Press Releases

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson joined Division of Coastal Management (DCM) staff, state and local officials, and community partners on May 1 for a visit to the Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve as part of the ongoing Discover the N.C. Coastal Reserve Tour. The event marked the fifth stop in the multi-year Discover the N.C. Coastal Reserve campaign, which highlights the importance of the N.C. Coastal Reserve’s 10 sites and programs and their role in protecting North Carolina’s coastal resources for future generations.

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold Spring local advisory committee meetings May 11-June 15 for the following reserve sites. All meetings are open to the public. 

The N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) Science Panel will meet May 27 at the Courtyard New Bern Riverfront in New Bern to continue discussion of the proposed report on hardened coastal structures. The in-person meeting begins at noon.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Water Resources (DWR) is accepting public comment through Aug. 4 on the draft 2026 basin plan for Cape Fear River Basin, the most populous and largest river basin contained entirely within the state. 

Initiative Places Teachers Inside Energy Industries to Strengthen Workforce Connections for Students

With North Carolina’s heat season beginning May 1, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s State Resilience Office, in partnership with N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, the North Carolina State Climate Office and the National Weather Service will host a virtual Heat Season Kick-Off Meeting on May 11, 2026, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event is open to the public, but targeted to local government staff, particularly emergency managers, public health personnel, planners and administrators.

The N.C. Mining Commission will meet at 1 p.m. on May 12 in Raleigh for its regular quarterly meeting.

The recreational Red Snapper season will open for 62 days this summer for anglers willing to participate in a pilot project to test a data collection program that will use a mobile application to monitor the recreational Red Snapper season.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet May 13-14 at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel, 100 Middle St., New Bern, N.C. 28560. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on YouTube. The meeting will begin at 1 p.m., Wednesday, May 13, and at 9 a.m. Thursday, May 14. The Commission will accept public comments beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday and at 9 a.m. Thursday.

According to the N.C. Drought Management Advisory Council, extreme drought conditions have expanded across most of the Piedmont and in western North Carolina, and an area east of Charlotte is now considered to be in exceptional drought.