Exploring North Carolina 2013 | UNC-TV

A two-part episode which probes the natural forces that created our state’s coastline and the human impact on its future. Tom's interviews coastal specialists Dorothea Ames & Stan Riggs.

A two-part episode which probes the natural forces that created our state’s coastline and the human impact on its future. Tom's interviews coastal specialists Dorothea Ames & Stan Riggs.

Spartina marshes behind our barrier islands--once considered wastelands--are now believed to be the most valuable and productive lands in North Carolinas. The marshes are nursery, storm buffer, and the beginning of the "cafeteria line" for most of the finfish and shellfish found on the North Carolina coast. ENC takes you on an unforgettable visit to Tar Heel salt marshes with the people who know.

At the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences there are year-round collections of living things...20-year old snakes, 12-year old salamanders, rare turtles, seldom-seen fish, native moths, and giant grasshoppers. This collection is often the first contact with living, native animals for visiting school children. Each has to be cared for & feed just the right foods within the right conditions.

Brownwater rivers are those that begin in the mountains and Piedmont and transport silt and clay particles. Blackwater rivers are generally short, slow-moving rivers that emerge from pocossins in our eastern-most counties, and transport carry acidic, tea-colored water.

North Carolina has its own version of the Appalachian Trail – the Mountains to the Sea Trail. It offers hikers a magnificent 1,000-mile adventure beginning at the Tennessee border and then passes through state, federal, and private lands before reaching its eastern terminus on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Wherever you go in North Carolina you will find a blanket of greenery – trees, shrubs, flowers, and grasses. Much of the greenery, especially in our urban areas, is comprised of ornamental alien species. This increasing use of non-native plant material seems to defy logic, since we live in one of the "hotbeds" of biodiversity in the temperate world.

Coal miners once carried caged canaries to detect detect dangerous gases deep underground. The small caged birds--environmental indicators--served as an early warning of problems. North Carolina is fortunate to have its own state-wide environmental indicator, salamanders. No place on the planet has a greater variety of these beautiful amphibians than the Tar Heel State. Exploring North Carolina traveled from the highest mountains and to our coastal plain to tell the story of these magnificent creatures. Utilizing stunning close-up photography, you will learn why salamanders are among our most valuable neighbors.

With 17 river basins, all with an average of more than 40 inches of rain per year, North Carolina is extremely fortunate. Yet until the last half of the 20th century, many of our rivers were badly polluted and waterborne illnesses were once common. In this episode, some of this state's preeminent authorities on water quality and policy will look at Tar Heel water, past and future.

The facilities at Camp Lejeune include beaches, pine forests, and wetlands. This legendary Marine Corps training facility is also home to a corps of conservation professionals who oversee natural resources on the base, and improve lands outside the base.

Fort Bragg covers over 160,00 acres and is home to over 57,000 military personnel. If you think extraordinary training and military readiness are incompatible with a environmental protection and sustainability, think again. At Fort Bragg, the longleaf pine forests are flourishing and the training has never been better. Exploring North Carolina will show you this great American conservation story.

Just a few generations ago, North Carolinians lived in small towns and on farms. Many Tar Heels owned a piece of land, and a few even owned grand estates. Today, more and more of us live in urban apartments and condos, without a yard. No matter where you live in North Carolina, you are still the owner of a great estate, our 40 State Parks...or "estate parks."

It is possible for Tar Heels to drive from Maine to Florida in one day without ever passing through a town or city, but you will go through dozens of communities. Within the borders of North Carolina, from our 6000 foot peaks to our southeastern coast, there are dozens of "natural communities" similar to the natural communities found from the sub-arctic (Maine) to the sub-tropics (Florida).