Reprinted from Island Free Press.

Debris from five oceanfront home collapses continues to cover the shoreline in Buxton as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) moves forward with a coordinated cleanup response, despite the ongoing federal shutdown.

The public is advised to avoid the beach south of Old Lighthouse Road, where pilings, broken construction materials, and household debris remain scattered along the surf zone and are shifting with each tide, creating dangerous conditions.

Beach access from the north end of Buxton to near ORV Ramp 43 remains closed. 

Tuesday’s collapses sent debris across National Seashore property and into nearby neighborhoods, where a significant portion of debris has reached private property inland. Dare County has previously contracted private debris removal crews to assist along Old Lighthouse Road after earlier home collapses in September and October, and similar support is anticipated as the latest cleanup continues.

Meanwhile, CHNS crews are conducting emergency, safety-focused cleanup operations and maintaining limited public access where possible, despite ongoing federal service limitations.

“We’re continuing to respond in an emergency fashion to help maintain public access to general areas,” said CHNS Superintendent David Hallac. “Most of our staff are working to protect the property of the seashore.”

Tuesday’s incidents mark the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th oceanfront home collapses on Hatteras Island since mid-September, which all occurred in Buxton except for one collapse in Rodanthe.

Homeowners are technically responsible for the cleanup of their property debris, but cleanup efforts often involve a combination of private contractors, county resources, local volunteers, and the National Park Service.

Hallac noted that while some of the 15 affected Buxton property owners have requested special use permit applications to help remove debris on Seashore lands, “they have not attempted to clean up on any National Seashore property south of the village, to my knowledge.” The situation differs somewhat from recent 2024 and 2025 collapses in Rodanthe, where homeowners — in several cases — undertook extensive cleanup initiatives along miles of shoreline.

Conditions remain hazardous in the impacted area, with sharp debris, exposed nails, buried pilings, and unstable materials continuing to wash in and out with the surf. Officials warn that the beachfront remains unsafe and urge the public to avoid the area until further notice while cleanup crews work to remove debris and stabilize access.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review partners with Island Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from an Island Free Press report dated Oct. 6.

Cleanup efforts are continuing this week in Buxton and Rodanthe following the collapse of nine oceanfront homes last week — eight in Buxton and one in Rodanthe — as National Park Service crews, area organizations, and volunteers work to remove large volumes of debris scattered along the shoreline.

In Buxton, cleanup teams have already hauled away roughly 140 truckloads of debris from the beach as of Sunday, said Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent David Hallac.

Large piles remain, including one near the former Navy base site that may contain a similar amount of material. Another pile near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse measures about 100 feet long, 35 feet wide, and 5 feet high. Crews have been separating plastic, large lumber, and small lumber to facilitate disposal, and Dare County has reported eight septic system washouts in the Buxton collapse area.

“The odors from sewage were noticeable in several beachfront locations,” Hallac said. “And north of the jetty, petroleum odors were so strong on Sunday that we made the decision not to clean up in that area for safety reasons.” Petroleum smells were also strong on Saturday, but had briefly diminished enough to allow heavy equipment into the area.

Related: ‘Messy situation’: Buxton beach closed after 8th house falls

The cleanup zone in Buxton remains challenging due to its dense neighborhood layout, which caused debris to become trapped between collapsed structures, pilings, and sandbags when the homes fell. This has created a more concentrated debris field compared to Rodanthe.

“In Buxton, the water line was so high when these houses collapsed, and the area is so dense, that many of the homes and pilings and sandbags trapped this debris,” Hallac said.

Hallac emphasized that National Park Service crews have been working long hours daily alongside local partners to make progress.

“I’m extremely proud of all the National Park Service staff who have been working on this, some for hours a day, every day, and extraordinary thanks for the incredible efforts of the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association, Cape Hatteras United Methodist Men, and many community members who have come up to help,” he said.

In Rodanthe, the debris field from last week’s single home collapse extended around 18 miles, although most of that distance contained light debris, such as polyester filling, carpet padding, and small bits of wood that washed south to around Ramp 32. The initial few miles nearest the collapse site contained heavier material.

Cleanup in Rodanthe has benefited from a swift response by the homeowner, who began working on the beach the morning after the collapse and has remained actively involved. “He has worked continuously, and we worked as a team with him,” Hallac noted.

Over the weekend, the Rodanthe homeowner used an excavator to remove the remnant structure from the beach, which prevented additional debris from washing away. The North Carolina Beach Buggy Association also played a major role in the Rodanthe cleanup effort, according to Hallac.

While significant progress has been made, continued cleanup is expected in both locations.

In Rodanthe, National Park Service crews will use a mechanized beach rake to remove debris that has become buried in the sand. In Buxton, seashore staff are assessing remaining debris south of Ramp 43 to develop the next phase of the cleanup strategy.

Beachgoers are urged to use extreme caution in these areas, as nails, sharp debris, and other hazardous materials may be buried beneath the sand.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard sent a letter June 30 to Senate Leader Phil Berger expressing “deep concern” about the last-minute changes to House Bills 442 and 441, which resulted in last week’s “Shrimpgate” protests.

Following the surprise introduction of legislation that would ban shrimp trawling in nearly all of North Carolina’s coastal waters, a host of groups and individuals have weighed in on the rushed proposal running aground.

The state Senate passed House Bill 442 on June 20, which would have made it a misdemeanor to operate a shrimp trawl in the sounds and up to one-half mile off the Atlantic coastline. This amendment was tacked on to a bill requiring state regulators to open flounder and red snapper seasons, days before it came to a vote in the Senate.

The Senate also gutted House Bill 441, originally entitled “An act to adopt the Loggerhead Sea Turtle as the official saltwater reptile of the state of North Carolina.” This turtle-centered bill passed 113-0 in the N.C. House on May 7, 2025.

The revised HB 441 bill – different in every aspect but the House Bill number – had the title “Shrimp Trawling Transition Program/Fees,” and it outlined a temporary payment plan for commercial fishermen who would face significant losses as a result of a shrimp trawling ban.

These changes that were inserted without warning or consultation with the bill’s original primary sponsors ignited backlash from across the political spectrum, with bipartisan legislators, fishing advocates, and marine scientists accusing the state Senate of underhanded political maneuvering and disregard for data-driven fisheries management.

The two bills were sent back to the House due to the changes, where N.C. House members announced June 25 that the two controversial shrimp trawling bills will not move forward, at least during this most recent House session.

The following is the June 30 letter from Woodard:

Dear Senator Berger,

First and foremost, I hope this letter reaches your desk for thoughtful review. 

From one Republican to another, I’m writing to express my deep concern and disappointment over the amendments that were recently attached to HB 442 by senior Senate leadership and sent back to the House for a vote. The last-minute deal pushed through the Senate with no opportunity for those affected to speak or defend their livelihoods-was unacceptable. 

Our democratic system, established by our forefathers, was designed to ensure that every voice in leadership could be heard-whether in support or opposition. At its core, our Constitution is built on mutual respect and, most importantly, due process. 

Senator, I fully understand that this issue-shrimp trawling in North Carolina’s inland waters— has both supporters and opponents. I also respect your position in favor of the ban, and your stated concerns about bycatch in shrimp nets. However, it’s important to note that regulations are already in place that significantly reduce bycatch. I would hope you also respect my position, which is to support the continuation of responsible shrimp trawling in our inland waters. 

Let me be clear: I mean no disrespect. But it’s undeniable that under your leadership, the Senate bypassed due process by attaching negative amendments to this bill without public debate or discussion. Senator Bobby Hanig proposed five amendments during the session, and all were tabled without deliberation. This is not how a healthy democracy functions. Our forefathers would be disheartened by the erosion of open debate and procedural fairness. 

Far too often, state and federal legislative leadership sidesteps due process which ultimately destroys the trust of the hard-working people of North Carolina. 

I understand you intend to revisit this issue and pursue a ban on shrimp trawling in the future. If that is the case, I respectfully ask that you do so with transparency, fairness, and a willingness to hear all voices—especially those directly impacted. 

Thank you for taking the time to consider my concerns. I welcome the opportunity to discuss this vital issue with you. Please feel free to call me at any time at 252-216-8240. If you prefer, I am willing to travel to Raleigh to meet with you in person at your convenience 

Respectfully, 

Robert L. “Bob” Woodard, Sr. 

Chairman, Dare County Board of Commissioners 

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Another oceanfront home in Rodanthe collapsed Friday during the early morning hours.

This is the third home on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches to collapse in 2024, and the eighth since 2020.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom house at 23001 G A Kohler Court in Rodanthe was built in 1992 and was owned by a resident of Hampton, Virginia. It was unoccupied at the time of the collapse and had a total structure and land tax value of $280,600, according to Dare County records.

National Park Service officials are urging visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water near the north end of Rodanthe, and potentially for miles to the south. In addition, the seashore is monitoring an adjacent house that sustained damages because of the house collapse.

Dangerous debris may be present on the beach and in the water to the north and south of the collapse site, which will likely lead to temporary beach closures for public safety.

A debris removal contractor, hired by the property owner, is expected to begin cleanup work Friday. Debris removal activities may also be conducted by National Park Service staff.

Earlier this year, an unoccupied home in the G A Kohler Court area collapsed Aug. 16 and a home at the end of Ocean Drive in Rodanthe collapsed on May 28.

In March 2023, an oceanfront home collapsed at East Point Drive in Rodanthe.

On May 10, 2022, two unoccupied homes located on Ocean Drive, collapsed within a 12-hour period. 

In February 2022 and May 2020, two additional Rodanthe homes in the Ocean Drive vicinity also collapsed into the ocean.

All of these home collapses resulted in a large debris field on Hatteras Island, which was addressed and cleaned up by the National Park Service, local volunteers, and/or contractors enlisted by the homeowners themselves.

No personal injuries were reported in connection with any of the collapses.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review partners with the online publication to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

After photographer Don Bowers, who has been documenting storms in the northern Buxton beach area for decades, visited the shoreline Wednesday, he said that this week’s low-pressure system has caused more damage there than he has seen since he moved to Hatteras Island in the mid-1960s.

“In the 1970s, we had two big nor’easters that came through and pummeled the (Buxton) area, but we didn’t have as many houses back then,” he said. “This is as bad as I’ve ever seen it.”

Other areas of Hatteras Island were not as severely affected by the storm, but northern Buxton has had multiple cycles of oceanside flooding, particularly during recent high tides, since Monday.

The damage stretches from the northern Buxton border to the now-closed Buxton Beach Access at the end of Old Lighthouse Road.

As of Wednesday, Bowers reports that there are at least a dozen septic tanks that have been recently exposed.

There are a half dozen exterior staircases that have been washed away from homes, multiple broken water pipes, and extensive and miscellaneous debris.

Many side streets in the area remain flooded, while the pilings of oceanfront homes are submerged in ocean waters.

At the site of the former Navy and Coast Guard military base, which has been an area of concern since petroleum smells and sheens started appearing in the fall of 2023, the presence of old infrastructure has noticeably increased in the past several days.

Former remnants of concrete buildings, pipes, cables and other debris from the 1956 to 1982 Navy Base have been a continual sight since two offshore hurricanes brushed the Outer Banks in early September 2023.

As of Wednesday, more infrastructure along the shoreline has been revealed, and the petroleum smell has returned.

“I’ve been out there many times, and it smelled bad today – worse than it has before, I think,” Bowers said.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore personnel expanded the size of the closed beach area near the Buxton Beach Access on Sunday, and a revised precautionary public health advisory was issued for the area on Monday.

The Outer Banks may get a brief and minor respite after days of strong northeast winds, elevated surf, and accelerated erosion Wednesday afternoon, but a second low pressure system is expected to impact the Outer Banks starting late Wednesday night.

Additional overwash and erosion are possible in the next several days, and N.C. Highway 12 may be impacted in northern Buxton and other areas with vulnerable and compromised dunes.

For more information on the forecast, visit the National Weather Service.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

From an Island Free Press report.

The Dare County Waterways Commission discussed during its meeting Monday projects to dredge Hatteras Harbor and Avon Harbor, but the path to complete both has several challenges.

The Waterways Commission recently requested the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers address Hatteras Harbor shoaling that is beginning to impede vessels that regularly travel through the waterbody, including the U.S. Coast Guard, which uses the harbor during search and rescue cases, about 40 local charter vessels and additional transient vessels.

Dare County has $217,000 remaining for Hatteras Connector Channel dredging projects that should cover the cost for the Corps’ dredge Murden to address the shoaling. The county-managed dredge Miss Katie would need special permitting and permission to dredge the harbor, which could take up to six months.

The Dare County Board of Commissioners June 6 requested a survey of the Hatteras Harbor expected to be complete this week. The hope is that after the survey is ready, the Coast Guard can partner with the Corps on the emergency dredging request to make the project a priority.

Commission members decided to wait until the survey of the Hatteras Harbor area was complete to decide on next steps.

The Corps has allocated $1.6 million in funds to dredge Avon Harbor and the adjacent channel. The dredging is expected to deepen Avon Harbor and the first mile of the channel to 6 feet, Barton Grover, Dare County grants and waterways administrator, said at Monday’s meeting.

Because there is no clear disposal site for dredge material close to Avon Harbor, Dare County, the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the National Park Service and other agencies planned earlier this year to move the material to the soundside beaches between Avon and Buxton.

The sand was tested this spring to make sure it was safe for public use. Results indicate that the sand exceeded safety limits for certain contaminants.

Grover said they’re working with NCDOT and the park service to see if there are other locations to deposit the material, “because based on those results, we’re not going to put the harbor material on a publicly used beach.”

Grover added that the channel material test results came out well, and this material could likely be used to bolster public beaches.

As for the current channels in Hatteras Inlet, Chairman Steve “Creature” Coulter noted that vessels were not having an issue getting through the inlet since the channel was dredged this spring by Miss Katie and the Corps.

