Pew Proposes Important Modifications to North Carolina’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan

Comments suggest strengthening safeguards for water quality and salt marshes, improving public engagement

Pew Proposes Modifications to North Carolina's Protection Plan

The Pew Charitable Trusts submitted comments on Oct. 19 to North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality on the agency’s update to its Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, which sets priorities for state agencies on how to conserve and restore coastal ecosystems. Pew expressed support for the plan—finding it rigorous, thoughtful, and strong—but suggested several modest modifications to benefit underwater seagrass, to encourage the state to join an existing effort to protect salt marshes, and to assist in creating a public/private partnership to increase the involvement of stakeholders.


Pew is working to help North Carolina increase the resilience of ecosystems and communities in the face of climate change by focusing on protecting coastal habitat, restoring riverine ecosystems, and encouraging flood preparedness at the community and state levels.

Currituck Beach
Currituck Beach
Article

Seafood, Seagrass, and Storms in North Carolina

Quick View
Article

Bordered in part by a thin chain of barrier islands—the Outer Banks—the sounds, shorelines, and marshes of North Carolina’s coast form one of the largest estuary systems in the country.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics

Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?