COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Clamming 

 Around 



If you've ever seen someone 

 shuffling along the beach, toting a 

 bucket and bending over every few feet 

 to poke at the sand with a clawlike tool, 

 then you've probably witnessed 

 clamming. If you've ever wondered 

 how to do it yourself, then a new Sea 

 Grant publication will give you the 



instruction you need. 

 A Guide to 

 Recreational 

 Clamming: 

 Keyholing, 

 by Sea 

 Grant 

 marine 

 extension 

 agent 



Wayne 

 Wescott, 

 explains several 

 clamming techniques: 

 finding exposed clams, scanning for 

 spitting sign, raking and using touch. 

 Wescott focuses on keyholing, searching 

 the sand for the uniquely configured 

 holes left by clams as they filter water. 



As a bonus, recipes for enjoying the 

 harvest are included: Down East Clam 

 Chowder, Manhattan Style Clam 

 Chowder, New England Clam Chowder, 

 Deviled Clams and Clamburgers. 



To order a copy, send a check for 

 $2.50 to North Carolina Sea Grant, Box 

 8605, NC State University, Raleigh, NC 

 27695-8605. Ask for publication UNC- 

 SG-98-01. 



If you'd like to chat with Wescott 

 about clamming, call him in Nags Head 

 at 252/441-3663. □ — D.D. 



Sea Oats Anchor 

 Renourished Dunes 



Dunes along 

 Wrightsville Beach's 

 popular waterfront 

 strand are now 

 anchored with 25,000 

 sea oats planted 

 through an innovative 

 partnership between 

 the town and a 

 Florida grower. 



Wrightsville 

 Beach allowed an out-of-state grower to 

 harvest seeds from homegrown sea oats. 

 In exchange, the grower returned plants 

 raised from the seeds. Volunteers — 

 recruited and trained by Spencer Rogers, 

 North Carolina Sea Grant's coastal 

 erosion and construction specialist — 

 planted the sea oats along about a mile 

 of shoreline in June. 



The plants were placed on a 

 renourished section of beach that had 

 been consumed by Hurricane Fran in 

 1996. Dredged sand was pumped onto 

 the beach to make up for future erosion, 

 and the sea oats were planted to help 

 stabilize the new dunes and to trap sand. 



Sand dunes are a beautiful sight on 

 North Carolina beaches, but they also 

 have a practical purpose for waterfront 

 landowners because they can protect 

 buildings from storm surges. During a 

 storm, the ocean has to scour away the 

 dunes before reaching the foundations 

 of nearby homes. 



"Dunes can save 

 buildings during 

 storms," Rogers says. 

 "Sand buys time. It's 

 the sand that really 

 provides protection. 

 Dune grasses trap 

 sand and keep it from 

 blowing away." 



Waves whipped 

 up by Hurricane Fran 

 destroyed about 500 homes both north 

 and south of the beach renourishment 

 projects at Carolina and Wrightsville 

 beaches, Rogers says. By comparison, 

 the homes within those projects, where 

 man-made dunes were in place, suffered 

 no foundation failures. 



The sea oats-harvesting project — 

 coordinated by Gregory Walker, 

 director of Cape Fear Resource 

 Conservation and Development Inc. — 

 allowed the Florida grower to collect 

 seed at Topsail Island and Wrightsville 

 Beach and to market the plants in North 

 Carolina. The North Carolina State 

 University Cooperative Extension 

 Service is also working with farmers to 

 grow sea oats regionally. 



North Carolinians currently plant 

 more American beachgrass on dunes 

 than sea oats because it's much cheaper 

 — but it's not native to the state. Sea 

 oats are. □ 



-J.F.N. 



B I G S WE E P ' 9 8 



lark your calendar for Sept. 19 and join other volunteers for the 

 First Citizens Bank Big Sweep as they collect litter from the state's waterways 



and coast. Last year, volunteers retrieved 252 tons of debris along 

 North Carolina's waterways. This year, organizers hope to schedule cleanups 

 in each of the state's 100 counties, says executive director Judy Bolin. 

 For information, call 1-800/27-SWEEP. o 



4 HIGH SEASON 1998 