“It’s holding pretty well, and the connecting channel is still good,” said Coulter. “It could always use a little maintenance on the entrance coming out of Sloop into the connecting channel, but it’s holding up pretty well.”

The next Dare County Waterways Commission meeting is at 7 p.m. July 10 in Manteo.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Dare County Board of Commissioners have unanimously approved a resolution to take the first steps toward a dredging project in Avon Harbor that will result in beach nourishment for the Canadian Hole and Kite Point soundside shorelines.

The Army Corps of Engineers has allocated $1.6 million in funds to dredge Avon Harbor and the adjacent channel, but unlike the Corps’ past dredging projects, such as in Oregon or Hatteras inlets, there is not a clear disposal site for dredge material in the immediate Avon village area.

As a result, Dare County and other government agencies, including the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the National Park Service, have formulated a plan to transport the dredged material from Avon Harbor to the nearby soundside beaches between Avon and Buxton.

The dredging is expected to deepen Avon Harbor and the first mile of the channel to 6 feet, while up to 25,000 cubic yards of sand will be deposited in between Avon and Buxton as a result of the project.

The Corps will orchestrate the dredging, which will entail a bucket-and-barge operation instead of a pipeline dredge due to the lack of an adjacent disposal site, while the North Carolina Department of Transportation will assist with obtaining permits, and performing the soundside beach nourishment.

Dare County will be responsible for the transportation of the material from Avon to Canadian Hole and Kite Point, as well as the initial vibracore, a sediment sampling method, to ensure that the material is safe and can be used to bolster the soundside area.

“Obviously, this material will be placed on a beach that is used by the public, so we need to make sure there are (no issues), like heavy metals, and petroleum. That is the first hurdle,” said Dare County Grants and Waterways Administrator Barton Grover. “If the vibracore sampling comes out bad, we’ll have to reassess this project.”

An estimated $160,000 is required from Dare County for vibracore sampling and trucking costs once the project is underway, and a Shallow Draft Navigation Fund application will be submitted to receive a 75% state match, or up to $120,000, of the required funds.

During the meeting Monday, commissioners approved a resolution to sponsor the project and to authorize the county manager to make the necessary budget amendment.

Grover expects the sampling to be performed in March, and based on those results, the Corps will start accepting contractor bids for the dredging project in the summer of 2023.

If all aspects of the multifaceted dredging and nourishment project align, dredging in Avon Harbor will begin in winter 2023-24.

Unlike other oceanfront beach nourishment projects in the county, which are funded through the county’s Beach Nourishment Fund, the soundside nourishment is more of a beneficial side effect of the dredging event, instead of the primary goal.

“We needed to have a nearby site to deposit materials, and there was not one close to the harbor, but this allows us to essentially do a soundside beach nourishment project in the process,” Grover said.

The end result will be a deeper and easier-to-navigate Avon Harbor, as well as better protection for N.C. Highway 12, the power lines, the water line that runs in between Avon and Buxton villages, and the popular soundside beaches themselves.

“This project will be beneficial to a lot of different people and entities,” Grover said. “It’s beneficial to the NCDOT, Cape Hatteras Electric, the kiteboarders and recreational users of the soundside beaches, and the commercial and recreational fishermen who use Avon Harbor.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved at their Tuesday meeting in Manteo taking steps toward a new feasibility study to determine the precise costs of performing a beach nourishment project in Rodanthe. 

“We have a feasibility study from 2013, and obviously, the beach looks a little different since then,” Dare County Grants and Waterways Administrator Barton Grover said at Tuesday’s meeting. “So we would have a consultant or engineer go out there, resurvey the beach, and get the estimated volumes (of sand) that are being lost per year, and the erosion rate … With that, we will give you the estimated cost for a Rodanthe beach nourishment project.”

The study will begin in about six months, and the cost is in the $30,000 to $34,000 range, with the North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management, or DCM, providing $25,000 of the funds required.

“If we do have any intention down the road of doing something — and as we’re trying to prioritize (beach nourishment) projects — we’ll have to know the scale to set those priorities,” County Manager Bobby Outten said at the meeting. “This is an opportunity for us to (have this exact information) and DCM is willing to help us.”

“It’s just one little small step to take a look and tell us what the costs are,” Grover said.

The study will be conducted by Coastal Science & Engineering Inc. based in Columbia, South Carolina, which has performed similar surveys for beach nourishment projects along the Outer Banks. The results will identify the total length of a project, likely in the 2-mile range, as well as the volume of sand that would be required. 

The study is an initial step in any Dare County beach nourishment project, but it does not guarantee that a nourishment project will occur. Instead, it will give the county an exact estimate of the costs involved, and will help with future decisions, if and when funds are available for additional projects.

Per a November Coastal Review article, Rodanthe has one of the highest beach erosion rates on the Outer Banks. Between 1998 and 2022, the average annual rate of erosion on Ocean Drive in Rodanthe ranged from 9 to 12 feet. In Buxton, another highly eroding shoreline that was renourished in 2022, the erosion rate over that same period averaged about 6.8 feet.

“We need an updated look at the erosion rates,” Outten said after the board meeting, noting that while the county’s beach nourishment projects tend to cost around $10 million per mile, a Rodanthe project would likely be more expensive. “The issue we have there is that the erosion rates are accelerated, so those costs are going to be more.”

Dare County’s beach nourishment projects usually take two to five years to come to fruition. After a feasibility study, applicable permits are needed to proceed, and a special tax district must be formed in order for residents in the affected area to pay for a portion of the costs. Residents in zones that border Dare County’s beach nourishment projects typically pay around 50% of the total cost of the project. 

“The tax base in Rodanthe is so small that it really won’t generate a significant amount of the costs – maybe a million dollars or less for what would be a $25 million or $30 million project,” Outten said. 

These details and more will be covered at a 6 p.m. Jan. 18 meeting in the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community building. The meeting is to be livestreamed on YouTube.

Due to the six-month timeframe, the study’s results will not be available for the coming meeting. However, an overview of the logistics and funding models that have made previous beach nourishment projects possible will be presented at the Jan. 18 event.

“For our meeting down in Rodanthe on the 18th, (we have) a model so we can give the folks we’re talking to some idea of what we’re looking at, and what the obstacles are,” Outten said at the board meeting. “We obviously won’t have these real numbers by the 18th, but we’ll have a good ballpark number.”

The Jan. 18 community meeting was scheduled after several Rodanthe homeowners voiced their concerns during the public comment period of the Dec. 5 commissionrs meeting, and asked the board to orchestrate a new beach nourishment project in the Rodanthe area.

“We’re doing this to answer questions, and to let people know how the beach nourishment fund works, and how the model works to pay for future projects and for maintenance projects that have already been built,” Outten said. “We really need to get everyone educated on beach nourishment, so you don’t have rumors and conspiracy theories floating around.”

“The whole purpose of this is to let everyone know the facts as we move forward and work towards solutions, whatever they might be.” 

More details on the Jan. 18 meeting are included in the Coastal Review article, “Dare officials to host public meeting on Rodanthe erosion.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

N.C. Highway 12 remained open between Rodanthe and Oregon Inlet on Tuesday morning, after closing for roughly three hours on Monday afternoon due to ocean overwash, however, sand and water remain on the roadway, per an update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Several secondary roads on Hatteras Island still had deep sand and flooding as well, and travelers were advised to slow down and avoid flooded areas as saltwater can damage vehicles.

Additional overwash and soundside flooding remain possible Tuesday, and a coastal flood warning was in effect until 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, due to the low pressure system off the Mid-Atlantic expected to move away from the coast over the next 24-36 hours.

Minor soundside flooding with inundation of 1-2 feet of very low-lying properties and roadways was expected adjacent to the Pamlico Sound from today into Wednesday, and 2-3 feet of oceanside inundation is expected north of Cape Hatteras, and was likely to impact travel along N.C. 12.

While there was no additional overwash on the highway with Tuesday’s 2:30 a.m. high tide, oceanside flooding was most likely around the afternoon’s high tide at about 3:30 p.m.

A high surf advisory was also in effect due to large breaking waves of 8-10 feet in the surf zone from Duck to Cape Hatteras. Swimmers should remain out of the water due to the dangerous surf conditions.

Ferry service for all Hatteras and Ocracoke Island ferries remained suspended as of Tuesday morning due to the weather conditions.

For updated information regarding road conditions on N.C. Highway 12, follow the North Carolina Department of Transportation on Facebook at www.facebook/ncdotnc12, on Twitter @NCDOTNC12 or visit drivenc.gov.

For more information on the local forecast, visit www.weather.gov/mhx for weather information, or visit the NWS Newport/Morehead City’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/NWSMoreheadCity/.

This story is provided courtesy of Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

With a total of 373 turtle nests recorded along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore as of the end of August, 2022 is a banner year for the sea turtle nesting season, with the second-highest number of nests reported since data collection began.

Sea turtle nests laid by loggerheads, green turtles, and leatherbacks have been monitored at the seashore since the 1970s. The Outer Banks serves as seasonal breeding grounds for endangered sea turtles, and the seashore has had several record-breaking years in the past decade when it comes to the annual number of recorded sea turtle nests.

In 2015, a nesting record of 289 nests was set, followed by a new record in 2016, when 325 sea turtle nests were recorded along the national seashore’s beaches.

In 2019, there were a total of 473 sea turtle nests recorded at the seashore, which blew the previous record of 325 out of the water.

2020 and 2021 were solid years for sea turtles as well, with a total of 228 nests recorded along the seashore beaches in 2020, and a total of 315 nests recorded in 2021.

However, with 373 nests reported to date, this has been one of the busiest seasons by far, second only to 2019.

The first sea turtle nest of the season was found on Ocracoke Island on May 20, and while the nesting season is winding down, nest hatchings are occurring on a regular basis, and visitors are advised to be aware of this activity throughout Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.

Hatchlings are very sensitive to light as they emerge from their nests, and can become disoriented towards any light that mimics the moon or stars over the ocean. As such, visitors staying in oceanfront accommodations that are close to an established sea turtle nest are encouraged to turn off their outdoor lights and close their blinds or drapes after dark, so that the sea turtles don’t mistake a stray porch light for the ocean waters.

People on the beach after dark should also refrain from using flashlights or cellphones near sea turtle nests, as bright, artificial light can also send mixed signals to the newly emerged sea turtle hatchlings.

Beachgoers should also remove beach equipment, such as lounge chairs, umbrellas, tents, and other items from the beach when they leave. If left on the beach, these items can prevent nesting attempts, and can also be roadblocks for hatchlings who are trying to make a mad dash to the ocean.

Other tips to help protect sea turtles and hatchlings during the nesting season, per the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, include the following:

• Fill in all holes in the sand at the end of the day.
• Pick up all your trash when you leave.
• If fishing, properly dispose of any fishing line. Improperly discarded fishing line is often deadly to turtles, birds and other marine animals.
• Use your natural vision and moonlight when walking the beach at night.

Visitors who notice any sea turtle nesting activity are advised to call the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to report the sighting at 252-216-6892.

In the meantime, visitors can keep tabs on nesting activity at shorelines all around the world at http://www.seaturtle.org.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From an Island Free Press Report

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division is seeking a grant to study moving the South Dock ferry terminal for the Hatteras-Ocracoke vehicular ferry from the north end of Ocracoke Island to a new site near the pony pens, near the middle of the island.

The Ferry Division requested support during the Dare County Board of Commissioners’ May 2 meeting.

“As part of the grant process, the more letters of support you have shows that the local community supports the (initiative),” said Ferry Division Planning and Development Manager Catherine Peele. “So we have reached out to stakeholders, Dare County, the National Park Service, and anyone in that surrounding area who is affected.”

The 5-mile stretch of highway on the northern end of the island is regularly subjected to ocean overwash and soundside flooding during storms. With a compromised oceanside dune system, and sound and ocean waters adjacent to both sides of the roadway, there are limited options to move the highway in the years ahead.

The potential grant from the federal Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration America’s Marine Highway Program would provide much of the $100,000 needed for an analysis of relocating the terminal, and an additional $200,000 for a similar study on how to improve the Ferry Division’s Cherry Branch maintenance facility in Craven County.

The plan stems from a 2016 NCDOT feasibility study that examined seven possible options to address the Ocracoke Island hot spot, ranging from five-year solutions to 50-year solutions. A 2020 addendum takes a closer look at the proposal to create a new ferry terminal 6 miles north of Ocracoke Village just south of the pony pens.

The initial feasibility study outlined the basic details of moving the terminal, but now, NCDOT says it needs more information to have a clearer picture of the costs and work involved.

“The (initial) study gave a cost estimate for how much it would be to construct, but no information on operations or the impact on the Ferry Division,” said Peele. “We want to look at what kind of dredging would be needed, how long permitting would take, what kind of staffing levels we would need, departure schedules, associated costs with the increase in fuel, maintenance, and general operations. All of these things need to be considered, and we want to make sure that the operational impacts are well documented.”

If the grant is awarded, the more detailed study could begin as early as this year.

“If we don’t win this grant opportunity, we will need to look at other ways to get this (study) funded,” said Peele. “But primarily, our focus is on this grant, which is due June 17.”

The study would take 12-18 months to complete. If the project is feasible, construction of a new ferry terminal would likely take years because of funding, permitting, contracting and other considerations.

“With the increase in storms and sea level rise, and a hot spot on Highway 12 where the road is constantly flooded and washed out, our (South Dock) terminal essentially becomes the terminal to nowhere. You can’t get to Highway 12, which means you can’t get to Ocracoke,” said Peele. “This vulnerability is causing us to think about what we can do going forward, and we are trying to come up with a solution to make South Dock more sustainable in the future.”

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Rodanthe “jug handle” bridge will open in mid-May at the earliest due to damage to one of the bridge’s expansion joints, per a recent update from North Carolina Department of Transportation Communications Officer Tim Hass.

