Two years ago, a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and the N.C. General Assembly dealt a one-two punch to rules protecting North Carolina's wetlands from development and other threats. The N.C. Sierra Club and our environmental allies are determined to claw back those protections – with YOUR help.
Early this month, we hosted a webinar to explain why the rule changes are a big problem for clean water, flood control, wildlife and biodiversity, and much more. If you missed it, scroll down to watch it now!
As Erin Carey, the Chapter's conservation policy director, said: "If we don't protect our wetlands, we can't protect our water. If we don't protect our wetlands, we can't save our fisheries. And as you've seen from the catastrophic flooding from Helene and other storms, if we don't protect our wetlands, we can't protect ourselves."
Erin was joined by Brooks Rainey Pearson, the Southern Environmental Law Center's N.C. lobbyist, who spoke about legislative, regulatory and legal steps we can take to combat the changes in state and federal wetlands protections.
And you can help right now:
- The narrowed definition of "wetlands" was mandated by the N.C. Farm Act of 2023, triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett decision. Ask your state House and Senate member to create new legislation that restores the protections North Carolina's unique wetlands need.
- By June 30: While the rule changes are effectively a done deal (for now!), N.C. regulators must go through the motions of taking public comment on them. Use the opportunity to encourage restoration of full wetlands protections: Sign up to speak at a hybrid hearing at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, and submit comments online through Monday, June 30.
To learn more about our wetlands, we recommend visiting the NC Wetlands website (ncwetlands.org) for a wealth of science-based information about these critically important and beautiful natural areas.