Reprinted from The Island Free Press

FRISCO — “This is a hobby that’s gotten out of hand,” Lou Browning, a longtime Hatteras Island resident, jokes of his work. “And it’s an expensive hobby.”

All joking aside though, Browning has spent a lot of his time—and a whole lot of his money—over the past few years performing a valuable service to the non-human residents of the Outer Banks.

He is the island’s only federally permitted wildlife rehabilitator, and one of just two active federally-permitted rehabbers in northeastern North Carolina. He spends his days rehabilitating ill and injured birds and reptiles at his Hatteras Island Wildlife Rescue Center so that they can be re-released into the wild.

Browning himself is an intelligent and fascinating person. Something of a Renaissance man, he has an impressive cache of knowledge on a diverse range of subjects.

He is an engineer, an artist, a nature enthusiast and a scientist. He has worked as a commercial fisherman, a diver for the N.C. Aquarium, a sculptor and a co-owner of Browning Artworks, a gallery he owned and operated for 20 years with his artist wife, Linda.

And about 10 years ago, he added wildlife rehabilitator to his repertoire.

Browning began the process by getting a state permit that allowed him to work with small mammals, reptiles and non-migratory birds — working with migratory birds requires a federal permit.

He worked under that permit for a while, honing his skills and expanding his knowledge of the animals and the process of rehabilitation.

But, since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers all bird species indigenous to the United States as migratory, the state permit left Browning legally unable to work with the majority of avian islanders.

And because the only federal permit-holder in the area, Elizabeth Hanrahan, had moved from Ocracoke to Edenton, Browning found himself driving as much, or more, than rehabbing.

It got to the point where he had two viable options: He could either get a federal permit himself, or, he could continue transporting all migratory birds to Hanrahan, which, probably sooner rather than later, would have left him bankrupt with a carbon footprint the size of East Asia.

So, he began the arduous process of becoming a federally-licensed rehabber.

Now, getting a federal rehabilitation permit is sort of like getting an acceptance to Harvard—it isn’t easy to come by, and once you get it, things don’t necessarily get easier.

In order to be eligible for a federal permit, applicants must spend at least one year as an apprentice to a federally-licensed rehabber and must log a certain number of hours.

When they apply, they have to submit a letter of recommendation from the federal permit-holder stating that the applicant is capable and worthy of the responsibility, a letter of recommendation from a government agency and a letter from a veterinarian stating that he or she is willing to work with the candidate.

On top of that, the applicant needs to demonstrate education above and beyond the minimum requirements and is required to have built penning up to federal standards.

And even then, even if the applicant does all that, he or she isn’t guaranteed a permit.

Well, Browning did all of that.

He said he had no trouble getting his letters.

Hanrahan, with whom he had apprenticed, was more than happy to comply. The National Park Service, recognizing the need for a rehabber on the island, wrote him a letter of recommendation and the veterinarians at Roanoke Island Animal Clinic happily agreed to work with Browning when he needed it.

Browning also took supplemental avian courses, and he updated the pens on his spacious, secluded land in the Frisco woods to meet federal standards, including building a 12-by-10-by- 30-foot flight cage, built entirely of wood (mesh and metal will damage the birds’ wings during their rehab).

In the end, his efforts paid off. Browning got his permit in February 2008, and that’s when the really difficult work began.

He gets calls from just about everybody—the Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the SPCA, the county sheriff’s department and individuals—and with very few exceptions, he always goes and gets the animal in question.

Travel is a necessary part of the job, but it’s the most time-consuming and expensive part.

Browning says that of all his expenses—medicines, equipment, vet visits, specialized foods and so on—it is travel that eats up more of his budget, which is 100 percent donation-supported, than anything else.

The animals he receives fall into two basic categories — ill and injured — and the cases he accepts are about half-and-half.

Of the two, illness, he says, is the more difficult to diagnose. Even for trained veterinarians, diagnosing illnesses in wild animals is tough. They can’t talk to you, and their maladies are less widely understood than those of domesticated animals.

This is particularly true of birds, which engage in a practice known as “masking.”

A natural adaptation as a defense against predation, birds will intentionally hide, or mask, illnesses in an effort to appear strong enough to fend off predators. They often appear perfectly healthy right up until the moment they collapse.

While most cases of illness are difficult to diagnose, others are easy to spot and are the result of natural cycles—nature’s way of maintaining the population of a given species.

Browning cited juvenile gannets as an example.

He said that he got young gannets all summer, “sick and emaciated because they didn’t migrate north.”