The damaged joint is located on the northern end of the bridge, and is one of 26 expansion joints on the 2.4-mile long structure. Expansion joints allow the concrete to naturally expand and contract without cracking during the bridge’s estimated 100-year lifespan.

“(The) component for one of the bridge’s expansion joints needs to be replaced, and it won’t be delivered and installed before then,” stated Hass. “However, the delay does allow us to get some other punch list items out of the way, and gives (Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative) a few extra weeks to get further along with the work they’re doing on the electric/phone/internet lines.”

“It’s looking like the opening date won’t be any earlier than mid-May at this point.”

The grooving and grinding work on the bridge’s surface is complete, and some of the items the construction crews are tackling include sealing the concrete, removing some of the blemishes, what engineers call “point and patch” or “fluff and buff,” filling some of the holes where scaffolding was attached to the bridge, and erecting traffic signs on the bridge and the entrance/exit ramps.

Once complete, the bridge will connect the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, bypassing the S-turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches and ocean overwash during storms.

“The bridge and the ramps are pretty much ready, and if a disaster were to befall the S-Curves in the next few weeks, we could move traffic onto it if we had to,” stated Hass. “But it will be much, much easier to install the new expansion joint without traffic (on the bridge).”

The bridge is considered part of Phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the final bridge of the three new bridges on Hatteras Island to be built. The Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island was completed in the spring of 2018, and the Bonner Bridge replacement was completed in 2019.

More information on the bridge project, which includes project history, maps, documents and videos, can be found at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/nc-12-rodanthe/Pages/default.aspx.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The first-ever Run the Rodanthe Bridge 5-mile and 5K race, which took place at the new “jug-handle” bridge Saturday, drew a large crowd of runners, spectators and volunteers who flocked to the event for the opportunity to be among the first to visit the new structure.

The race, which benefited the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Civic Association, reached its maximum of 600 entrants in mid-February, creating the need for a waiting list.

“There is no doubt this event could have easily reached 800 plus,” the civic association in an earlier update.

The winners of the race were announced on the event’s website, including the overall 5K first-place win for David Kiser of Rocky Mount, an anonymous second-place winner, and a third-place win for Christopher Bellows of Buxton.

In the overall 5-mile race results, first place went to Jason Nieuwsma of Chapel Hill, second place went to Gray Berryman of Kitty Hawk, and third place went to Carter Ficklen of Yorktown, Virginia.

Though the final donation tallies from the event have not yet been confirmed, race organizers say the inaugural event garnered a lot of attention and support, and a lot of funds for the association.

“We should be in the ballpark to net in the neighborhood of $15,000,” said race organizer Tom Amatucci. “That’ll take care of the pathway maintenance for the year, the Adopt-A-Highway project, hopefully repaint the crosswalks, a few scholarships, donations to local (Hatteras Island) charities/events, decorations for holidays, adding and maintaining Little Libraries, and much more.”

“The RWS Civic Association is truly thankful for all the runners/walkers, all sponsors (and) volunteers, and NCDOT for joining in to make this event a huge success!”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From an Island Free Press report

Dare County officials and representatives from contractors Coastal Science and Engineering and Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. last week reviewed for the public plans for the beach nourishment projects in Avon and Buxton.

The review took place Thursday during a meeting at the Fessenden Center in Buxton.

The two projects, which have been in the works for years, are expected to begin this summer and each take about 40-60 days to complete.

Officials have said the projects are to protect N.C. 12 from being destroyed by hurricanes and nor’easters, restore erosional hot spots, provide wider recreational beaches and restore sand eroded in Buxton since a 2017 beach nourishment project. The projects would also allow Avon and Buxton to be eligible for future Federal Emergency Management Agency community assistance funds, only granted to engineered beaches.

Dredging here takes place in the summer because of weather and wave heights. The maximum wave height to conduct safe dredging is 5 feet, and the average wave height during summer is typically well below the maximum.

During both projects, sand is to be dredged from two borrow pits about 2 miles offshore and deposited on the beach via five pipelines before being leveled. The process is expected to make the beaches at least 100 feet wide and flat throughout, but the beach profile will likely change as storms and natural weather patterns occur.

Dr. Haiqing Liu Kaczkowski, senior coastal engineer for Coastal Science & Engineering, said the beach nourishment maintenance project in Buxton will add about 1.2 million cubic yards of sand to the northern Buxton beaches.

Officials said the main reason for the project is that nourishment is not a one-time endeavor, and projects have to be conducted every five years or so in order to maintain a wide beach and a safe and protected N.C. 12.

A hopper dredge is to be used to excavate sand from the offshore borrow pit. The primary staging area is planned to be a half-acre site at the end of Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton.

Two dredges are to work in Buxton. The Ellis Island dredge, which is expected to arrive in July, is to immediately begin working in Buxton, and the Liberty Island dredge is expected to arrive in June and pump sand to both Avon and Buxton.

Once the project is complete, the county plans to have a contractor install sand fencing and vegetation sometime after Nov. 15, the end of the sea turtle nesting season.

The Avon Beach Nourishment project is a new endeavor expected to deposit 1 million cubic yards of sand on around 2.2 miles of Avon shoreline, from Due East Road to the southern village limits.

In 2021, the Dare County Board of Commissioners voted to create a new service tax district in Avon to help fund the project.

The Avon project is planned to begin before the Buxton project, with dredging by the Liberty Island expected to start in June, although construction activities may begin as early as May as Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. mobilizes.

Dunes are to be built up south of the Avon Pier, but not north of the pier where officials said a healthy dune line already exists.

The staging area for the Avon beach nourishment project is to be at off-road vehicle ramp 38, which will likely be closed for the duration of the project due to equipment and safety concerns.

Easements have been requested by Dare County from some homeowners in the project area so that sand may be added to sections of the shoreline beyond the National Park Service boundary.

One of the biggest concerns, primarily for Avon, is beach access during the summertime project.

Dare County Public Information Officer Dorothy Hester said the county would provide regular updates on the project’s progress and current closures via the county’s website, morebeachtolove.com, including a map for Avon and a map for Buxton.

Another concern was how construction would affect wildlife, particularly endangered sea turtles that nest and lay their eggs during summer.

Officials said wildlife monitoring would take place 24 hours a day and nests relocated as needed. If the subcontractor biologists conducting the monitoring work spot American oystercatchers, least terns or other nesting endangered or threatened bird species in the project area, a 1,000-foot closure is to be installed so that the contractor and equipment won’t encroach on the area.

A recording of the meeting is available on Dare County’s YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXnzYOaotwQ.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A project to renovate the Frisco Bathhouse and Beach Access site, which began in September, is nearing completion, and the facilities are expected to be open in time for spring and summer beachgoers.

The Frisco bathhouse is just south of Frisco village, and is one of the most popular oceanside beach accesses within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The $896,506 project, which focuses on both the parking area and restrooms at the site, includes the following improvements:

• Renovated restroom facility, including new toilets, urinals, sinks, and lighting.
• New exterior decking and shower area flooring, with precast concrete pane.ls
• New siding.
• New outdoor showers.
• The addition of 36 parking spaces to the original 44-space parking area. These additional spaces replace the parking area that was lost at the old Frisco Pier site after 2018’s Hurricane Florence.
• A new asphalt overlay for the parking area.

“The contractor will be completing interior renovations and landscaping over the coming weeks, and (will) pave the parking area when asphalt is available and the environmental conditions (temperatures) meet paving standards,” Michael Barber, public affairs specialist for the seashore said. “There may be some delays with completing interior renovations due to supply chain challenges, but we still expect that the project will be completed in spring 2022.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

As the temperatures on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands drop in the winter months, cold-stunned sea turtles begin to make an appearance along the soundside beaches, and a number of turtles have been rescued in recent days after the Outer Banks’ cold start to the New Year.

“Please be on the lookout for turtles during these cold days,” stated the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in a recent social media update. “Since the beginning of the new year, about 25 live, cold-stunned sea turtles have been found along the seashore’s sound by NPS Staff and N.E.S.T. volunteers… If you find a sea turtle dead or alive, please call 252-216-6892. The turtles thank you!”

As cold-blooded reptiles, sea turtles derive heat from their surroundings, and when they become too cold, their metabolism slows, prohibiting them from moving and ultimately from migrating to warmer waters. This cold-stunned scenario can turn deadly, as once in an immobile and lethargic state, the sea turtles can have difficulty raising their heads above water to breathe, and can eventually drown.

Volunteers regularly monitor the Hatteras Island shorelines after a cold spell, looking for cold-stunned sea turtles in need of assistance. The volunteers primarily search for stranded turtles along the soundside, covering private property in the villages and areas that are not routinely patrolled by the National Park Service.

The number of sea turtles that are rescued can vary greatly from year to year. The winter of 2019-2020 was a particularly busy season, with more than 100 sea turtles rescued after a single cold snap in January alone. However, last winter, which had predominantly warmer temperatures that were well above freezing, had fewer rescues, and was a less active year than its predecessors.

Although temperatures are expected to climb again to the 50s and 60s over the next several days, another bout of freezing temperatures is forecasted for this weekend, so beachgoers along the sound and oceanfront should keep a lookout as January comes to a close.

How to help

• If you spot a cold-stunned sea turtle in or along the Pamlico Sound, contact the 24-hour NEST hotline at 252-441-8622. You can also call Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation at 252-475-4217, or the National Park Service at 252-216-6892.
• For more information on NEST, and to make a donation or learn about volunteer opportunities, visit http://www.nestonline.org/.
• For more information on Hatteras Island Wildlife Rehabilitation and/or to inquire about making a donation, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/Hatteras-Island-Wildlife-Rehabilitation-316636688958/.
• To make a donation to Outer Banks Wild Care, which also provides rehabilitation services on Hatteras Island, mail checks to Outer Banks Wild Care, P.O. Box 324 Buxton, NC, or donate via their PayPal account at outerbankswildcare@centurylink.net.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard summarized the highlights of 2021 and outlined what’s to come in the year ahead Wednesday during the annual State of the County.

Held virtually for the second year in a row, Woodard provided an overview of the county’s accomplishments over the past year, including the N.C. 12 Task Force, before digging into the upcoming projects that are planned for 2022.

In early 2021, Dare County and National Park Service Superintendent David Hallac established the N.C. 12 Task Force, made up of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Southern Environment Law Center, the Coastal Studies Institute, the Army Corps of Engineer, the Division of Marine Fisheries, and others.

“The primary mission of this task force is to complete a long-term plan for N.C. 12 and the highway’s vulnerable locations, meaning hotspots,” said Woodard, noting that there are an estimated eight hotspots along the highway, which are flooded on a regular basis during storms.

This year’s “State of the County” focused on the months ahead, and Woodard touched on the progress of several projects expected to be completed in 2022.

NCDOT is close to completing the “jug-handle” bridge, expected to open in late February or Marc. Woodard said to expect a celebration once an opening date has been announced.

Woodard reported that the Miss Katie Dredge, a new shallow-draft hopper dredge that will be used in the various channels and inlets throughout the county is still under construction in Louisiana but is is scheduled to be delivered on April 1. Miss Katie will be managed by the Oregon Inlet Task Force and will be able to operate up to 12 hours a day, weather permitting.

Funding for the project was approved in 2019 through a public-private partnership with the state. The legislature allocated $15 million from the Shallow Draft Navigation Channel Dredging and Aquatic Weed Fund for the purchase.

“Having easy access to Miss Katie will be extraordinarily helpful, but it’s not going to solve all of our problems when it comes to shoaling,” said Woodard. “We will continue to have to work closely with the US Army Corps of Engineers to ensure that dredging is taking place in the most crucial waterways throughout the county, which is making sure that dredging is being performed as often as possible in Oregon and Hatteras inlets.”

Woodard noted the county’s assistance in an effort to realign the Hatteras Inlet ferry channel is an initiative spearheaded by the Dare County Waterways Commission.

Due to its current alignment, the Corps is only permitted to dredge the southern tip of Hatteras Island using federal funding. State and local dollars must be used to dredge the South Ferry Channel to successfully create a route to the Hatteras gorge, and permission must be obtained before dredging can be performed outside the official dredging window of October through March.

“The fragmentation of this essential waterway, which also serves as a ferry route from Hatteras village to Ocracoke Island, has been a source of considerable frustration,” said Woodard. “The realignment would ultimately classify the entire channel as federally authorized, so that federal funding and federal dredges could be used to dredge the entire channel.”

Woodard stated that the realignment is expected to be finalized in April.

The county recently received a $150,000 Federal Emergency Management Agency flood mitigation assistance grant to update the county’s stormwater master plan.

“This master plan serves as an outline of our stormwater management policies in unincorporated Dare County, and it allows us to evaluate drainage issues, and develop a capital improvement plan to address stormwater issues,” said Woodard. “The grant also provides the funding we need to identify and map the county’s stormwater infrastructure, and to have an engineer develop projects for critical areas throughout the county.”

Dare County also received a $30,000 grant through the Division of Coastal Management’s North Carolina Resilient Coastal Communities Program to perform risk and vulnerability assessments on Hatteras Island, and to identify and rank the projects that are needed.

“The first step in this process was to develop a questionnaire which was sent out in November, and we received over 1,100 responses. The next step is for engineers to rank the risk,” said Woodard. “Once the process is complete, Dare County will have an opportunity to apply for up to $60,000 that would be used to design a project that would help address some of these issues affecting Hatteras Island.”

Several beach nourishment projects are planned for the summer, including a new project in Avon, and a maintenance project in Buxton.

“The Avon and Buxton beach nourishment projects will cost approximately $29.8 million,” said Woodard. “Dare County will contribute approximately $21.6 million from the beach nourishment fund, with additional funding provided by local, state, and federal (sources).”  

