Our environment is one of the most important issues Carteret County faces. We all know that the biggest draw to our economy is our delicate ecosystem. Whether it be the beaches, rivers, marshes or the Atlantic Ocean.
Carteret County offers a great many different activities. We have our beaches where people enjoy shell hunting, swimming, surfing, surf fishing, or just laying around and taking it easy. Our rivers and marshes serve up a diversity of activities as well. You can catch fish with rod and reel or nets. We have some of the best shellfish anywhere, along with many other species of seafood. The rivers and marshes not only provide a place to catch fresh seafood for our own use, but provides income for our citizens as well. They are also a wonderful way to spend the day just relaxing or exploring. Be it by big boat, little boat, or no boat at all.
Every business in Carteret County depends on our waters. If the rivers die, Carteret County will die. That is why it is so important to preserve them and improve water quality. There are many ways that we can do this as individuals. There are also many things that can be done by our elected officials. We need to look into ways of improving development practices, septic and other waste disposal, citizen awareness and involvement, and pollution violation enforcement. These are just a few places I feel that we need some improvement.
As your County Commissioner, I will work to bring this issue to the forefront of the Board of Commissioners agenda. I believe this coupled with research and action, will help to preserve our environment for generations yet to be born.