“It’s just nature,” he said.

Injuries are different.

“Trauma cases are the easiest to diagnose for a lay person,” he admits, “which I am.”

Because injuries are usually evident, they make the fundamental questions—does this animal go to the vet, does it go through rehab or does it get euthanized?—easier to answer.

Unfortunately, injuries also, usually result from human interaction.

Browning said that he frequently gets animals that have been hit by cars, have ingested hooks or have gotten tangled up in garbage, abandoned nets and fishing line.

The monofilament fishing line—mono, as it is more commonly known—has become a big problem, he said.

Left on beaches and in the water, animals get tangled in the line, and, while struggling to get free, inadvertently tighten the line around their limbs and body parts, which then cuts off circulation, sometimes causing amputation, and triggers a flood of lactic acid, which leads to acidosis—a drastic alteration of body pH that the animal cannot recover from on its own.

Even animals that have been cut loose from mono, nets or garbage should be taken to a rehabber, because acidosis, if left untreated will, in most cases, sign an animal’s death warrant.

Because of the human aspect involved in most trauma cases, they are the ones in which Browning takes the most pride.

And though he concedes that “We could do better in terms of what we leave laying around,” Browning is as practical as he is intelligent.

He maintains a realistic grasp on the nuances of nature, and he does his work without the slightest hint of superiority or judgment.

“Nobody meant for that to happen,” he says, “but it did.”

Being able to do his part to help maintain the balance between man and nature, he says, “[is] what I feel best about.”

Part of what makes Browning’s job so tough is adhering to the “cardinal rule” of rehabilitation— never, ever, tame an animal.

“The idea is that you’re not getting animals for pets,” Browning explains. “The idea is that you keep them wild, rehab them and get them back to their home.”

That may sound easy enough, but if you love animals—and, let’s be honest, you have to love animals to be a rehabber—it can be difficult to maintain that professional distance.

It takes a lot of self-control, but Browning respects the animals’ right to remain wild—and he keeps several pets around to help him resist the urge.

The summer and fall are busy seasons, and Browning is the only bird rehabber around. So there will most likely be more soon.

And that’s just fine by Browning.

“This is my passion,” he says.

Find an Injured Animal?

If you find or see an ill or injured animal on the Outer Banks, don’t hesitate to contact Browning at 252-475-4217.

Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation is 100 percent donation supported. Donations can be sent to PO Box 216, Frisco, 27936.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

BUXTON — Until recently, residents and visitors traveling to and from Hatteras Island in two-wheel drive vehicles had just one transportation option — ride the ferries.

For visitors, this tacks on three or four hours—sometimes many more—to an already time-consuming trip, and for residents, it made off-island travel for doctor appointments, work, school, or other errands extremely difficult.

But in early November, two-wheel drivers caught a break.

Jarvis Williams, who owns Cape Point Exxon in Buxton and who was contracted by the N.C. Department of Transportation to remove any vehicles that got stuck on the newly opened four-wheel-drive only access route, got the idea to start trailering two-wheel-drive cars and trucks across the sand road.

It’s a simple idea, really, and not surprisingly, it has been quite well received. When you’re in a hurry, a 15-minute ride over land beats a three-hour trip across the sound, and an on-demand sand taxi beats an hours-long ferry line any day of the week—even if you have to pay for the convenience.

In fact, the service has been so popular, that on a single day during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Williams and his crew towed 86 cars across the quarter-mile long sand road.

It wasn’t long before that kind of demand necessitated an increase in supply.

Scott Caldwell, who owns Island Convenience in Rodanthe, started towing cars over Thanksgiving weekend when he saw how many people wanted—and needed—to use the service.

“There were cars lined up from Hot Tuna to the [emergency] ferry dock,” he said, all of which were waiting to be towed across the sand.

Three businesses on Hatteras Island will load two-wheel-drive cars on trailers and tax them across the the broken up section of N.C. 12 that is now open to only four-wheel drives. Photo: Don Bowers, Island Free Press.

Eric Stump, who owns Island Cruisers, a four-by-four rentals operation in Rodanthe, also got in on the action, spurred on by phone calls from people who wanted to rent his four-wheel drive vehicles in order to cross the sand road.

All three have reputable, established and fully-insured towing businesses that have long operated on the island. And though traffic has decreased considerably since the holiday weekend, Williams, Caldwell, and Stump are still plenty busy.

And since N.C. 12 will not be repaired until at least Christmas, it seems likely that they will remain so.

All three charge $25 per trip, and all three operate seven days a week, from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. — the only times during which the sand road is open.