The Avon and Buxton beach nourishment projects, which will cover about 2.5 miles of shoreline in northern Avon and 2.9 miles of shoreline in southern Buxton, are scheduled to begin in May.

The full presentation video is available online, and can be viewed on the Dare County Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/darecounty.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Dare County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to award a $25.87 million bid to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. for the 2022 Avon and Buxton beach nourishment projects.

The county received bids for the project on Nov. 17 from Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co., Manson Construction Co. and Weeks Marine.

Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. submitted the lowest bid, which was 13.7% less than project estimates from both Federal Emergency Management Agency and Coastal Science & Engineering, the primary contractor and manager of the two upcoming projects.

The estimate from Great Lakes is based on adding 2.2 million cubic yards of sand to the shoreline, which includes 1 million cubic yards of sand for Avon, and 1.2 million cubic yards of sand for Buxton.

The estimate is effectively $4.3 million less than the estimate the county received in the original beach nourishment model for the project, although the cost savings will be distributed among all the stakeholders contributing to the project, which includes Dare County and FEMA.

“FEMA is sharing in the project, so we got to reduce their shares well,” said David Clawson, Dare County finance director, during the meeting. “So when you reduce the FEMA share for the bid, we’re $2.9 million dollars to the good from what we planned on.”

According to a memo from Coastal Science and Engineering, Great Lakes is America’s largest dredging contractor and a major international competitor. Coastal Science and Engineering has worked with Great Lakes, on 10 beach nourishment projects since 1990, which includes 2011 and 2019 projects in Nags Head, and a number of similar projects in South Carolina and North Carolina.

“With extensive experience, two available hopper dredges, and a bid (that is approximately) 11% lower than the second-lowest bid, GLDD (Great Lakes) is clearly the Apparent Low Bidder,” stated Coastal Science and Engineering in the memo.

The memo also included price comparisons of recent beach nourishment projects in similar areas, with the Avon and Buxton’s cost being noticeably less than their coastal counterparts.

“When you look at (the cost) compared to what’s going on in Myrtle Beach and other areas, and the challenges that we have out here, that is very competitive. That’s a significant figure,” said Hatteras Island Commissioner Danny Couch.

After a brief presentation of the figures by Clawson, Couch introduced a motion to award the bid to Great Lakes for the 2022 project, and to authorize the county manager to proceed with the contract. The motion was unanimously approved.

Now that the county has awarded the work, Coastal Science and Engineering will coordinate with the contractor, National Park Service, state and federal resource agencies, and the county to determine an “Order of Work” before construction.

The project is slated to take place from May 1 through Sept. 30, 2022, in order to perform the work during optimal weather conditions.

The Buxton aspect of the project is a beach nourishment maintenance project, which will add about 1.2 million cubic yards of sand to the northern Buxton beaches. The original beach nourishment project, which was completed in February 2018, deposited a total 2.6 million cubic yards of sand on a 2.9-mile stretch of Buxton shoreline.

The Avon beach nourishment project is a new endeavor that will deposit 1 million cubic yards of sand on approximately 2.2 miles of Avon shoreline, from Due East Road to the southern village borer. Earlier in 2021, the commissioners voted to create a new service tax district in Avon to help fund the project.

Once the project begins, it is expected to take about 90 days to be completed, but the timeframe is very dependent on the weather. For example, the Buxton project was delayed by a few months due to a number of storms that impacted the area in 2017.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

With 95% of the Rodanthe “jug handle” bridge project finished as of late last week, the bridge is expected to be complete by early 2022, according to an update from the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s resident engineer for the project, Pablo Hernandez.

Hernandez explained during a virtual update Thursday that if the weather holds, the bridge could be open in February, but if not, a March opening would be more likely.

Once the bridge is open to traffic, the speed limit will be 55 mph but reduce to 45 mph at the curve on the southern end of the structure, and reduce again to 35 mph before traffic enters the new roundabout. The bridge was designed to have a 100-year lifespan.

Hernandez said the 100-year design life that doesn’t mean NCDOT won’t have to do any work in the next 100 years,” but with appropriate management and maintenance activities, we should get 100 years out of this structure.”

Southbound traffic was shifted onto the completed portion of the roundabout Nov. 19. Hernandez said the traffic shift allowed NCDOT to complete work on the east side of the roundabout.

All major elements of building the bridge are complete. The 352 pilings have been installed, all 388 concrete girders have been set and the 107 deck spans have been cast.

NCDOT crews and subcontractors were recently installing the concrete barrier rail and are to begin texturing 480,500 square feet of the deck space in January. All work will likely be done at night, as other tasks are performed.

Casting of the remaining concrete barrier rails was to begin Monday, with the goal to complete this part of the project by Christmas. This in turn will allow 14,000 linear feet of the two-bar metal railing to be installed on the concrete barrier rail to create a bicycle-safe environment along the bridge.

The Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative and NCDOT were to begin Monday installing the hanger system and conduit under the bridge for electrical power and fiber optic utilities.

NCDOT was also working on installing steel expansion joints in the bridge. Once installed, a 2-inch-wide cap will be sealed with a rubber membrane to allow for the future expansion and contraction of the bridge as needed.

Work to remove the existing N.C. 12 pavement and sandbags on Pea Island in the S-turns area is to begin once traffic is shifted to the new bridge.

Hernandez said that NCDOT had submitted a variance request to the Coastal Resource Commission to create a modified cul-de-sac, allowing vehicles to turn around, and to install sandbags and dunes in the immediate area along the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge’s boundary. The variance request is currently on the commission’s agenda for the February meeting.

Existing sandbags are to be left in the Mirlo Beach area, south of the refuge boundary.

The Rodanthe Bridge is part of phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the last of the three new bridges on Hatteras Island to be built. The Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island was completed in the spring of 2018, and the Bonner Bridge replacement was completed in 2019.

Once complete, the bridge will connect the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, bypassing the S-turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches and ocean overwash during storms.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A public comment period is open on how to address future dredging operations in Hatteras Inlet, a step in a years-long process to make the inlet more navigable for the state-run ferry, as well as everyday charter and commercial fishing vessels.

The public comment period ends Nov. 18 and corresponds with a Draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the potential realignment of the Hatteras Ferry Channel in Hatteras Inlet.

The public can submit comments on the draft assessment to Emily.B.Hughes@usace.army.mil until Nov. 18. The Corps will then compile and respond to all comments, which will help shape the Final EA and probable Finding of No Significant Impact.

Maintenance of Hatteras Inlet’s navigation channels has been a constant goal of the Dare County Waterways Commission and stakeholders, for both economic and safety reasons. Much of mariners’ frustration in recent years has been directed at the fragmented regulatory status of the inlet’s passages — some federal, some state, some neither, some both. Realignment of the federal channel would help address these gaps.

“The long and the short of it is that the Army Corps of Engineers has not dredged past Barney Slough for almost 10 years now,” said Steve “Creature” Coulter, chairman of the Dare County Waterways Commission. “Since the end of the island started washing way, they quit trying to (dredge there), the Coast Guard pulled the buoys going to the gorge, and that’s when we formed the horseshoe route… and we’ve been having trouble with that route for the past 4 to 5 years.”

The Corps is proposing to add language that will expand the area included in the existing federal authorization for Rollinson Channel, a long-sought revision believed to be possible only through an act of Congress.

“Basically, it will be expanding the area we can dredge, in the aspect that it would make the entire horseshoe route federal,” said Coulter. “It’s no man’s land right now. As far as where the horseshoe turn begins, that’s where federal authorization stops.”

Another benefit of the realignment would be that federal funds would be available for future dredging projects, as the entire channel would be under federal authority and would no longer be a “no man’s land” with no entity — federal or state government — taking responsibility for dredging events.

The 132-page assessment outlines three possible alternatives for moving forward. The first alternative – No Action – is essentially dead in the water, as the Corps states in the EA that it is not a viable option, and that it’s more or less included for comparative purposes.

The other two options, which both include the channel realignment and future maintenance of the current horseshoe route, differ mainly in the date range for dredging.

Under Alternative 2, dredging could only occur from October through March, although emergency dredging could be done in the summer months with special permission. In Alternative 3, dredging could occur year-round, without obtaining special permission first.

Regular users of the inlet, including the Dare Country Waterways Commission, are urging the public to opt for Alternative 3.

“What it boils down to is we want option 3,” said Coulter. “The big benefits of Alternative 3 would be year-round dredging, the use of federal tax dollars to help maintain it, and there may also be a new offshore dump site (established) on the east side of Hatteras Inlet.”

Coulter notes that five of the dredging events over the past two years have been outside the current October-to-March window, and that the delays involved in asking for permission to dredge are inherently costly.

“Every time we have to ask permission, and have to wait for them to decide, it just keeps getting worse,” he said. “If you start shoveling when there’s only six inches of snow, it’s a lot easier to shovel later (in the winter) when 6 more inches fall. But if you have to shovel it all at once, it’s a pain in the butt, and in your wallet.”

“Based on the information in the EA, we expect the proposed federal action will not significantly affect the quality of the human environment; therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement will not be required,” Jenny Owens, Chief of Environmental Resources Section for Corps said in an email. “If this opinion is upheld following circulation of this EA, a Finding of No Significant Impact will be signed and circulated.”

Once finalized, the Finding of No Significant Impact will be signed by the Corps colonel and distributed to partner agencies, which is estimated to occur in late 2021 or early 2022.

In the meantime, Coulter and other mariners who regularly struggle with navigating the inlet hope that the endeavor, and particularly Alternative 3, will receive as much public support as possible.

“It’s a numbers game, that’s all it is. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what’s right or wrong – as far as the government goes, they look at numbers, and they look at what’s popular,” said Coulter. “And hopefully, in the future, we can work together to keep all of it open – county, state, and federal. We all do better when we work together.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Future possibilities for restoring and rehabilitating the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse were outlined at a lightly attended public meeting Sept. 28 in Buxton.

National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent David Hallac led the meeting, an opportunity for the National Park Service to present the three primary options to enhance the lighthouse and the surrounding grounds.

These options include several big potential improvements, such as the replacement of the lighthouse beacon, extensive landscaping projects, and adding historical elements to restore the iconic structure back to its original 1870 appearance.

Now, the stage is set for the big next steps to be taken, which includes an overhaul of the ragged terrain bordering the lighthouse, extensive repairs to the metalwork and other inherent features, and the replacement of the beacon with either the original 1854 Fresnel lens, which is currently housed at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras village, or an identical-looking replica.

The project has been in the works for years, and the park service has received funding for the upcoming repairs and enhancements. The items that need to be addressed stemmed from the results of a 2014 Comprehensive Condition Assessment Report, and a 2016 Historic Structure Report.

Earlier this year, a team of historical architects, engineers, specialist contractors, and personnel from the State Historic Preservation Office and Cape Hatteras National Seashore got the ball rolling by removing the interior paint throughout the lighthouse – stripping the structure to its bare-bones brick interior – and identifying several surprising issues along the way.

Hallac outlined some of the damage that was uncovered during the paint removal process, such as deep cracks or patches of stucco-like material that had apparently been used at some point in the past 150 years to repair some sort of unknown issues.

“Our historic architects are starting to both literally and figuratively dig into these problems, and help us understand what should we do next,” said Hallac.

On a grander scale, Hallac noted that in addition to repairs, a good chunk of the coming work likely will focus on replacing many of the lighthouse’s modern additions with more authentic elements.

“Part of this project’s goal is to have as much of the original lighthouse restored as possible,” he said. “We’re seeking to fix all these issues, but also put these character-defining elements (from 1870) back into the lighthouse.” A prime example is the future replacement of the current light at the top, which is currently a modern beacon from around the 1950s.

“The landscape is also in disrepair,” he said. “So we are looking at ways to improve visitor circulation around the landscape, and restore the landscape… Additionally, we will be adding a replica fence around the keepers’ quarters, and will be enhancing the interpretive (displays) so visitors can have a much more immersive experience, and learn more about what they’re seeing.”

Hallac explained the three options.

Alternative 1 is no action at all, which Hallac said was unlikely due to the extensive repair work needed, and the funds already available.

Alternative 2 is to improve the landscape and lens, and new pedestrian paths, plantings and landscape improvements. The lens on loan to the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in Hatteras would remain on display.

Alternative 3 would include more elaborate landscape alterations than Alternative two multiple new pedestrian paths and the addition of a shade pavilion, sculpting gently raised berms to restore the natural landscape, partially or completely restoring the original Fresnel lens, and reinstalling it at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse with a new modern light source.

Hallac said that the exact timeframe for either of the two action options is unknown, but he expected the upcoming repairs and renovations to take a minimum of 24 months.

Though the overall lighthouse restoration project has been steadily progressing over the past several years, the current step in the process is the public review phase, which began Sept. 17 and ends Oct. 17. Comments can be submitted at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha_lighthouse, or mailed to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, ATTN: Superintendent, 1401 National Park Drive Manteo, N.C. 27954.

After assessing the public’s feedback on the proposed alternatives, an environmental assessment will be performed, and hopefully released by the end of the year. Another 30-day public review period before a final decision is made on the preferred alternative in the spring of 2022, followed by contractor bidding.

“We hope to have the project underway around this time in 2022,” said Hallac.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Bonner Bridge Pier opened to the public at 8 a.m. Friday, and roughly 20 visitors with fishing gear in hand were lined up to be among the first to fish off the pier.

“We heard that they have been waiting for at least an hour,” said Michael Barber, public affairs specialist for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. “This will be a great place to go fishing, but it’s also going to be a great place to take a walk and sightsee – you can see the Basnight Bridge, the Bodie Island Lighthouse… and it will be an (ideal) spot for sunrises and sunsets.”

The 1,046-foot concrete structure is a remaining section of the former 1963 Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, which was intentionally left intact to serve as an observation and fishing pier. Cape Hatteras National Seashore, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and North Carolina Department of Transportation worked together to open the pier to the public for recreational use that will be managed by the National Park Service.

