skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, March 29, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Underwater Seagrass: NC’s Best-Kept Secret for Protecting Shorelines

play audio
Play

Friday, June 14, 2019   

HAVELOCK, N.C. – At a summit this week on coastal resilience, some scientists point to underwater seagrasses as an important tool for protecting shorelines from hurricanes and other extreme weather events.

Underwater seagrasses may be difficult to spot, but the North Carolina coast is home to hundreds of thousands of acres of lush water-dwelling vegetation. Retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration marine scientist Jud Kenworthy says seagrass meadows have strong roots that hold sediment in place and help coastal systems withstand high winds and forceful waves.

"As an alternative, a natural alternative to shoreline protection, seagrasses are sort of the first line of defense before we get to the shore," says Kenworthy.

Last year, Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order calling for the state to take steps to prepare for increased flooding, extreme weather and rising sea levels in the face of a changing climate. Kenworthy says conserving seagrasses could be one of the most effective ways to keep North Carolina's shorelines intact.

Tancred Miller, manager of Coastal and Ocean Policy for the North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality, says the state has been working on innovative ways to help coastal communities adapt to natural hazards and long-term shifts in shoreline ecosystems.

"We also with climate change have habitat transition,” says Miller. “So, things are going from forest to wetland, from wetland to open water. We have habitat changes, so we need to think about all these things – not just at the individual property level, but also at the community level, the county level and ultimately, the entire coast."

Next year, the state will update its Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, which includes seagrasses as one key habitat to conserve.

People living in coastal areas may not realize that seagrasses anchor a healthy ecosystem. Bill Crowell, the director of the state's Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, describes it as an indicator of healthy water and thriving marine life.

"So the thing that you can do to help keep it there is one, don't disturb it, don't run your boat props through it,” says Crowell. “But the number one thing I think people can do is make sure that the water quality off the land is good – reducing storm water, reducing pollutants coming into the water."

Seagrass meadows are found in nearly every coastal state, but have been disappearing for decades. Studies have found that farm run-off, sewage and other pollutants are harming them.

Crowell points out it can take months or years for seagrasses to recover from damage – and once they are gone, it's difficult to grow them back.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

play sound

Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

Social Issues

play sound

Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


The U.S. teaching workforce remains primarily white while the percentage of Black teachers has declined. However, the percentage of Asian and Latinx teachers is rising.(WavebreakMediaMicro/Adobestock)

Social Issues

play sound

Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

play sound

New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021