In addition, all three offer both on-demand and reservation-style services.

So, you can give one of them a call when you’re ready to cross the road, or, if you know in advance when you’ll need to cross, you can arrange for someone to meet you on a specific date at a specific time.

All southbound travelers are picked up at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service parking lot, which is just south of the checkpoint and the temporary bridge over Pea Island Inlet.

Northbound travelers will be picked up at different places depending on which company is providing the service.

Caldwell will meet customers at Island Convenience, and Stump will pick up his customers at the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community Building. Williams will meet his customers near the Midgett Realty building in Rodanthe, just south of the checkpoint station.

Caldwell can be reached at either 252- 216-5733 or 252- 987-2239. Stump can be reached at 252-987-2097 or 252-202-8399. Williams can be reached at 252-475-4285.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

Last of two parts

HATTERAS– The Day at the Docks festival next month in Hatteras has been expanded to four days and will feature some fresh faces and events in addition to the usual festivities, such as the Blessing of the Fleet.

All the events taking place on Thursday, Friday, and Sunday will be new. In addition, there will be a few new things on the schedule for Saturday. Here’s a preview of what attendees can look forward to this year:

New Additions

Talk of the Villages: Fishermen, Fish, Food and Livelihood: This will be a free and open public discussion at the Seaside Inn on Thursday, Sept. 13, starting at 4 p.m. It will feature fishermen from across the nation who have overcome great odds and obstacles in order to preserve fisheries and continue fishing. The discussion will be moderated by Susan West and Barbara Garrity-Blake, co-authors of the book Fish House Opera. Guest speakers will include:

• Dave Densmore, a commercial fisherman and accomplished poet from Alaska, who spent four nights adrift on the Bering Sea—in a life-raft and without a survival suit—and who, in the process of recovering from frostbite that left him temporarily unable to use his legs, pioneered the Prince William Sound herring roe dive fishery.
• Diane Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimper, mother of five and author from Seadrift, Texas, who decided to take on a multi-billion dollar corporation responsible for polluting the Gulf Coast bay where she fished—and won.
• Niaz Dorry, a Gloucester, Mass., resident who is a coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance; a member of the executive committees of the National Family Farm Coalition and Granite State Fish; an advisor to the Harvard Medical School’s Center for Health and the Global Environment; and a noted proponent of small-scale, traditional and indigenous fishing communities.
• Robert Fritchey, a Pennsylvania native who traded a career in medical parasitology to become a commercial redfish netter in Louisiana. Fritchey, who was put out of business by Louisiana’s 1995 legislative net-ban, has published two books defending the traditional fishery.

Sons of the Pioneers: This event, which is free and open to the public, will be a talk at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum on Friday, Sept. 14, starting at 2 p.m. It will highlight the charter fishing industry and will feature stories from villagers Spurgeon Stowe, Ernie Foster, Dwight Burrus, Homer Styron and Edgar Styron—the sons of islanders who pioneered charter fishing on Hatteras.

The talk will be moderated by Danny Couch and is slated to take place in the soon-to-be opening charter fishing exhibit at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum.

Celebrating North Carolina:  The event will be held at Lee Robinson Store on Friday, Sept. 14, starting at 4 p.m. It will be open to the public with a requested donation to the Waterman’s Relief Fund, which is administered by Hatteras United Methodist Church. Guests will have the opportunity to sample North Carolina beer, wine and seafood while enjoying music from local musician Wes Lassiter and meeting noted author Kevin Duffus.

In addition to all the usual festivities that take place along the waterfront on Saturday, Sept. 15, there will be a few events and guests on the main stage this year.

Author readings and guest speakers: Many of the guest speakers from Thursday night’s forum will make an appearance on the main stage, including Densmore, who will read some of his poetry; West and Garrity-Blake, who will read from Fish House Opera.

N.C. author David Cecelski and Janice Marshall, a Smith Island, Md., crabber will also be featured. Cecelski will speak about traditional fishing songs and Marshall will talk about a crab-processing cooperative that she and four other women started.

Seafood Throw-Down: This is another major, new event this year. This will be an Iron Chef-style cooking competition that will feature two local chefs and a locally sourced, mystery seafood, which won’t be revealed until the competition begins and will be donated by Hatteras commercial fishermen. Once the mystery ingredient has been revealed, the chefs will have one hour to select N.C. produce and herbs from a pantry that will be stocked from the Conetoe Family Life Center’s community garden and prepare their meals for the judges.