The original yellow double lines and patchwork of past repairs remain on the former roadway, but the bridge section has been transformed to a pier with the addition of new railings, trash receptacles, signage, and an interpretive display at the entrance explaining the site’s rules and guidelines.

By 8:30 a.m., more visitors had trickled onto the pier, and several anglers had already reeled in a few small catches.

John McDonald of Raleigh was among the first folks to reel in a fish from the Bonner Pier, a small seabass that he caught shortly after his friend, Matt from Maryland, reeled in a pinfish.

“We come (to the Outer Banks) about three or four times a year to go fishing, and we decided to try our luck down here,” said McDonald, who has been a regular Hatteras Island visitor for a few years. “Before we even found out that the pier was (opening), we thought ‘it would be great if they kept some of the old bridge open for fishing…’ and then we found out that’s exactly what they did.”

The six-member Triplet family from Lenoir were first in line to visit the Bonner Pier, and they also had the youngest angler on the scene, 9-month-old Ava. “We’re leaving tomorrow, and we heard about the pier opening last night, and that definitely changed our plans for today,” said Virginia Triplet.

There is still some North Carolina Department of Transportation construction equipment at the site, due to continued work on the Basnight Bridge, which opened to the public in February 2019, replacing the original Bonner Bridge. But most of the equipment remaining is expected to be cleared in the coming weeks and likely by December. “They’re already removing some of the cones (and equipment) now to make it easier to access,” Barber said.

There is no fee to visit the pier, and the pier is now open to the public 24 hours a day. The site includes portable restrooms, a dumpster, and ample parking, although visitors should watch for continued construction activity and signage that indicates closed areas.

A valid North Carolina Coastal Recreational Fishing License is required to fish from the pier. Rules for using the new pier can be found at the entrance to the Bonner Bridge Pier and on Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Bonner Bridge Pier webpage.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From an Island Free Press story

Members of the Dare County Waterways Commission are seeking permission for two more rounds of emergency dredging in the South Ferry Channel in Hatteras Inlet.

The commission met online July 12.

A request has been submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers for dredging in late July.

“The channel is not in good shape,” said Chairman Steve “Creature” Coulter after the meeting. “A boat ran aground yesterday, and a boat ran aground today… We really need to get (the Corps) back in again as soon as possible, so the Coast Guard can do their search and rescue missions, charter boats can continue working, and commercial fisherman can continue working.”

Special permission is needed for every dredging event outside of the permitted environmental window of Oct. 1 through March 31, and a request is also being made in advance to do a late August dredging of the channel as well.

“We submitted all of the info to the agencies on Friday, and we will check back this week,” said Todd Horton with the Corps of Engineers. “Hopefully, that will get us through (the summer) until the window opens up.”

As a long-term plan to keep the inlet open and navigable, the Waterways Commission has been working for more than a year to enact changes that would allow the Corps to dredge the channel whenever it was required, all year long, and without obtaining permission first.

Maintenance of Hatteras Inlet’s navigation channels has been a constant goal of the commission, for both economic and safety reasons. Much of the members’ frustration in recent years has been directed at the fragmented regulatory status of the inlet’s passages – some federal, some state, some neither, some both. Realignment of the federal channel would help address these gaps.

The Corps is proposing to add language that will expand the area included in the existing federal authorization for Rollinson Channel, a long-sought revision that, until recently, was believed to be possible only through an act of Congress. The process involves changing the authorization language that restricts how “best water” or “best route” are defined in the federal channels, and the end result would sidestep the cumbersome and lengthy process of securing Congressional legislation that is required to change authorization.

“What we want is for the long route to be made federal, and the ability to dredge it whenever we need to, and that’s what the Corps is working towards,” said Coulter.

A bulk of paperwork, including environmental reviews and assessments, has to be completed and submitted to the respective decision-making agencies to approve the federal realignment of the channel, and Corps representatives said during the meeting that everything should be set to submit by October. The Corps has also been communicating with representatives from these agencies to keep them in the loop of the upcoming realignment request.

“U.S. Fish and Wildlife, NOAA, DEQ, Division of Marine Fisheries, Coastal Management – Those are all the agencies we briefed last week on [the dredging] operations we would like to perform any time of the year,” said Horton.

When asked by Coulter if approval looked promising, Horton responded “We’ll see.”

While the documentation and official request will likely be submitted in October, it’s unclear exactly how long the subsequent approval process will take, or when permission to realign the channel would be granted.

“From the time that anything is submitted, they have 120 days to complete (the process),” said Horton. “Hopefully it won’t take that long, but they reminded us of that timeframe.”

Coulter also noted that when it comes to obtaining this permission, the Waterways Commission had a lot of support outside of local circles. “We have a lot of people trying to help us,” he said. “I’ve received emails from Senator Tillis’ office, (Rep. Greg) Murphy’s office, and Senator Burr’s office supporting what we are trying to do.”

In other commission discussions, a recent test run by the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division of the emergency ferry route between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point was successful, which means that the emergency ferry can operate in the event of a hurricane. “They ran it on high water and were able to make it OK,” said Coulter after the meeting. “They would like more water, and are looking at options if dredging is needed for low water situations.”

In addition, the commission said goodbye to member Dan Oden and noted their intention to fill his spot with Miss Hatteras headboat captain, KP Scott. “I fully support KP… I think he will do a great job for us,” said Commissioner Natalie Kavanagh.

The commission is a seven-member board whose mission is to serve as a liaison between Dare County and the various federal agencies that are involved in the continual maintenance of waterways throughout Dare County.

The next meeting of the commission will be held in person 7 p.m. Aug. 9 at the Fessenden Center Annex in Buxton.

This report is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Hatteras Island residents are invited to a community meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday to learn more about a statewide project that seeks to collect data to help communities prepare for and recover from future storms.

The meeting, which will be held in the Hatteras Community Building, will feature representatives from Dynamics of Extreme Events, People, and Places group, or DEEPP, a University of North Carolina Chapel Hill based-group working to better understand the short-term and long-term impacts of flooding events and how households and communities recover from them.

DEEPP is an interdisciplinary team of scientists interested in the environmental, economic, social and psychological impacts of storms and floods in coastal Carolina communities.

The organization combines survey data with satellite imaging, flood mapping, and storm surge mapping in order to provide community planners and policymakers with information they can use for future disasters.

In order to better understand these impacts, as well as local recovery efforts, DEEPP focuses on both scientific approaches, as well as more personal means of data collection by conducting a random survey of households in several communities affected by Hurricanes Matthew, Florence, and Dorian.

The Wednesday meeting in Hatteras will explain the project, and will allow residents to share their own experiences with storms over the past few years, providing a clearer picture for DEEPP researchers.

“Most often, storm damage is assessed by property damage. That leaves out those who are not property owners and marginalized groups, and all voices are important,” said meeting organizer Karla Jarvis. “Some have already gotten letters about the research, and might be wondering (about the project), so we invited (DEEPP) to come and talk to folks about it directly.”

DEEPP is a collaborative effort of multiple departments at UNC Chapel Hill, including the Carolina Population Center, Institute of Marine Sciences, Institute for the Environment, Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, and Coastal Resilience Center.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Construction on the Hatteras Village pedestrian and multi-use pathway has been making big strides in the past few weeks, and the village’s “loop” pathway that connects Eagle Pass Road and N.C. 12 is estimated to be complete by July 13, per a recent update from project organizers.

The paved pathway along Eagle Pass Road is up and running, with just a little more work to complete on the concrete aprons that border the bridge.

Meanwhile, three contractors are working on the N.C. 12 portion of the project, with a goal of connecting the highway side of the loop, from the southern entrance to Eagle Pass Road to the Hatterasman Restaurant, by mid-July.

The main contractor for the project is Barnhill Contracting, but the company has enlisted two subcontractors to assist with reaching the summertime deadline.

Hatchell Concrete of Manteo is also working on paving the pathway, while Millstone Marine Construction of Harbinger is focusing on the more intricate work along the bridges, such as on Slash Creek Bridge.

“Hatchell (completed paving work) from the Hatterasman to the (Slash Creek) bridge today, so they’re really moving quickly,” said Hatteras Village Community Center District chairperson and longtime advocate for the project, Dennis Robinson. “The Eagle Pass Road (portion) is pretty much done, and they just need to finish up the aprons to the bridge.”

Eventually, the contractors will meet somewhere in the middle of N.C. 12, and after the loop is complete, they can focus on the stretch of pathway that will run parallel to N.C. 12 in the northern section of Hatteras village.

Adjustments will also need to be made to the pathway in front of the Hatteras Village Library and the post office, which may not be completed by July, but the estimated date for all work to be complete on the 3.1-mile pathway is Aug. 11.

“It’s happening so rapidly, and it’s really been a wonderful project to work on,” said Robinson. “It’s been fun to see so many people already using (the pathway) on Eagle Pass Road.”

No major road closures or traffic delays are expected in the weeks ahead, however, temporary lane closures on N.C. 12 may occur as paving work continues.

The $1,165,027 pathway project, which has been in the works for roughly 15 years, is being financed through a number of sources that took more than a decade of efforts to establish.

The initial planning for the multi-use pathway in Hatteras village began in 2006, alongside a corresponding project to establish the Outer Banks Scenic Byway. The Outer Banks Scenic Byway was officially completed and launched in 2016.

The Hatteras Pathway project received a $342,640 Tourism Impact Grant in 2020, which represents about a third of the total project cost. An additional $342,000 or so was collected through the village’s designation as a special tax district, and earlier in 2021, the Hatteras Village Civic Association, through Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, received a $360,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program.

The initial surveying for the pathway began in March of 2021, and then contractors began work on sawing and removals, attending to storm drains, and excavation and grading projects. The ongoing concrete-pouring portion of the project will take a total of about 63 days to complete, and will also coincide with the construction of bridges and guardrails.

The Island Free Press will post updates on the project as it progresses in the weeks to come. In the meantime, a detailed map of the upcoming project can be viewed here.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The 2.4 mile-long “jug handle” bridge was 75% complete as of Thursday, with a projected opening date of late 2021 or early 2022, according to state Department of Transportation’s resident engineer for the project Pablo Hernandez.

Hernandez said during the June 3 update meeting that weather and the upcoming hurricane season could alter the estimated completion date, and that once the bridge that will extend over Pamlico Sound between the southern end of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and Rodanthe is officially open, work will begin on both removing the 2.8-mile section of N.C. 12 that the bridge will bypass, and reinstating a public parking lot on the northern edge of the project.

“Without knowing what the weather impacts are going to be, right now we are still projecting late 2021 or early 2022 for the opening of the new structure,” said Hernandez. “At that time, we will start removing N.C. Highway 12. (There is also a) daytime use parking area that is currently being used as a staging area at the north end of the project. That would also become available to the public.”

Hernandez noted that the timing of the contractor responsible for the paving and curbing of the roundabout and roadway approach to the bridge also played a part in the completion date. This phase of the project was expected to continue in the off-season months, however, the mild weather across the state has kept the contractor focused on other projects.

“The roadway contractor is still dealing with backlog work and other work elsewhere in northeast North Carolina, so at this time, it has not been determined when they will resume that work (at the Jug Handle Bridge),” said Hernandez. “Most likely, it will be in the late fall or possibly early winter… I don’t see that roadway work beginning in the summer, mainly because of high traffic volumes and [guidelines regarding] daytime lane closures.”

Early morning concrete placements will likely resume around the middle of this month, with deck pours starting at 2 or 3 a.m. to avoid the daytime heat. “We have about 20 pours to go, so hopefully we can get those pours (done) with minimum disturbance to the community,” said Hernandez.

Crews continue to face challenges at the northern end of the bridge, which has not progressed as quickly as the southern end due to the geology of the area. Several different techniques have been explored over the past few months to ease the piling installation difficulties, such as using a 36” diameter auger to loosen the soil during the pile installation.

“Unfortunately, this has been (an issue) for more than a year now,” said Hernandez. (But) the current technique to help ease the pile installation … has shown positive results.”

“The two ends are coming much more into view, and what that equates to is that they are around a half a mile apart from each other… Based on how things have been going, we anticipate pile driving could be complete by early September. That is a date that has some potential movement in it, as we are going into hurricane season, and we could also have a stormy (summer) with rain showers, which also hinders our ability to do work.”

Phase 1 of Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative’s transmission line relocation is also underway, and includes installing riser poles along the structure, and underground digging on the north end of the project, which is expected to occur later this month. Per the project update, the corresponding work to move the power lines to the new bridge is roughly 75% complete.

As of Thursday, 288 of 388 concrete girders had been set and 90 out of 108 deck spans had been cast — the equivalent of 297 out of 352 pilings.

The jug handle bridge, so dubbed because of its shape when viewed from above, is part of Phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the final of the three new bridges on Hatteras Island to be built. The Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island was completed in spring 2018, and the Bonner Bridge replacement was completed in spring 2019.

Once complete, the bridge will connect the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, bypassing the S-turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches and ocean overwash during storms.

Updates on the status of the bridge, as well as planned construction activities in the coming month, are available online at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/nc-12-rodanthe/Pages/planned-construction.aspx.

In addition, more information on the bridge project, which includes project history, maps, documents, and videos, can be found at https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/nc-12-rodanthe/Pages/default.aspx.

The next update meeting is set for Sept. 2, and if all goes well, the meeting will be held both online and in-person in Rodanthe.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Thanks to a team of volunteers, a fence has been installed on the sound-facing border of the historic Salvo Community Cemetery, also known as the Salvo Day Use Cemetery, to further protect it from damage or accidental intruders.

The fence is part of a wave of improvements to the 146-year-old landmark, which also includes landscaping, installing signage for visitors and resetting a handful of dislodged headstones.

