North Carolina Coastal Federation: Working Together for a Healthy Coast
Our North Carolina Forever Partner Spotlight series highlights a different NC Forever partner monthly, delving into their core mission, and how each unique partner provides valuable insight and expertise to our consensus-based mission to conserve our state’s land and water resources.
For more than 40 years, one NC Forever partner has worked to protect the coastal rivers, sounds, beaches, and ocean in all 20 coastal North Carolina counties. Founded by Todd Miller, who served as Executive Director from 1982 until his retirement in 2024, the grassroots North Carolina Coastal Federation has grown to boast more than 20,000 members supporting the organization’s mission to “work with people from all walks of life and diverse partners to protect and restore the North Carolina coast.”
Putting the Mission into Practice: Five Programs, One Coast
Throughout its history, the Coastal Federation has evolved from a predominantly advocacy-based organization to one which more actively works along the North Carolina coast to protect and restore water quality and the natural habitats enjoyed and relied on by North Carolinians. That work manifests in several restoration programs, in addition to the group’s continued advocacy work.
Water Quality.
Permeable pavement is installed at Hanover Seaside Club.
In a state with a vibrant coastal economy, the Coastal Federation works to protect the coast from water quality degradation from stormwater runoff which funnels to the coast. Working with numerous partners, the Coastal Federation uses nature-based stormwater strategies like land acquisition, wetland restoration, and urban stormwater retrofits.
Salt Marshes and Shorelines. North Carolina’s 220,000 acres of salt marshes are among the most productive ecosystems in the U.S. They protect shorelines from storms, filter pollutants, and serve as habitat for countless species. The Federation works to protect existing marshes and restore others, with a particular emphasis on the use of living shorelines.
Oysters. Perhaps no species better symbolizes the link between ecology and economy on the North Carolina coast than oysters. A single adult oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water per day, and oyster reefs provide critical habitat for fish, crabs, and other marine life. They’re also a favorite of restaurateurs and foodies across the state! The Federation supports the growing mariculture industry and works to restore oyster reefs and will hit their 500 acre goal in 2026.
Marine Debris. Fishing gear, abandoned boats, plastics, lumber, and storm-deposited waste threaten coastal ecosystems and the communities that depend on them. The Federation organizes large-scale debris cleanups and works with partners, many commercial fishermen, to prevent debris from entering the coast in the first place. The Coastal Federation has removed more than 5 million pounds of debris from sensitive environments over the last several years!
Advocacy. The Federation maintains a consistent presence at the North Carolina General Assembly advocating on behalf of the coast based on the best science and technology. Educating lawmakers about threats and opportunities is a critical component to the Coastal Federation’s mission.
The organization’s current Executive Director, Dr. Braxton Davis is well positioned to continue the work in these focus areas and continue to evolve and grow the Federation in years to come. Davis has a background in science and policy, and served in various government positions related to coastal management including as director of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, director of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, and as director of Policy and Planning for the South Carolina coastal management program in Charleston, SC.
Not to be lost in the great work the Coastal Federation does each year is the work of the Coastal Review Online, a non-profit, non-partisan online publication dedicated to covering the North Carolina coast, mostly on topics related to the health of North Carolina’s shoreline covering climate change, coastal policy, energy, education, and public health.
With a staff of three, led by Editor Mark Hibbs, and with contributions from many free-lance reporters and columnists, the Coastal Review punches far above its weight in reporting Monday through Friday to thousands in North Carolina, and around the country. In 2025, the site saw 1.1 million readers.
A Seat at a Broader Table
The Coastal Federation’s expertise in water quality, coastal management, and its unique representation of all 20 coastal counties is an incredible addition to the consensus-based NC Forever organization. The organizations decades-long history of advocacy for many of the programs on the NC Forever legislative agenda brings connections and expertise that push NC Forever forward.
Davis says “the Coastal Federation has earned a really strong representation as practical, science-based, and bipartisan,” which greatly contributes to the NC Forever agenda and includes success in securing state funding to match federal grants to complete the Jean Preston Pamlico Sound Oyster Sanctuary. The work of NC Forever has also helped in securing state funds to enable the expansion of the state’s shellfish mariculture industry and for the Coastal Federation’s living shorelines cost share program. “A lot of our work in restoration has benefited from the Land and Water Fund, and other programs that NC Forever supports,” says Davis.
“The coast is something that really unites a lot of people. We truly do work with people from all walks of life – all backgrounds – so we bring that diverse representation of interests together on a lot of policy and… conservation areas.”
Dr. Braxton Davis
Davis is also excited about hosting the 2026 NC Forever board retreat at the Federation’s new headquarters in September. The brand new facility will open in the fall with the campus adjoining a community events center and education classroom which has been more than 10 years in the making.
Together, the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s programs,advocacy work, journalism, and vision for the future represent exactly the kind of partner that makes NC Forever’s coalition stronger.
