The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management has allocated over $2.25 million in grants to support 10 projects aimed at improving public access to beaches and coastal waters across the state. The funding comes through the Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access Grant Program, which assists local governments in North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties with land acquisition and infrastructure improvements for public access sites.
“These state investments will both ensure safe and expanded public access to our coastlines and strengthen the resilience of our communities by supporting infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “As we face increasingly severe storms, these projects will play a key role in safeguarding both public safety and the long-term health of our coastal environments.”
Grant recipients include towns such as Atlantic Beach, Beaufort, Belhaven, Bertie County, Cedar Point, Nags Head, New Hanover County, Ocean Isle Beach, Swansboro, and Vandemere. Projects range from rebuilding dune crossovers and bathhouses to expanding parks with ADA-accessible features like fishing piers and kayak launches.
For example, Belhaven received $540,000 for its Harbor Park Expansion project to acquire additional land after recent site improvements including a new bulkhead and dock. Nags Head was awarded $400,000 to replace an existing bathhouse and walkover at Hargrove Street Public Beach Access. Other projects focus on adding accessible restrooms, enhancing stormwater drainage with rain gardens, or replacing non-ADA compliant structures with accessible alternatives.
The grant program was established in 1981 by the N.C. General Assembly in response to concerns about declining public access along the coast. It was later expanded in 1983 to include estuarine areas. The program uses a portion of annual funds from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund (PARTF) for matching grants that support these initiatives. Since its inception, it has funded more than 528 projects statewide.
More details about this program are available on the Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access website.
