The policy board for the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, or APNEP, has named its new leadership team for the next two years.Kirk Havens, the vice-chairman of the board since 2015, assumed the chairmanship at the board’s recent meeting. Holly White, the principal planner for Nags Head, was elected to fill Havens’ position as vice chairperson.Also, board members welcomed the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Mary Penny Kelley as DEQ Secretary Michael Regan’s appointee. Kelley is the department’s senior advisor for Policy and Innovation.
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More than 40 volunteers worked to restore native habitat in Dismal Swamp State Park in Camden County by planting 3,000 Atlantic white cedar seedlings during a three-day project in late April and early May.
Natural resources in the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound region provide greater and more diverse economic benefits than previously thought, according to a new report.The report estimated economic benefits exceeding $475 million for commercial sectors that depend directly on natural resources, including agriculture, forestry and commercial fishing. In addition, these sectors directly employ approximately 36,000 workers in the region, generating more than $672 million in wages each year.
Results of a study published Tuesday show that coastal habitat enhancement programs managed by the state fisheries agency provide $4 in benefits for every $1 invested in the coastal region.The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership contracted with RTI International to study the benefits and costs of three programs under the state Division of Marine Fisheries: the Shellfish Rehabilitation Program, Oyster Sanctuary Program and Artificial Reef Program. The study focused on how these programs benefit and contribute to communities in the region.