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media mentions

Jun 9, 2025

Sea Urchins Destroying Another Reef – Overfishing Blamed

Cosmos Magazine
“Without action taken now, we risk allowing these reefs to erode past the point of no return,” says Kelly van Woesik, a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University.

Jun 5, 2025

Graduate Students Gain Extension Training BEST Program

Morning Ag Clips
Five graduate students from North Carolina State University’s College of Natural Resources, along with seven Extension professionals, recently participated in the Broadening Extension through Student Training (BEST) program — an innovative professional development initiative.

Jun 3, 2025

Spotted Lanternfly Sightings Grow in NC — What Triad Residents Should Know

Winston-Salem Journal
“With only two spotted lanternfly infested areas within three counties in North Carolina, we are still early on in the invasion of this pest,” said Kelly Oten, an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at North Carolina State University.

Jun 1, 2025

Coral Reefs Can’t Survive Rising Sea Urchin Numbers

Earth.com
“We are seeing areas where you have about 51 urchins per square meter, which is among the highest population density for sea urchins anywhere in the world,” said Kelly van Woesik, a Ph.D. student in the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics.

May 31, 2025

North Carolina Weekend: People-First Tourism, Raleigh, NC

PBS North Carolina
Born from sustainable tourism research at North Carolina State University, People-First Tourism brings an innovative approach to small-scale tourism in Wake County and beyond.

May 28, 2025

Huge Sea-Urchin Populations Are Overwhelming Hawaii’s Coral Reefs

Environmental News Network
“Fishing in these areas has greatly reduced the number of fishes that feed on these urchins, and so urchin populations have grown significantly,” said Kelly van Woesik, a Ph.D. student in the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics.

May 28, 2025

Huge Sea-Urchin Populations Are Overwhelming Hawaii’s Coral Reefs

WDC TV-News
Ballooning sea-urchin populations are threatening to push some reefs in Hawaii past the point of recovery, according to a study led by Kelly van Woesik, a Ph.D. student in the North Carolina State University Center for Geospatial Analytics.

May 22, 2025

“REDD+ and other climate mechanisms must be built from the ground up”

CIFOR-ICRAF Forests News
A recent study by North Carolina State University researchers working under the Global Comparative Study on REDD+ examined perceived impacts of two REDD+ projects in Peru’s Amazonian regions of Madre de Dios and Ucayali.

May 12, 2025

Forest Loss to Farms and Cities Linked to Declining Drinking Water Quality

Smart Water Magazine
"Agriculture and urban development are beneficial, and this study does not say otherwise," said Katherine Martin, associate professor of forestry and environmental resources. "What we are seeing is that there are trade-offs when we lose forest cover, and we need to open up the conversation about those."

May 6, 2025

Development, Agriculture Present Risks for Drinking Water Quality

Environmental News Network
A new study from North Carolina State University researchers finds that conversion of forests to urban development or agriculture near streams can have harmful effects on water quality downstream, presenting both health concerns and raising the cost of water treatment.