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                                                 Tidal Talk:  Cape Fear Group Sierra Club
May/June 2008. Henry F. Tonn, Editor




SIERRA CLUB EXPOSITIONS :WE'RE BACK AGAIN!!

As advertised, our March speaker was none other than the esteemed Camilla Herlevich, executive director of the. North Carolina Coastal Land Trust.  This is a non-profit organization formed in 1992 to help protect locally and regionally valuable natural areas and waters. Since its inception, the Coastal Land Trust has protected over 30,000 acres of barrier island beaches, riparian corridors, and other special natural areas. A recent acquisition is the Springer's Point on Ocracoke Island. Because the Coastal Land Trust now has jurisdiction over this beautiful site, the pubric will have access to it.  Without the work of the Coastal Land Trust, the area might have been developed as a private resort. You might consider giving them a donation. Their web site is www.coastallandtrust.org.IN FACT(and YOU can hold me to this) this writer is going to donate to the cause ('cause It's important).

Our next Cape Fear Sierra Club meeting will be on Thursday, May 1, 2008, at the River Watch Building. Speaker will be Marilyn Meares, Coordinator for Cape Fear Resource Conservation and Development. 

    CLEAN WATER LOBBY DAY     .

North Carolina Coastal Federation is asking its members and allies to travel to Raleigh on June 41h for Clean Water Lobby Day and the unveiling of our 2008 State of the  Coast Report. The General Assembly will make several key coastal decisions this year, including whether our coastal beaches will remain public and natural and our coastal waters protected from polluted run-off. Buses will leave from Manteo, Morehead City and Wilmington the morning of June 4th• For more information, contact our headquarters at nccoast.org or call 252-393-8185. Mike

Gilles, capefearcoastkeeper@nccoast.org , will coordinate the trip from Wilmington: Call him at 910-790-3275     .

Do 'you know that a diving hawk can reach speeds of 242 miles per hour? Some guy determined this leaping out of a plane with his pet bird. It sort of sets new standards in togetherness: soaring through the sk'y with your carnivorous hawk in the interest of science .....

RIVERFRONT FARMER' MARKET TO OPEN FOR SEASON APRIL 19, DOWNTOWN. THE MARKET WILL BE OPEN EVERY SATURDAY FROM APRIL 19 TO DECEMBER 20 FROM 8 A.M. TO 12:30 P.M. IN DOWNTOWN WILMINGTON. THE RIVERFRONT FARMERS' MARKET IS A CURBSIDE MARKET FEATURING LOCAL FARMERS, PRODUCERS, ARTISTS AND CHAPTERS. PRODUCTS OFFERED INCLUDE FRESH FRUITS AND BERRIES, VEGETABLES, PLANTS,HERBS,FLOVVERS,EGGS,CHEESES, MEATS, SEAFOOD, HONEY, BAKED GOODS, LEGUMES, PICKLED ITEMS, .JAMS AND .JELUES, WINE, ART, CRAFTS, AND MORE. WHERE: HISTORIC DOWNTOWN RIVERFRONT ON  N. WATER ST. (BETWEEN MARKET ST. AND PRINCESS ST.)


I must confess that I was in South America for two weeks recently, primarily because I'm getting old and don't like to work, so I travel a lot. Visited Argentino and Chile (the latter has become the economic powerhouse of  the region, in case you're interested) • Visited a place called Scan Corlos de Boriloche, which is located on a lake
so pure you can drink the water. They have very strict environmental regulations there, one being that if you

build a boat dock, it is by law in the public domain and anyone can use it. So, obviously, this discourages people from building them and damaging the lake. Pretty cool, n'est pas? I asked our guide, "Why are you doing this?"  He responded, "Why not?"- I will leave it to you to ponder the implications of his answer.

    Henry F. Tonn