Annual NC WRRI Conference

rick.savage • Mar 30, 2024

Carolina Wetlands Association Makes an Impacts at the Annual NC WRRI Conference

The NC Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) was in full swing March 20-21, 2024. Carolina Wetlands Association was again a sponsor and an exhibitor at the conference location. In addition to myself, Chase Bergeson and Aaron Ellis attended the conference. In addition to staffing our exhibit booth, Chase judged student posters. Thank you, Chase!

There was a special conference section on Nature Based Solutions that was very interesting. The Plenary session was a panel discussion with Dr. Ryan Emanuel (Duke University), Samantha Krop (Sound Rivers), and Colleen Karl of the Chowan Edenton Environmental Group about community engagement and partnerships. I had a nice conversation with all three at the end of the panel discussion; Dr. Emanuel about our wetland restoration planning at the Lumbee cultural center, Samantha about coordinating more programming with Carolina Wetlands Association, and Colleen about a particular project they may need help with.

The highlight of the conference was probably the panel discussion on WOTUS (Waters of the US) sponsored and moderated by Carolina Wetlands Association. The session was entitled The ever changing world of the waters of the US: How can we deal with it, how can we change it, what can we do. The "all star" panel consisted of Julie Youngman (Southern Environmental Law Center and Carolina Wetlands Association Board member); John Dorney (Axiom Environmental); Bailey Recktenwald (Climate Policy Advisor to NC Governor Cooper); Phil May (an independent environmental consultant); and Norton Webster (wetland mitigation consultant and Carolina Wetlands Association Board Treasurer). The session was well attended and helped to explain the current state of wetland protection in North Carolina.

More Information on US Clean Water Acit

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Happy American Wetlands Month

By rick.savage • 29 Apr, 2024

May: Celebrating Wetlands in the Carolinas

March 2024 highlights the benefits of wetlands

By chase.bergeson • 29 Mar, 2024

Wetland monitoring is important not only for the data we collect, but also to provide hands on education about why wetlands matter. Wetlands can provide so many benefits to humans and the environment, including creating habitat , flood reduction , filtering out pollution , settling sediment, storing carbon, recharging aquifers that we rely on for drinking water, and providing recreation opportunities for humans ! While not every wetland provides all of these services, this March we experienced many of these benefits during our monitoring visits. Habitat Wetlands provide important habitat for many species. This spring we conducted amphibian surveys at each of our sites and saw lots of amphibians! Wetlands are very important for the lifecycles of many amphibians who live in them, rely on them for food and habitat, or use them as nurseries to lay their eggs and protect their young. Unlike lakes and streams, ephemeral wetlands are not wet year-round. The periodic drying of surface water in these wetlands prevents them from being habitat for fish which may eat young salamanders. Our spring wetlands made a great nursery for amphibians and provide habitat for adults as well. We saw: mating American toads spotted salamander egg masses larval marbled salamanders northern cricket frogs a southern leopard frog upland chorus frogs northern dusky salamanders southern two-lined salamanders There were also several frogs that we couldn’t catch a picture of fast enough to identify. You can view our observations on our iNaturalist page .

NC Governor's Executive Order Helps Protect Wetlands

By rick.savage • 02 Mar, 2024

Greetings Wetland Supporters: On February 12, 2024, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order (EO) 305 which is geared toward protecting wetlands that recently lost federal protection under the Clean Water Act. You can read the entire Executive Order here: https://governor.nc.gov/executive-order-no-305/open . What is the basis of the Executive Order? Let me tell you what caused EO 305 and the role the Carolina Wetlands Association played to help increase wetland protection in the state. It began with the Natural and Working Lands (NWL) initiative started by the Governor’s office based on EO 80 to address climate change impacts. The goal of the NWL initiative was to develop a plan to restore and preserve wetlands, forests, and other lands to sequester carbon and in the process provide co-benefits to communities. The Natural and Working Lands Action Plan was the result of the initiative and Carolina Wetlands Association was a significant contributor. How did wetlands lose protection? The Sackett v. EPA case resulted removing protection from millions of acres of wetlands in the Carolinas. North Carolina had a statute to protect these wetlands, but the recently passed 2023 NC Farm Bill eliminated that protection and limited North Carolina’s wetland protection be no more than the Federal protection. These changes resulted losing protection of about 60% of our wetlands as determined by the NC DEQ and probably a similar amount in South Carolina. How will the new Executive Order Protect Wetlands? The Carolina Wetlands Association work with several other concerned organizations (such as the Southern Environmental Law Center, NC Conservation Network, NC Wildlife Federation, and River Keepers) to attempt to find ways to reduce the devastating impact of these decisions. The result was EO 305 which Governor Roy Cooper announced and signed on February 12, 2024. The goals of the Executive Order are to: Permanently preserve 1,000,000 new acres of natural lands with special focus on wetlands Restore or reforest 1,000,000 new acres of North Carolina’s forests and wetlands Plant 1,000,000 trees in urban areas across the state This EO does not change to permit requirements or the jurisdictional wetlands definitions, but it does prioritize wetlands conservation. highly recommend reading the entire Executive Order. Your Carolina Wetlands Association has played a significant role in events leading to developing EO 305 and we will continue to do everything we can to continue this effort to protect our wetlands. Please think about how you can help the Association continue this work as we need to do so more than ever. So, when you explore that wetland, think about whether it continues to be protected! Rick Savage, Executive Director