Situated along the Pamlico Sound on the northern edge of the Salvo Day Use Area, a popular soundside beach access site for visitors, the Salvo Community Cemetery has changed dramatically, and for the better, in the past few years. Home to the descendants of many local families on the Outer Banks, the cemetery has been slowly revitalized, and in the past decade, saved from complete destruction.

After a series of hurricanes in the 2010s, including 2011’s devastating Hurricane Irene, the cemetery began crumbling rapidly due to an eroding shoreline and little protection from the elements. Residents, family members and others, fearful that the gravesites would wash away, responded by embarking on a lengthy process to find a long-term solution for the landmark.

In 2015 and 2016, a community-wide initiative was launched to prevent further devastation to the cemetery, which was losing gravesites to erosion on a regular basis. The Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Civic Association played a big role in the restoration of the site, and served as the umbrella group to conduct the needed repairs and renovations. The association hosted fundraising campaigns to raise the estimated $120,000 to protect the cemetery.

This initiative was successful, and construction of a bulkhead and armor rock barrier along the Salvo Community Cemetery was completed in 2018. Fencing was also bolstered on three sides of the site to protect it further and keep it secure.

With the recent addition of the back fence, the cemetery is now fully enclosed. The new fence is just one of the improvements planned for the historic site, and other initiatives are being planned for the not-so-distant future.

“We are currently working on signage to help tourists understand that the cemetery is an ‘active’ one, and not abandoned … That’s step one,” Robin Daniels Holt, Hatteras Island Genealogical Society Member and project organizer, said in an earlier interview. “(The next step is to) develop a plan to establish ground cover to help sustain the sand before we reset the upturned stones. It would be a waste of time to reset the stones without some landscaping.”

While future renovations to the Salvo Community Cemetery are still in the planning stages, and there is no finalized timeline on what projects will be completed or when, the partnership with the National Park Service, which manages the public beach and the Salvo Day Use Area, is already established.

In the meantime, visitors to the Salvo Day Use Area are encouraged to use caution and to treat the active cemetery with respect. Visitors are asked not enter the cemetery, or launch watersports equipment from the bulkhead, and to steer clear of vulnerable gravesites and stones, some of which date back a century or more.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted From Island Free Press

The Avon Fishing Pier will open for the 2021 season Wednesday, according to a recent online update from pier operators.

In previous years, the Avon Pier had a late start to the season due to damage from a number of nor’easters or hurricanes.

In 2020, after suffering damage to the roof of the pier house after 2019’s Hurricane Dorian, and a split in the pier itself from a series of subsequent nor’easters and storms, the pier was unable to open until June, when repairs were finally completed.

This past year, however, there have been no major storms that damaged the pier, and annual required repairs were minimal.

Stu’s Food Truck, which serves a wide range of breakfast and lunch items and was a fixture in the pier parking lot in 2020, will also be returning for the 2021 season.

The Avon Pier will also once again host Hatteras Island’s Independence Day fireworks, also returning for 2021, and will be launched from the end of the pier on July 4.

Hatteras Island’s two fishing piers, the Avon Pier and the Rodanthe Pier, will both be open throughout the summer and fall months.

For more information on the Avon Pier, visit https://koruvillage.com/pages/avon-pier. For more information on the Rodanthe Pier, visit https://www.rodanthepierllc.com/.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

After a winter of numerous renovations, the Rodanthe Fishing Pier will reopen Saturday for the 2021 season, per a recent update.

We spent the winter doing extensive repairs to the existing pier – replacing deteriorated pilings, bolts, and structural timbers to make the pier safer and more sound,” said Terry Plumblee, pier owner and manager. “There will (also) be more benches for fishermen to relax on soon.”

Once open, the pier’s scheduled hours will be from 7 a.m. until dark.

The Rodanthe Pier will also have live music returning for the summer season, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, and likely on Thursdays and Wednesdays.

For more information on the Rodanthe Pier, including hours of operation and recent catches, visit the website or Facebook page.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

After a nearly 15-year effort, construction is about to begin on a 3.1-mile paved pathway in Hatteras village, which is expected to be completed by Aug 15.

The new pathway will stretch from the entrance to the Hatteras ferry docks to the northern village borders, and will include a loop along Eagle Pass Road, making all areas along the route safer and more accessible. A detailed map of the upcoming project can be viewed online.

On Friday, chairperson for the Hatteras Village Community Center District, or HVCCD, and advocate for the project, Dennis Robinson, signed a Notice to Proceed with building the pathway. Barnhill Contracting submitted the $1,165,027 winning bid and will oversee the about 150-day project.

Based on an estimated timeline, the initial surveying will begin in mid-March. Contractors will work on sawing and removals, attending to storm drains, and excavation and grading. The concrete work is expected to begin in the spring and will take about 63 days. This work will coincide with the construction of bridges and guardrails.

“We’re starting on Eagle Pass Road, because that’s the most critical area (of the project),” said Robinson, adding the construction should not impact local traffic. “The concrete pours will be predominantly in the morning, and road closures are not expected at this time.”

The project received a $342,640 Tourism Impact Grant in 2020, a third of the total project cost.

An additional $342,000 or so was collected through the village’s designation as a special tax district, and recently, the Hatteras Village Civic Association, through Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, or CHEC, received a $360,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program. The 10-year, no-interest loan stays in the community. When the loan is repaid, the money can be used for other island projects.

In September of 2020, the CHEC Board of Directors approved $10,725 to help fund the environmental assessment.

The project has been spearheaded by the Hatteras Village Community Center District Board of Trustees and the Hatteras Village Civic Association.

The initial planning for the multi-use pathway in Hatteras village began in 2006 with a corresponding project to establish the Outer Banks Scenic Byway. The Outer Banks Scenic Byway was completed and launched in 2016.

While the Scenic Byway project was in the works in 2013, similar pathways were constructed in Avon and the Tri-village communities of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo, with a pathway for Hatteras village, as well as Buxton and Frisco, also on the list of future efforts.

Funding for the Hatteras project encountered several hurdles in the years that followed.

A N.C. House bill was passed in 2017 to allow for an election in the Hatteras Village Community Center District to decide whether part of the property tax revenue generated in the district could be used for the construction and maintenance of the multi-use pathway. The HVCCD District is a special tax district in Hatteras village established in 1981, and the district is subject to a special ad valorem tax on all taxable real property for the purpose of maintaining and operating the Hatteras Community Center, and other district-owned properties.

In the May 2018 primary election, the Pathway Referendum for Hatteras village residents passed with an impressive 94% of the vote, and survey work for the project began in May of 2019 by Albemarle & Associates, Ltd., the same company that worked on the existing Tri-villages and Avon pathways.

Stakeholders spent years applying for a variety of grants to help secure more funds.

“We’ve been working on it forever, because it started way back with the Scenic Byway committee,” said former HVCCD Chairperson Ricki Shepherd in a late 2020 interview. “After the funding (became a challenge), the tax district board decided to pursue this ourselves, and that’s basically what we’ve been doing.”

“I think it’s a relief to finally begin (construction),” said Robinson. “I know everybody in the village has wanted this for so long, so to be able to finally put this all together is amazing.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From an Island Free Press Report

Dare County Manager Bobby Outten said Wednesday during a virtual public hearing that residents could pay less in taxes than originally thought to fund the Avon Beach Nourishment project if approved.

The proposed project to place more than 1 million cubic yards of sand along the beaches of Avon, likely from an offshore borrow pit, will extend the shoreline from about 3,000 feet north of the Avon Pier at Due East Road to the southern boundary of Avon, covering around 2.5 miles of oceanfront.

Outten said the study completed in 2020 recommended the project that would cost $11-14 million and would create a beach that is 100-125 feet wide. By the next time maintenance is due, in about five years, it will be about 75 feet wide.  If approved, the project would begin in the spring of 2022, and will take about 90 days to complete.

Avon property owners will pay about 50% of the beach nourishment project cost, and Dare County will pay the other 50% out of the Beach Nourishment Fund, from the county’s occupancy tax, according to the project proposal.

During the meeting, Outten said that the original estimated tax rate would be able to be lowered.

“We got the final tally of the occupancy tax from last year, and on Friday, we ran the (proposed Avon tax) model again,” he said. “As we ran the model, we had more money in the fund than we did initially, and found that we only need $750,000 per year to pay the community’s share of the project. The 40 cent tax rate can be reduced to 25, and the 10 cent tax rate can be reduced to 5 cents.”

The county proposes to tax the properties on the oceanside of N.C. 12 from Due East Road to the southern boundary of Avon at a higher rate because this stretch of shoreline is adjacent to the proposed beach nourishment project. The rest of the properties in Avon will also be taxed, but at a lower rate.

Outten said the tax will be in place indefinitely, as beach nourishment is not a one-time project, and maintenance and re-nourishment must be performed approximately every five years.

Outten added that the issue will be discussed at a March Board of Commissioners meeting, likely the second meeting in the month.

The board will decide whether to proceed with the project, and will decide the final tax rate. If they decide to proceed, another public hearing will be held, as required by statue, and another letter will be mailed to Avon property owners with the new tax model.

The majority of public comments following the presentation were questions, although there were also several positive and negative statements regarding the overall proposal.

For more information on the proposed project, see the Avon Beach Nourishment FAQs or visit the Dare County website.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A rare coin collection currently housed behind-the-scenes at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum made waves this week in newspapers around the country, but funds are needed to transition the coins into a permanent, public exhibit, per Joseph Schwarzer, director of the North Carolina Maritime Museums system.

“Eventually, if we get funding, we plan to have (them) in our permanent exhibit plan,” said Schwarzer.

According to a Jan. 4 report in The Virginian-Pilot, the 55 coins were donated by the late William Sell and his wife Catherine of Pennsylvania. Spanning from 221 B.C. to the mid-20th century, the coins were acquired through decades of beachcombing along Hatteras Island.

“He turned (the collection) into us in 2006,” said Schwarzer. “He contacted us and said that he had been shore fishing on the Outer Banks since the 1930s, and while he was at the beach and walking behind the dunes, he found some things that he thought really belonged on Hatteras Island.”

Stand-out pieces in the collection include a rare American 20-cent coin, briefly produced in the 1870s, and a bronze drachm from the time of Ptolemy IV Philopator, with an estimated date of 221 to 203 B.C.

The value of the coins is hard to determine.

After decades or even centuries in saltwater, coins have a tendency to turn black, and while Sell did his best to clean the coins as he found them to determine what they were, it’s still evident that the pieces have gone through a lot of wear or tear during their time in the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

“People always ask about the value of the coins, and I’ll say in terms of their value, they are essentially valueless,” said Schwarzer. “It’s hard for people to understand, but it’s because of the condition. For a collector, condition is everything, and the value (of these coins) to a collector is limited. So it’s not a question of the value of the coins themselves, it’s the historical value – what they can tell us about what was going on at the time, the questions they raise … That’s the fun part of this collection.”

When the permanent exhibit is eventually launched, museum visitors will have access to all of these details on each individual coin.

“Coins are very hard to display because they are small, and you want to be able to show them off,” said Schwarzer. “So they will be displayed individually, with a large magnifying glass that will move over the coin so you’ll be able to see all the details.”

Each coin will also be assigned a number, and next to the display will be a monitor that will showcase a larger version of both sides of the coin. There will also be details about the coin, the time period and era, and other historical details that will tie the pieces to the Outer Banks.

In addition to the coin exhibit, the museum wants to create an exhibit around the wreck of the Carroll A. Deering. The five-masted commercial schooner ran aground off of Cape Hatteras in 1921 and the crew was nowhere to be found.

Schwarzer estimated that about $4.5 million will be needed to make all of the potential exhibits come to fruition.

There’s no timeline on when funds will be available to debut the coins to the public, but Schwarzer is hopeful that through continuing fundraising efforts that have been ongoing since the museum opened, a host of new and permanent exhibits will be on the horizon for future visitors.

For more information about the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum, and to make a donation, visit the graveyardoftheatlantic.com.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

A new oceanfront RV park adjacent to the Avon Pier is scheduled to open by Memorial Day.

The Avon by the Sea RV Park will feature 26 full hook-up sites, an electronic gated entrance, an on-site bathhouse, lush vegetation and will be situated on the northern and ocean-facing side of the property, per the site plans. The RV park will encompass at least 2 acres of the 4.85-acre property.

Though the site plan for the RV Park was approved by the Dare County Board of Commissioners at the Dec. 21 meeting, and by the Dare County Planning Board in November, the project has been several years in the making, property owner and project orchestrator, Joe Thompson said.

“I’ve been thinking about it for about three years now, but every time I considered it, I would walk away from the concept,” said Thompson. “Originally, when we had done quite a bit of site engineering, we had planned on putting in a combination of condominiums and townhomes, and we had conversations with (the state Division of Coastal Management), the county, and the health department (about the project.) But every time we were at a point of moving forward, something would happen, like a hurricane or ocean overwash at (adjacent) Ocean View Drive, so we put on the brakes.”

The planned RV park has the potential to fill an accommodations gap in Avon. The village has both a motel and a soundside campground, the Sands of Time Campground, which welcomes both short-term and long-term patrons. The Avon by the Sea RV park will concentrate on attracting short-term visitors only, with no long-term leases planned, and will be the first and only oceanfront RV park in Avon village.

Thompson hopes to start accepting online reservations beginning in the spring, and to open the park to the public in the summer.

“We’ve already started demolition and rough grading, and we hope to have the survey work done in the next week or two, so our tentative grand opening date is Memorial Day Weekend.”

The RV park will follow the revised rules for travel trailer parks Dare County adopted Oct. 19, 2020. The 26 sites will be separated by 15 feet. Travel trailers will be allowed to stay onsite year-round but must be fully licensed and ready for highway use, as well as free of excessive additions such as decks or porches. The site of the RV park itself must also be at least two acres in size, per the new rules.

