

 mediator and breakfast chef — in the winter 

 of 1969. He invited representatives of the 

 four universities, as well as state officials, to 

 an early morning meeting at the governor's 

 mansion. The special guest was Bob Abel, 

 the first National Sea Grant director. 



Former Sea Grant director B.J. Copeland 

 made frequent coastal trips to keep in 



touch with citizens' concerns. File Photo by Dixie Berg 



Getting Started 



Mention "marine science" today, and 

 many images come to mind. But that was 

 not always the case. In the late 1950s, only 

 13 marine-related doctorates were 

 presented across the country. 



But as space exploration filled 

 imaginations, earthly science — and in 

 particular coastal — gained attention as 

 well. The first proposal for a National Sea 

 Grant program — patterned after the "land 

 grant" universities that had developed the 

 vast Cooperative Extension network — 

 came in 1963. 



By 1965, U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell of 

 Rhode Island and U.S. Rep. Paul Rogers 

 of Florida proposed federal legislation to 

 create a Sea Grant program. With the 

 support of U.S. Rep. Alton Lennon from 

 Wilmington, who chaired the House 

 Merchant Marine and Fisheries Commit- 

 tee, the bill moved quickly. In less than a 

 year, President Lyndon Johnson signed the 



Hughes Tillett connected the fishing 

 communities to the infant Sea Grant 

 Program. 



Sea Gram I III Phol« 



focused on the coastal states, as well as the 

 Great Lakes — awarded its first research 

 grants in 1968. These included 

 groundbreaking studies in ecology by 

 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 

 researcher Howard T. Odum. 



At the same time, North Carolina 

 officials had begun to focus on marine 

 sciences as well. One of the last actions of 

 Gov. Dan Moore was to create the N.C. 

 Marine Science Council and a university- 

 level marine science program coordinated 

 by John Lyman at UNC-Chapel Hill. 



When the National Sea Grant office 

 requested proposals for comprehensive 

 programs, four North Carolina campuses 

 responded — UNC-CH, NC State, East 



Fisheries specialist Jim Bahen, right, knew 

 first-hand of fishing operations along the 



southern N,C. coast. Sea Gram File Phalo 



"Part of our strategy was: Let's do 

 something for the state of North Carolina. 

 Let's forget about one institution," recalls 

 Walton Jones, whose marine science work 

 included time as a top advisor to Gov. 

 Moore, vice chancellor at NC State, and as 

 vice president of research and public service 

 for the UNC system. "We put the needs of 

 the state ahead of any institution." 



Others attending the meeting included 

 Lyman, Leigh Hammond — who worked in 

 the governor's office and later served in the 

 NC State administration and led Sea Grant 

 advisory services in North Carolina — C.Q. 

 Brown from East Carolina, and Bruce Muga 

 from Duke. 



Jones also points to strong support 

 from Wayne Corpening, a former N.C. 

 secretary of administration and mayor of 

 Winston-Salem, and Addison Hewlitt, a 

 former N.C. House speaker who served as 

 first chairman of the Marine Science Council. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 15 



