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When did what we now know as weeds become … weeds?
A weed, by definition, is a plant growing where it’s not wanted, but when did we decide that colorful, beneficial, medicinal or otherwise useful species are not desired? Spoiler: It was not all that long ago.
Spotlight
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Boardwalk removal start of Jacksonville park improvements
The removal of the storm-battered waterfront boardwalk at Jacksonville’s Northeast Creek Park is the first step in an improvement and expansion project at the site.
News Briefs
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Island Farm to host interpretive program on Corolla horses
Island Farm on Roanoke Island is set to host Corolla Wild Horse Fund Herd Management Coordinator Kirsten Morse for a special program Friday, May 15.
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Dr. Lela Schlenker joins Coastal Federation as advocate
Schlenker, the new advocate with the North Carolina Coastal Federation in Wanchese, is a fisheries ecologist with a research career spanning topics such as the effect of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on mahi-mahi, how climate and weather affect the state’s shrimp populations, and the impact of catch-and-release fishing practices on white marlin.
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Utility relocation set for summer at Wrightsville Beach bridge
NCDOT contract crews are expected to begin relocating utilities at the smaller of two West Salisbury Street bridges in Wrightsville Beach this summer.
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Slow down, Outer Banks, the tourists are coming
The speed limit on portions of N.C. 12 through a series of villages and towns will drop by 10 mph ahead of the summer tourism season.
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Graveyard of the Atlantic unveils ‘Raid on Ocracoke Inlet’
The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras has unveiled a temporary display detailing events that took place on Ocracoke between patriots and loyalists during the American Revolution.
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Special Coverage
America’s 250th Celebration
This July Fourth, the United States will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Coastal North Carolina sites and residents played an outsized role in the Revolution. Explore their history.
News & Features
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Corps crews set to wrap up cleanup at Buxton FUDS site
Army Corps of Engineers officials say that by the end of May, seven months of work to remove tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, water and debris from the beach next to the original site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is expected to be complete.
Science
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Scientists record female sperm whales assisting in calf’s birth
A research team was working the summer of 2023 off the coast of Dominica when they made the “impossibly rare” observation of a mother sperm whale giving birth and the newborn assisted by the other whales in taking its first breath, all while recording their underwater vocalizations.
Commentary
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When did what we now know as weeds become … weeds?
A weed, by definition, is a plant growing where it’s not wanted, but when did we decide that colorful, beneficial, medicinal or otherwise useful species are not desired? Spoiler: It was not all that long ago.
Our Coast
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Our Coast: A Journey to Sleepy Creek
Historian David Cecelski writes that when the mailboat Violet arrived in Marshallberg, News & Observer correspondent C.J. Rivenbark discovered a whole village where life seemed to revolve around soft-shell crabbing.
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Doris Creecy, 90, wields loving influence on Roanoke Island
“Senior Delight:” The elegant Ms. Doris Creecy isn’t letting age slow her down, as she continues sharing songs, wisdom and inspiration to countless numbers in her Roanoke Island community.
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Rough dig: Dismal Swamp Canal never quite lived up to plans
With poor initial funding, shoddy engineering and enslaved laborers forced to work in awful conditions, the man-made connection between the Albemarle Sound and Chesapeake Bay fell victim to competition but is now thought to be the country’s oldest operating canal.
Featured Photo
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Pit viper stare-down
Two cottonmouths, aka water moccasins and known scientifically as Agkistrodon piscivorus, came face to face while foraging Sunday at the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s 6,000-acre North River Wetlands Preserve, with one rising up and the other backing down. One of six venomous snakes in North Carolina, the cottonmouth is the most aquatic, preferring wetter habitats. It’s a pit viper, having a pit on its face that senses heat. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission offers tips on how to coexist with snakes. Photo: Doug Waters