Thompson said that they will be adding about two tractor-trailer loads of vegetation to provide a natural buffer between the individual sites, and between the park and the rest of the oceanfront area, which is also home to Pangea Tavern, the Koru Beach Klub, and the seasonal weekly farmer’s market.

While the RV park will take up the northern side of the Avon Pier-adjacent property, and around two-thirds of the current parking spaces along the oceanfont, parking for regular Avon Pier visitors will not be significantly impacted.

“We’ll lose about half of the parking for the pier that is oceanfront parking, but we’ll still have parking for the pier along the oceanfront, and of course, we have a plethora of parking sites near Pangea and the Beach Klub,” said Thompson. “Unlike most of the piers on the Outer Banks, our property doesn’t lack in parking.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

In conjunction with the 150^th anniversary of the lighting of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, a new exhibit that pays tribute to the iconic landmark’s long history through a series of historic photographs is on display at the lighthouse’s visitor center and bookstore.

The temporary exhibit, “150 Years of Light, a Photographic Tribute,” includes 57 photographs from almost every decade of the lighthouse’s lifespan. The collection includes the earliest known photo from 1893, images from the 1930s when storms and erosion caused the lighthouse to be abandoned, and images from the 1940s when the Civilian Conservation Corps, or CCCs, pitched camp just south of the lighthouse.

As the decades progress, photos from the 1950s highlight the rise of tourism in the Outer Banks, when motels and roads were first built, and postcards and posters were created to attract new waves of visitors. The display also includes a series of photos from the “Move of the Century,” when the lighthouse was meticulously relocated inland in 1999 to save it from the encroaching Atlantic Ocean.

The exhibit is currently on display at the visitor center through the spring of 2021. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

In addition, the Dare County Arts Council is hosting a virtual art exhibit for folks who want to explore the visual history of the lighthouse, but who are unable to make an in-person visit to the Buxton exhibit. The “Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Virtual Art Show” showcases a variety of artworks featuring the lighthouse, and is accessible online at www.darearts.org/hatteras150.

The Buxton exhibit was orchestrated by John M. Havel, Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Researcher and Board Member of the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society, Jami Lanier, park service cultural resources manager, and Jonathan Polk, supervisory ranger of Interpretation and Education at Cape Hatteras, as well as a team of volunteers.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

With the recent approval by the Dare County Board of Commissioners to award a $342,640 Tourism Impact Grant for the Hatteras Village Multi-Modal Pathway, hopes are high that construction on the years-long project can begin as early as February.

The project is a 3.75-mile paved pathway that will stretch from the Hatteras ferry docks to the northern town borders, and will include a loop along Eagle Pass Road, making all areas along the route safer and more accessible.

“The engineers have told us it will be a three-to-four month project, so we’re hoping to start Feb. 1, and by Memorial Day, it will be ready to roll,” said Chairperson for the Hatteras Village Community Center District and longtime advocate for the project, Ricki Shepherd. “Once the Board of Commissioners approved (the funding) at their last meeting, it was like ‘Merry Christmas for us all!’”

The Hatteras Village Community Center District is a special tax district in Hatteras Village subject to a special ad valorem tax on all taxable real property for the purpose of maintaining and operating the Hatteras Community Center and other district-owned properties.

The Hatteras Pathway project was one of seven Outer Banks-wide projects that were earmarked as the recipients of $814,640 in Tourism Impact Grants.

The designated $342,640 is about a third of the total pathway project cost, estimated at around $1 million, and Shepherd said that there is also an additional $342,000 or so that has already been collected through the village’s designation as a special tax district.

Additionally, Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative Board of Directors approved in September $10,725 to help fund the environmental assessment of the pathway.

With 66% of the funding secured for the project, Shepherd is confident that construction can start in the near future.

“Right now, we are just waiting for our CAMA permit,” she said, adding the bid package is ready and as soon as they have the permit in hand, the bid package will go out.

The initial planning for the multi-use pathway in Hatteras village began with a corresponding project to establish the Outer Banks Scenic Byway launched in 2016.

While the Scenic Byway project was in the planning stages in 2013, similar pathways were built in Avon and the Tri-village communities of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo, with plans for pathways in Hatteras, Buxton and Frisco. The 7.6-mile Buxton and Frisco Pathway is slowly in the works. A feasibility study released to the public in 2019, but funding has been a concern.

However, funding for the Hatteras project encountered several hurdles and a little red tape in the years that followed.

In 2017, a North Carolina House bill was passed to allow for an election in the Hatteras Village Community Center District to decide whether part of the property tax revenue generated in the district could be used for the construction and maintenance of the multi-use pathway.

In the May 2018 primary election, the “Pathway Referendum” for Hatteras village residents passed with 94% of the vote, and survey work for the project began in May 2019 by Albemarle & Associates, Ltd., which worked on the existing Tri-villages and Avon pathways.

Shepherd and her colleagues also applied for grants to help secure more funds.

“After the funding (became a challenge), the tax district board decided to pursue this ourselves, and that’s basically what we’ve been doing,” she said.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

The 2.4-mile-long Rodanthe Bridge, often called the “Jug Handle” bridge, was 54% complete as of Thursday, but the projected opening date for the bridge has been pushed back from fall 2021 to the end of next year, according an update from Pablo Hernandez, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s resident engineer for the project.

“As far as completion, right now we are targeting late 2021,” said Hernandez at the Dec. 3 virtual update meeting. “In previous updates, we were targeting the fall of 2021, but unfortunately, we are seeing that completion date slip a little bit.”

Hernandez expanded on several of the recent challenges and delays, which included slower progress on the northern end of the bridge.

“People driving by have noticed that the northern end of the project is not progressing as fast as the southern end of the project, and that is because pile installation continues to be more challenging than expected,” he said. “(This) has been a common theme in the last couple of community update meetings.”

Several different techniques have been explored over the past few months to ease the piling installation difficulties, such as using a 36-inch diameter auger to loosen the soil during the pile installation.

On the southern end of the bridge, drainage pipes, earthworks and paving for the roundabout initially took place in April.

The next phase, which includes paving and curbing for the roundabout and roadway approach to the bridge, was expected to begin in the fall, however, the mild weather across the state has kept the contractor focused on other projects.

“We anticipated for the contractor to move back into the (Jug Handle) project in the late summer and fall, but with the good weather we are having, and the number of other projects in Eastern N.C., they have been focusing on other projects in the state,” said Hernandez. “With that being said, I would not be surprised if we saw them (start the next phase) in the new year, when the weather is colder.”

Once this work begins, single-lane closures will likely be necessary at the bridge site.

As far as completion of the bridge structure itself, 62 of 108 bents, or supports for the bridge, have been installed, which equates to 218 of 352 pilings that have been driven into the ground.

Fifty-two of 107 deck spans for the bridge had  also been cast as of Dec. 3. Hernandez said the hope is to increase that number, depending on the weather.

He also noted that with the cooler winter weather, the early morning concrete placements will likely be reduced or eliminated, but this could change due to schedule demands.

The virtual update meeting also touched on the corresponding efforts of Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative, or CHEC, to move the existing transmission lines to the new structure.

CHEC has already begun phase 1 for relocating the transmission lines at the southern end of the bridge by installing underground pipes to run the lines. “

Those on the south end of the project may have noticed that one house has been moved – that was a property that CHEC acquired,” said Hernandez.

At the northern end of the project, CHEC’s phase 1 transmission line relocation is expected to begin in early 2021.

The bridge is considered part of Phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the final of the three new bridges on Hatteras Island to be built. The Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island was completed in spring 2018, and the Bonner Bridge replacement was completed in spring 2019.

Once complete, the bridge will connect the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, bypassing the S-turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches and ocean overwash during storms.

Updates on the status of the bridge, as well as planned construction activities, are available on the NCDOT website.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

As the weather cools and the crowds start to taper off, there is one flock of visitors who still frequent the Outer Banks in droves once November is in full swing – migrating birds at the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

Per a recent update from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or USFWS, in North Carolina, more than 17,000 birds were spotted in the refuge’s impoundments last week alone, which included more than 11,400 northern pintails.

“If you haven’t been to #PeaIslandRefuge lately, this is a great time to go,” stated USFWS in North Carolina in a social media update. “Waterfowl are here!”

Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 to provide nesting, resting and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the greater snow geese and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors and neotropical migrants.

Expanding for 13 miles on the northern end of Hatteras Island, the refuge, which includes 5,834 acres of land and 25,700 acres of water, is home to more than 365 species of animals on a year-round and/or temporary basis.

Of the species within the refuge, 315 are birds, 34 are fish, 32 are reptiles and amphibians, 21 are terrestrial mammals, 8 are marine mammals, and 20 are other aquatic organisms.

But it’s traditionally the birds who make the biggest splash with visitors, and especially in the fall months, as the refuge’s location along the Atlantic Flyway makes it a popular landing spot for migrating birds to take a break and enjoy a vacation on the Outer Banks.

Bird activity within the refuge tends to stick around well into the late winter months, as well.

tundra swans also tend to arrive in early November, and increase in numbers as the winter progresses. Eastern North Carolina provides wintering habitat for an average of 70,000 tundra swans, or roughly 65-70% of the entire eastern tundra swan population, and they are a popular sight – complete with lots of loud squawking – once the temperatures begin to drop.

At Pea Island, they can be seen on the impoundments at North Pond, New Field, and South Pond, which are all great areas to watch other wintering waterfowl as well.

In addition to the mass tundra swan and northern pintail gatherings at the refuge, visitors can also look forward to potential sightings of snow geese, Canadian geese, and many thousands of ducks, grebes, coots, American White Pelicans, herons, egrets, and other water birds as November progresses.

Simply put, Pea Island is for the birds this time of year, and visitors who want an up-close encounter with the Outer Banks’ wild side won’t be disappointed.

How to Visit

A good starting point to explore the refuge is the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center, which connects with the North Pond Wildlife Trail, immediately behind the parking area.

Wildlife trails within the refuge are open year-round during daylight hours, and are fully disabled-accessible. Neither pets nor bicycles are allowed on walking trails, and more information can be found at https://www.fws.gov/refuge/pea_island/visit/visitor_activities/wildlife_trails.html.

For more information on happenings within the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and beyond, visit https://www.facebook.com/USFWS.NC.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Cape Hatteras United Methodist Men, or CHUMM, have been hard at work in the past few weeks helping families throughout Hatteras Island protect their homes from future storms, thanks to a Repetitive Loss Reduction Project that is currently in full swing.

Following Hurricane Dorian in September 2019, CHUMM decided to look into some longer-range initiatives to reduce storm damage on Hatteras Island. As a result, the organization began a project in 2020 to lift trailers for owners and occupants who have experienced repeated flooding in the past.

“We chose trailers because there are no government grants available for manufactured homes,” explained CHUMM Director Dennis Carroll in an emailed update.

CHUMM applied for and received a grant from the Outer Banks Community Foundation for about $200,000. The continued intent is to raise the trailers in complete compliance with building codes and Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines, making them structurally sound for the long haul. After the structures are lifted, CHUMM will also give the owners an elevation certificate, which will allow them to get the lowest-cost flood insurance available.

“With our contractor partners, we developed an economical system for the work using a combination of contract and volunteer labor,” stated Carroll. “However, we are learning and improving as we go. We are currently working on our third and fourth trailers, and hope to complete as many as 12.”

The North Carolina Conference United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has also provided CHUMM with a professional caseworker to screen the applicants, and ensure that the team is helping those without the means to help themselves. Per Carroll, a generous island homeowner is also providing temporary living quarters at no cost for the families while they are displaced during construction.

“To date, the results, and the gratitude of the recipients, has been heartwarming,” stated Carroll. “We’re very thankful for our partners, (including) OBCF, Dare County Building Dept., UMCOR, Crum Works Construction, Endurance Marine Construction, Bay Shore Construction, August Air, Cape Hatteras Electric, and our volunteers.”

Donations and support are continually needed on a local level to keep all CHUMM initiatives going strong, and the public can donate via the CHUMM website.

Supporters can also donate by mail. Checks should be written to United Methodist Men and mailed to Cape Hatteras United Methodist Men, P.O Box 1591, Buxton, NC 27920.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The weekly beach apparatus drill at the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station, where costumed volunteers perform a dramatic reenactment of historical rescue techniques, will be a special affair Thursday, as the event will be capped off with the donation of the ship’s bell from the 1891 wreck of the Strathairly steamship.

The Strathairly wreck is known as one the most disastrous shipwrecks of that year, and it occurred on March 24, 1891, just a mile or so away from the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station.

The ship, which had a home port of Newcastle, England, was heading from Cuba to Baltimore with a cargo of iron ore, until it ran aground at around 5 a.m. during dense fog and heavy surf.

Stranded roughly 500 feet from shore, the patrolmen of the Rodanthe-based station responded to the distress signals just minutes after they were received.

Crews from Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station were on the scene, along with personnel from adjacent stations at Gull Shoal and New Inlet, but the heavy fog and rough surf made reaching the stranded ship a challenge. Reports from the wreck state that the steamer was not even visible until 10 a.m., when the fog finally lifted long enough to identify the ship’s location.

During the early morning hours, after constant battering by the rough surf, the steamer ship broke in two, and its lifeboats were smashed, making it impossible for the stranded men on board to reach the shore.

Because the ship was a long distance from the beach, it was impossible for the life-saving crews to use their lifeboats to reach the stranded men. The rescuers struggled to establish communication with the steamer throughout the day, though they extended all available resources and made multiple attempts throughout the morning and afternoon to rescue the sailors onboard.

The following is from the report by Lieutenant Failing, district inspector, who was in the area for a regular inspection when the incident occurred:

The day also was fast waning, and the situation of the sailors was desperate. At 20 minutes before 5 o’clock, just 12 hours after the stranding of their vessel, the sailors were heard shouting to those on shore, and then one by one they jumped into the sea for a final effort to save themselves by swimming, each man being provided with a life belt….

