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VARNAMTOWN RESIDENT ANNIE SMIGIEL (left
and her husband, Donald (right) chats after thi
Sheilfisherme
Development
Coast Needs
BY SUSAN USHER
Shellfisherman Annie Smigiel of Varnamtown had
short, but pointed message last Wednesday night for
panel charged with finding ways to encourage develoj
ment along the coast while simultaneously protecting it
fragile environment.
"The clammers and fishermen of Brunswick Count
asked me to tell you that they don't want any mor
building along the coast," she said. "We have enoug
It? r? ....
ponunon. ueveiopmem will only add more to it," she coi
eluded, handing to the commission chairman, former L1
Gov. Jimmy Green, a petition with 825 signatures oppo;
ing Gov. James Martin's "Coastal Initiative."
Mrs. Smigiel was one of approximately 25 speaker
to address representatives of Martin's 15-member "blu
ribbon" commission before an audience of about 250 pe<
pie gathered in Bryan Auditorium on the UNC
Wilmington campus, most were skeptical, if nut iiuatil,
challenging the governor's vision for the North Carolin
coast.
However, listening from seats near the front behin
state transportation official Tommy Harrelson t
Southport were Souihport Mayor Norman Holden, Aldei
man Robert Thorsen and a former mayor, Eugene E
Tomlinson, who is a member of the Coastal Resource
Commission. Partly at Tomlinson's urging, Southport i
positioning itself to apply for ; election as one of three I
seven "pilot" communities targeted for special attentio
during the initiative's first year.
James Harrington, mayor of Bald Head Village an
Martin'3 transportation secretary, opened the meetin
by telling those present, "All of us have a responsibilit
to its (the coast's) stewardship and to make developmer
along it enhance its value. The entire region will benef;
from sound, ecological development."
Doug Boykin of the Alliance for Balanced Coasts
Management, a lobbying group of coastal business ir
terests ana landowners, appealed to the state to iay ih
"substantial technical groundwork" needed to identif;
anu protect resources, 10 tint! out how to protect them
and to classify coastal waters "appropriately."
He added, "Wc need to be realistic in dealing witi
sources of pollution."
Pat Howe, president of PenderWatch & Conservan
cy, was concerned about the proposal in the initiative t
promote coastal development. She told commissioi
members, "It is much easier to promote developmen
than to control growth. Once our pristine waters ar
polluted, they cannot be restored."
Joe Huber, one of the principals in M & J Marina a
Seaside, stood at the lectern wearing -a N.C. Oyste
Festival t-shirt and said he was speaking not on behalf o
the marina industry, but for local shellfishermen.
"These fellows are having a harder and harder tim
making ends meet, * tic Soici. "Many of iSi&ni Have n
other way to make a living."
Referring to his shirt, ara the annual state lest'v.j
held locally each year, he ad't j,' I'y concern is we havi
to someday import our oysters for :tis festival."
Keeping pace with rapid coastal growth ras the cor
cern of Brunswick County Health Director Michae
Barrett-Rhodes. He pointed out that agencies dealini
with the environment are "crying out for manpower'
already.
"With the push for the Coastal Initiative, we reall;
need to take a look at putting funds at the manpower leve
? -V.'/
Br ^MIrP'< Mmg
? i l'lf " " I
A WILMINGTON AUDIENCE ol approximately 251
people received Gov. Jim Martin's vision ol balancing
increased coastal development with environmenta
safeguards coolly last Wednesday night, noting that ex
:nn
STAFF PHOTO BY SUSAN USHER
) Coastal Initiative meeting with N.C. Coastal Fedcrae
tion representatives Todd Miller and Lena Hitter.
n Say More
Is Not What
From State
so we can do the best job we can without being inundated
a with more development than we can handle," he said,
a Several speakers wondered how the state could cficr
v coastal communities the special help when state ens
vironmental agencies are already overworked. Money
that would go for the initiative would be better spent, they
y suggested, in support of existing agencies and programs,
e The plan calls for incentives such as technical
h assistance and higher grant priority for communities
J- that put together feasible plans for stimulating watert.
front development, with an emphasis on promoting the
5- marine waterway system. At the same time, it also proposes
protecting the most sensitive areas using a new
s "outstanding resource water" designation which carries
e more stringent restrictions on development than the
>- stormwater runoff rules now in effect. The Environmen>
tal Management Commission is still debating which
I waieis will be so classified.
a Nolan O'Neal, chairman of the New Hanover County
Commissioners, was among those who questioned the
d feasibility of increasing coastal development with the
if idea of placing it where pollution could be limited.
1. "Contaminated waters will be distributed by tides,
is winds ... and the churning of boats," he noted. "But
is contamination cannot be contained by lines on a map or
:o good intentions. The peopie who drew Uus up knew this,
n and that disturbs me."
Several speakers suggested that the initiative might
d be targeting the wrong kind of development. Instead of
g relying on traditional industry such as tourism and its
y service-related jobs, they suggested, the state should
it focus on high-tech jobs as found in the Research Triangle
it Area, "environmentally benign" marine biotechnology
and alternate production methods to support the state's
il seafood industry.
i- Other speakers were concerned about what he called
e the "systematically policitized" natural resource ageny
cies and commissions that would be involved in decisions
i, relating to the initiative. Said Dr. Robert Parr, "It's a
henhouse designed by foxes, built by foxes and overseen
h by foxes."
A final speaker, who said he had been involved in a
i- longstanding dispute with the state over ownership of
o submereed lands, asked that me ?r??r?
w , _ -,._w ? - ? u?M>w ?? WgiUlit Q? W
n more consideration to the rights of individual property
t owners. He suggested also that leasing bottoms would do
e more to promote increased shellfish production than
their current public harvesting,
t Shallotte residents James and Virginia Bellamy atr
tended the meeting, but did not speak,
f Afterwards, Bellamy said, "It was a pretty good
representative group. People are beginning at long last
e to be concerned about their environment, especially the
o coastal environment. They've expressed thai here
tonight."
$ However, Tommy Harrelson, of Martin's ade
ministration and a former Southport businessman, saw
the meeting in a different light,
i- The meeting was the fifth in a series of six across the
;1 state. It was the only one where the audience was hostile
g to the Martin administration and its coastal program, ac"
cording to Harrelson. He attributed the audience's bent
to the strong influence of The Star News Newspapers,
^^wmHniav^akenstrong editorial positions on coastal
1 issues.
BMlLnV
?r
JfMI
\ - #sm
SIAFF PHOIO ?Y SUSAN USHf ?
) Istlng coastal programs suroa in need o! attention. The
; crowd at LNC-W's Bryan Auditorium included a good1
size contingent from Brunswick County.
(
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SIS WICK BEACON, Thursday. January 28. 1988?Pa*e S-A
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