Old Favorites Returning

Crab races are a favorite at the Day at the Docks festival. Photo: Dan Bowers, Island Free Press.

The Hatteras village waterfront will be chock-full of traditional Day at the Docks events and activities on Saturday, including the kid’s fishing competition, the crab races, survival suit races, net-hanging and concrete marlin competitions, seafood harvest and cooking demonstrations, fish-print T-shirt-making, the mullet toss, and of course, the ever-popular chowder cook-off.

In addition, the education and merchandise tents will be set up in the parking lot of Willis Landing, and the main stage, which will feature a variety of guests throughout the day, will be set up just across from Foster’s Quay, the home of the Albatross Fleet, which, it should be noted, will celebrate its 75^th anniversary this year.

And, of course, no Day at the Docks would be complete without the annual parade of working boats and the Blessing of the Fleet.

After the blessing of the fleet and a fishermen’s dinner, there will again be a dance on the lawn of the Hatteras Community Building, featuring musical guest, Premier.

The culminating event will be a ticketed shrimp and grits lunch on Sunday, Sept. 16, on the lawn of the Seaside Inn with guest speaker Elizabeth Wiegand, the author of The Outer Banks Cookbook.

For more information, or to sponsor any of the above events or activities, visit the Day at the Docks web site, or contact Lynne Foster,

To see slide shows from the 2010 Day at the Docks and Parade of Boats and Blessing of the Fleet, go to Island Free Press web site.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

First of two parts

Traditional skills such as tying fishing nets will be on display at the Day at the Docks festival. Photo: Dan Bowers, Island Free Press.

Day at the Docks, the annual festival held each fall on the working waterfront of Hatteras village, originally began in the wake of Hurricane Isabel recovery efforts as a way to celebrate the spirit of Hatteras village and to honor the enduring strength and heritage of its community — a community anchored by its commercial and charter fishermen.

In the seven years since the first official event, the festival has grown from a small, community gathering, attended by a couple hundred people — most of them islanders — to an authentic and vibrant showcase of the island’s fishing traditions and culture, attracting thousands of visitors from at least 15 different states, generating recognition and appreciation of professional watermen and educating the public about the work they do and the organizations that support them.

As Lynne Foster, the founder and organizer of Day at the Docks, put it, almost everyone who lives on this island has some direct connection to the water and to its fishing heritage.

It was with that knowledge, and very much in the original spirit of Day at the Docks, that Foster decided to expand the celebration this year—from the one-day festival it has traditionally been, to a four-day event, beginning on Thursday evening, Sept. 13, and ending on Sunday afternoon, Sept.16.

Foster said that the idea came about while she was discussing the event with Susan West of Buxton and Niaz Dorry, a resident of Gloucester, Mass., and a coordinating director of the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance—an organization dedicated to restoring and enhancing a marine system capable of supporting healthy, diverse and abundant marine life and human uses.

Be sure to check out the sign describing the federation’s project at Durant’s Point.

According to Foster, Dorry, who has experience planning and orchestrating these kinds of events, encouraged her to, “look beyond how much fun (the event) was going to be and think about what it is that you really want to achieve.”

This new focus led Foster and West to consider how Day at the Docks could become an even more potent tool for highlighting not only the economic importance of the fishing industry, but also its cultural significance.

To achieve this, Foster and the Day at the Docks team are bringing together a diverse array of watermen and women from other small fishing communities throughout the nation and a variety of authors, organizations and locals to participate in this year’s expanded celebration—one that will include public forums, gallery talks, local seafood cooking demonstrations and tastings, ticketed dinners and, of course, all the activities that Day at the Docks attendees have come to know and love—including the parade of boats and the Blessing of the Fleet.

In addition, a peripheral, though no less important goal of expanding the event, is to attract more visitors and keep them here for a longer period of time—to increase immersion in the local culture and provide an off-season boost to local businesses.

“I’m really looking forward to using different venues,” Foster said of this year’s celebration, “to moving more people throughout the village.”

Indeed, on top of all the regular festivities that take place along the village waterfront and at the Hatteras Village Community Building, this year’s schedule will boast events at the historic Seaside Inn, The Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum and Lee Robinson General Store.

In the end, Foster hopes that the expanded event will help to uplift the local fishing community, inspire young fishermen to become leaders in the fishing industry, and increase educational opportunities and cultural access for island visitors.

At its heart, Day at the Docks has always been about celebrating the waterman heritage and working to ensure the future of fishing on Hatteras Island.  This year’s expanded event represents a big step forward in that direction.

Wednesday: What’s Planned