COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



NRLI Focuses on Leadership 

 Development 



In North Carolina, 

 environmental managers 

 and decision makers 

 must deal with many 

 sensitive issues, including 

 the use of natural 

 resources. 



To help these 

 leaders build upon common interests among 

 various interest groups and create new 

 approaches to managing competing demands, 

 N.C. Cooperative Extension at North Carolina 

 State University initiated the N.C. Natural 

 Resources Leadership Institute (NRLI) in 1994. 



In the past dozen years, more than 310 

 professionals from industry, government, 

 nonprofit organizations and higher education 

 in North Carolina and five other states have 

 participated. NRLPs founding leaders include Ed 

 Jones, Si Garber, Mike Levi, Leon Danielson and 

 its director Steve Smutko. 



The NRLI curriculum focuses on leadership 

 development, public participation, conflict 

 resolution and collaborative problem-solving. 

 Each year, participants attend six workshops and 

 develop a leadership project or practicum. 



NATURAL 

 RESOURCES 

 tDERSHIP 

 INSTITUTE 



Three members 

 of the North Carolina 

 Sea Grant staff have 

 completed the program, 

 including Extension 

 DirectorJackThipgen and 

 fisheries specialists Sara 

 Mirabilio and Bob Hines. 

 Last year, Mirabilio used the leadership 

 model to improve communication and 

 understanding among commercial crabbers, 

 university researchers, fishery managers and 

 environmental nonprofit staff members working 

 on crab topics. 



"The intent of the Blue Crab Collaborative 

 Research Learning Project was not to change 

 someone's viewpoint on a regulation, but rather 

 to help stakeholders understand each other's 

 viewpoints," Mirabilio explains. 



"By doing this, stakeholders can move 

 beyond surface disagreements and positions to 

 underlying interests that they all share," she adds. 



To learn more about NRLI, contact Mary 

 Lou Addor, 91 9/51 5-4683 or mary '_addor@ncsu. 

 edu. Or visit the Web: www.ces.nau.edu/NRLl. 



— A.G. 



Blue Heron Bowl Winners 



Raleigh Charter High School took top honors in the 2006 

 Blue Heron Bowl on March 4 in Raleigh. 



Williams High School in Burlington placed second, and 

 East Carteret High School in Beaufort placed third in the science 

 competition held at North Carolina State University. 



Bishop McGuinness Catholic High School in Kemersville 

 and Southwest Guilford High School in High Point received 

 sportsmanship awards. 



Twelve high school teams participated in the Blue Heron Bowl 

 that challenges students with questions related to ocean biology, 



chemistry, geology, physics, navigation, geography and related history, literature and public policy. 



Raleigh Charter advances to the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) May 1 3-1 5 in Pacific 

 Grove, Calif. NOSB is sponsored by the Consortium forOceanographic Research and Education in 

 Washington, D.C., which seeks to expand students' interest in ocean sciences as a college and career 

 possibility. 



To learn more about NOSB, visit the Web: www.nosb.org. 



For more information about the 2007 Blue Heron Bowl, contact cynthia_cudaback@ncsu.edu. 



-A.G. 



Spencer Rogers 



Rogers Appointed 

 to Emergency 

 Preparedness 

 Committee 



Spencer Rogers, North Carolina 

 Sea Grant coastal construction and erosion 

 specialist, has been appointed to the state's 

 Joint Interim Study Committee on Emergency 

 Preparedness and Disaster Management 

 Recovery. 



The committee will study a variety of 

 issues related to coastal storms — from state 

 building codes for hurricane and flood-prone 

 areas to hurricane evacuation and response. 



Members also will examine the 

 public health infrastructure for natural and 

 nonnatural disasters, including preparation 

 and response for a pandemic flu, as well 

 as flood preparation and 

 response. 



Rogers is a nationally 

 recognized expert in 

 assessing building damage 

 from hurricanes. He has 

 surveyed the structural 

 damage from every hurricane 

 that has struck the East and 

 Gulf coasts during the last 

 30 years. 



"I am dedicated 

 to improving the state's 

 building codes and hurricane-related 

 construction issues," says Rogers. 



Representatives from several state 

 agencies, universities and businesses are on 

 the 36-member committee. 



For more information on the panel, 

 go online to www.ncleg.net and follow the 

 "Committees" links. —A.G. 



Coastwatch I Early Summer 2006 I www.ncseagrant.org 5 



