Featuring Kerri Allen

Kerri Allen is a Coastal Advocate for the NC Coastal Federation (non-profit), a hobby cartographer, and is a powerful voice for our beautiful North Carolina Coasts.

NC Coastal Federation’s main advocacy missions are prevention of off-shore oil drilling, tracking Gen-X and PFAS in the drinking water, and helping local governments make responsible choices concerning the coast.

Kerri is a native North Carolinian, UNCW graduate, and absolute water lover!

Current Initiatives

Marine Debris

Marine debris prevention has become crucial since Hurricane Florence swept away docks and piers into the ocean with her visit to NC. According to aerial imagery from NOAA almost 66% of NC docks and piers were at the bottom of oceans, rivers, waterways, and everywhere in between.

After state funding, NC Coastal Federation hired local fisherman to help with the clean-up.

These 4 tough working guys on a skiff pulling epic amounts out of the water.

And 3 years later…

The average amount of debris removed per day is 1 ton! (2,000 pounds)

Total debris removed is 2 million pounds and counting!

Building Better Docks

There are much better ways to build docks, according to Kerri. Often homeowners opt to build cheaper docks and piers, however they have to be rebuilt often and contribute massively to marine debris problems. Cheaper docks also use polystyrene foam for flotation, which often isn’t unencapsulated. Polystyrene pieces break off of docks and never biodegrade, poisoning the waterways. These pieces are often consumed by wildlife, which we also eat. NC Coastal Federation is working with builders, contractors, insurance agencies, and local government to help improve building codes and require better, more resilient docks to be built.

Long-lasting docks prevent massive dumps of marine debris AND are cheaper to insure.

Water Quality

Stormwater Management

You have probably never thought about what happens when the rain falls on the ground versus onto your roof, or sidewalk, or paved road. Why would you? If you haven’t, that’s ok. We have people like Kerri who think about this for us!

Rainwater collects harmful bacteria that’s been hanging out on our hard surfaces and wash them into our storm drains. They then head directly into our beautiful creeks and coastal waters without treatment.

So what can you do about it?

Check out the NC Coastal Federation’s publication, Smart Yards, to see all the ways a regular homeowner can make a huge difference!

Oysters

A huge win for the environment… and your tastebuds ; )

These delicious mollusks create jobs in fisheries, support our local economy, and their shells are repurposed to build reefs that help keep our waters clean!

Oysters are one of Kerri’s favorites AND an initiative that enjoys strong bipartisan support…

Our waters and coast are the perfect place for shellfish to flourish. The oyster industry in NC is set to hit $30 million by 2030!

Living Shorelines

There are many ways to prevent the erosion of our coastal border.

You may have seen sea walls and bulkheads, maybe even a jetty or two…but did you know these ‘solutions’ are far from sustainable?

In the long run, they can make matters of erosion worse. And they’re not very pretty to look at.

Living shorelines work with the tides, the wave energy, amount of beach, etc. According to Kerri, they also provide a healthy habitat for wildlife and cost a LOT less.

There are so many ways we can help and if you’re looking for some, then check out the NC Coastal Federation!

The North Carolina Coastal Federation is a member-supported 501(c)3 that is focused on protecting and restoring the North Carolina coast.

The goal is to create a natural, beautiful, and productive coast that is a great place to live, work, and visit.