As fast as the poor fellows jumped overboard and began their struggle towards the shore they were swept by the current to the southward. The surfmen and the inhabitants of the neighboring settlements, many of whom had been present on the beach all day, at once followed them, and at great risk to themselves, in wading out into the surf, succeeded in dragging 16 men out of the water. Ten of this number were, however, dead by the time they were reached. Immediate efforts were made to resuscitate them, but without avail. The survivors testify that before they jumped from the ill-fated vessel they were fully satisfied that such a course was their only hope, that no boat could have reached them, and that even if a large line could have reached them then they had not strength enough and were in no condition to rig the gear.

Seven men were saved out of the crew of 26, and though the wreck was one of the deadliest of the year, the crew members who were saved were grateful for the heroic efforts of the Outer Banks stations.

After the 2 p.m. Thursday Breeches Buoy Reenactment Drill, special guest Glenn Love of Charlotte will be donating the bell from the shipwreck to the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station’s Historical Museum as a permanent addition to the museum’s collection.

The public is welcome to come and attend the Breeches Buoy Reenactment Drill on Hatteras Island and to stay after the reenactment to witness the donation, and to learn a little more about the Strathairly shipwreck.

For more information on the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station, including details on the weekly Breeches Buoy Reenactment Drills, visit their website at https://chicamacomico.org/.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Initial plans are being made to begin a major repair project that will restore the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse from the inside out.

Built in 1868-70, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has suffered wear and tear due to regular exposure to salt air, high winds, intense sunlight and a 2,900-foot move to its current site in 1999.

The planned renovation will address a myriad of both large and small restoration projects, ranging from the marble floors in the entryway to the lantern at the top of the 198-foot tall structure.

“We’re anticipating that the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse repair work will begin in the summer of 2021, based on our current schedule,” said Mark Dowdle, Deputy Superintendent of the National Park Service Outer Banks Group. “It’s a broad project, and we’re still developing plans and (evaluating) the scope of what we need to do.”

There’s a long list of items that will need to be addressed, but the project will include repairs to deteriorated masonry, metal components, windows, marble flooring and the lantern. The project will also restore important architectural components, including missing pediments over the lighthouse windows, and missing interior doors.

“We know we need to work on metals that are deteriorating or rusting, work on the marble floor in the foyer, and some of the brick and mortar components also need refurbishing,” said Dowdle, who noted that work is already underway at identifying these issues. “There will be (renovations) to the stairs, the structure, the historical architecture, and it needs a fresh coat of paint… We haven’t answered all the questions yet on what the work [entails], but that is where we are in the process.”

The National Park Service has received funding for the massive repair project, and the items that need to be addressed stem from the results of a 2014 Comprehensive Condition Assessment Report and a 2016 Historic Structure Report.

The renovations may require closures in the summertime depending on how the project progresses, and there’s a still a long way to go before repairs will officially begin.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

North Carolina Department of Transportation representatives announced Thursday during an evening informational meeting in Rodanthe that the “jug handle” bridge was roughly 28% complete as of early March, and that the targeted date of completion had been pushed back to fall 2021.

The jug handle bridge will stretch from the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, and will bypass the S-turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches and ocean overwash during storms.

NCDOT’s resident engineer for the project, Pablo Hernandez, stated that due to weather-related complications, progress on the jug handle bridge had been slow since the last quarterly update meeting held on Dec. 5.

In December, the bridge was 24% complete, so the 28% completion in early March marked a slight increase in overall progress.

“Even though it’s been a mild temperature winter, it has not been a very kind winter in terms of wind, rain and more wind,” said Hernandez at the meeting.

Of the 108 total bents, or the piers or groups of pilings that will support each individual span of the bridge, 33 have been installed, so far. That equates to 121 pilings out of a total 348 pilings for the project. Eighteen of the 107 bridge spans that serve as the roadway had been completed.

“I would like those numbers to be a little bit higher, given where we are with the project, but with the weather, (we’ve had complications),” said Hernandez. “Just like today…. It may have been 15-20 mph on the ground, but they were getting 35 mph on top of the frame, so it was an all-stop condition.”

“Anything above that 30 mph range, you’re really going to see things start to slow down,” said Hernandez when asked about the wind threshold for the project from a meeting attendee. “Everything is weather and material-delivery dependent.”

Hernandez also noted that limited progress had been made on the earthwork and additional paving that was planned during the winter months, and that weather had also played a role in the slow progress.

He said that the contractor for the paving portion of the project, RPC Contracting, was expecting to work at the jug handle bridge in the winter months, when colder temperatures would prevent them from tackling other projects in North Carolina.

“There are a lot of resurfacing projects going around the entire state of North Carolina. Here In eastern North Carolina, typically, they can pave until about the middle of December and sometimes the first part of January,” said Hernandez. “Typically, we start shutting those (inland) paving contracts down because we don’t want them to pave when it’s below 35 degrees. Well, think of how many times we’ve been between 45 and 70 degrees since Thanksgiving. And in those times that we have been below 45 degrees, it has only been for a short period of time.”

Due to the warm weather throughout the state, the contractor had been focused on other projects, including one in South Nags Head, and the recent repaving of the canal zone south of Oregon Inlet.

“I’m really happy for our counterparts who are getting their projects done, but I’d really like (the contractor) to come in and finish some things for us,” said Hernandez.

Right now, the paving portion of the jug handle bridge project is expected to begin again in earnest sometime in April or May. Lane closures and work zones are expected during this time frame, however, daytime lane closures are prohibited from June 15 until Sept. 15 on Hatteras Island to accommodate summertime traffic.

The 2.4-mile-long jug handle bridge, along with the Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island that was completed in spring 2018 and the Bonner Bridge replacement completed in spring 2019, is considered part of Phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the final bridge of the three new bridges on Hatteras Island to be built.

After the bridge is constructed, the existing N.C. 12 at the southern end of the refuge will be removed, and the land will be returned to its natural state.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A potential beach renourishment project in Avon took a step forward at the Feb. 4 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners when the Board unanimously selected Coastal Science and Engineering to submit a contract for a feasibility study.

County Manager Bobby Outten explained to the Board that the Capital Improvements Planning Committee had received three responses from potential companies willing to orchestrate the study, all of which had conducted similar projects in the Outer Banks region before. Renourishment is the process of pumping sand onto an eroding shoreline to widen the existing beach.

“We’re lucky that we had three excellent contenders, and we had three groups that can certainly do the work. We would certainly be satisfied with any of them,” said Outten.

The committee chose Coastal Science and Engineering to conduct the study, as they had previous experience on Hatteras Island, and had performed the Buxton Beach Nourishment project in 2017 and 2018.

“That group has some familiarity with our beaches down there,” said Outten. “It was convenient for them, convenient for us, and it just made sense. They have also worked with the Park Service and have that familiarity, and they’ve also met with the public in the past with (the Buxton) project, as well as with people from Avon.”

As such, the Capital Improvement Planning Committee made the ensuing recommendation to the commissioners to select Coastal Science and Engineering for the upcoming study. “If you select them today, I will call [them] after the meeting, and they will forward us that contract,” said Outten. “Hopefully, we will be have that contract before our next meeting for you to approve… the study can then start once we’ve approved that contract at the (next) meeting.”

The motion to approve Coastal Science and Engineering was made by Hatteras Island Commissioner Danny Couch, and was unanimously passed by the board.

The county provides funding for beach nourishment projects through its Beach Nourishment Fund. A portion of the 6% Dare County Occupancy Tax, derived from visitor accommodations, is set aside for the fund annually. Funds for beach nourishment are also provided by property and municipal service district taxes.

At the Nov. 4 meeting, the board first agreed to allocate up to $250,000 from the Beach Nourishment Fund to pay for an upcoming study to examine the details and costs of initiating a beach nourishment project in Avon. The allocation for an Avon study corresponded with a similar request for study-related funds from Southern Shores, which is also considering a beach nourishment project in the near future.

The study would target the general Ocean View Drive area of Avon, which is about a 2-mile stretch of shoreline that has been subjected to regular ocean overwash during recent nor’easters and storms.

When these storms occur, overwash pours onto Ocean View Drive and then inundates N.C. 12 with saltwater, which is just a couple of lots away from the neighboring beaches.

During the most nor’easter that occurred in mid-November, N.C. 12 was repeatedly flooded during multiple high-tide cycles over the course of three days.

Advocates hope that beach renourishment could be a possible solution to this regular erosion and flooding. The beach nourishment project that was recently completed in Buxton in February of 2018 deposited 2.6 million cubic yards of sand on a 2.9-mile stretch of Buxton shoreline, and a maintenance project at the site is scheduled for 2021-2022.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Chicamacomico Banks Fire and Rescue volunteers recently conducted a beach cleanup along a stretch of Rodanthe shoreline that was cluttered with debris from late fall storms.

Working over the course of several days, the team of volunteers filled up a total of four dumpsters, and had to use an additional 40-yard container provided by Dare County to remove massive amounts of debris that had accumulated along the beach.

For years, we’ve all gotten together and conducted beach cleanups after storms. After the holiday, (we) realized how much debris was on the beach in what we call the ‘Campground Zone’ – near Camp Hatteras, KOA, and Ocean Waves (campgrounds),” said Capt. Jeremy Carpenter.

“As a surfer, I don’t want to be surfing and get hit by debris, and I don’t want our residents and visitors to walk down the beach and step on a board with a nail on it,” he said. “And when we get a southwest blow, it will cover up the debris … I’ve had local kids tell me they’ve stepped on a nail before, and didn’t even see it in the sand.”

The wave of debris in the Rodanthe area most likely stemmed from the most recent nor’easter in November of 2019. The fall storm caused erosion and ocean overwash throughout the “tri-villages” of Rodanthe, Waves and Salvo, which in turn lead to property damage and subsequent materials being deposited along the shoreline.

“The November storm was a significant event that took out the dunes and ripped stuff apart along that part of the beach,” said Carpenter. “Subsequent extreme high tides continued to erode the area and dump debris down the beach, which apparently all piled up near the campgrounds.”

Because of these concerns, the idea of a beach cleanup was floated at the most recent meeting of the Chicamacomico Banks Fire Department, and a number of volunteers stepped up to the plate to lend a hand.

It ended up being a large undertaking.

“I was just astonished at how much debris was in that area,” said Carpenter. “Once we were there, we filled up four dumpsters. We didn’t realize how much work there was to do, and we ended up needing another 40-yard container from the county.”

The five-member team cleared the area that was most affected by debris, but still have a little more work to do. Several pieces were too large to carry away, and have to be broken down with a chainsaw, and there’s still lingering debris in neighboring areas, although not as severe.

“We cleaned up the epicenter of the debris, and in Waves and Salvo, it’s more sporadic – the debris is more spread out,” said Carpenter. “There’s another 2 miles of area to cover, but there’s definitely not as much debris as there was in the campground area.”

Volunteer cleanups by Chicamacomico Banks Fire and Rescue are frequent and have been occurring for years, but they are generally orchestrated after storms or major events, when a visible need arises. As an example, when a porch collapsed in the summer of 2018, and littered the shoreline with potentially dangerous materials, the volunteers were hard at work clearing the beaches to protect the waves of seasonal visitors.

“We take the initiative and start cleaning,” said Carpenter. “We want to keep our visitors and our local kids safe.”

Carpenter notes that beachgoers in the area can help with their efforts by collecting and piling heavy debris up above the high tide line. “We ask people to put debris along the dune line, or close to the dunes. It makes it easier for us to pull up and pick up the debris,” he said.

There may be a little more work remaining, as well as future storms to contend with. But with more than four dumpsters already filled with storm-related debris, the volunteer clean-up crew of Chicamacomico Banks Fire & Rescue has already taken a big step towards making the Rodanthe shoreline a cleaner, safer place to visit.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From an Island Free Press report

MANTEO — The state Division of Marine Fisheries heard concerns about the data used to determine that southern flounder was overharvested and the impact of closures on the local economy during a heated scoping meeting Dec. 17.

The meeting was a part of the long-term process to create management strategies for the upcoming Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan, which has been controversial since it was first introduced in late 2018 and early 2019.

The Southern Flounder FMP is the result of a state law mandating a minimum 52% reduction in flounder catches this year, compared to 2017 numbers, and a 72% reduction in harvest beginning in 2020, to be achieved through commercial and recreational season closures. The division also proposes yardage and time restrictions for gill nets, and prohibiting the use of puncturing devices, such as gaffs, in the pound net fishery.

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission voted Aug. 23 for the adoption of the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Draft Amendment 2, resulting in a proclamation that closed the commercial and recreational season for southern flounder on Sept. 4.

The Dec. 17 meeting focused on how to formulate the next revision, Amendment 3, and began with a presentation about the process for drafting and implementing Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder FMP. The DMF staff on hand heard 10 public comments and conducted a lengthy question and answer period that touched on both Amendment 2 and Amendment 3.

Many of those who spoke were concerned that the stock assessment numbers used to determine that southern flounder had been overfished could be inaccurate because there are more closures, less fishing and less fishermen.

“I know this (meeting) is all about Amendment 3, but you need to evaluate how stock assessments are done. If you put bad data in, you’ll get bad data out,” said Dare County Commissioner and Commission for Working Watermen Chair Steve House.

“It really feels like there is a fact gap here… how could everyone (here) be so wrong?” said Dare County Commissioner Rob Ross said. “It’s difficult to measure a shifting (flounder) population, with environmental factors, hurricanes, (etc.). Don’t disregard hundreds of years of fishing experience that says the data doesn’t sound right.”

Michael Loeffler, Southern Flounder Lead for DMF, explained that the stock assessment was performed by a four-scientist peer review team outside DMF.

He, Rawls, Southern Flounder Co-Lead Anne Markwith and Fishery Management Plan and Rulemaking Coordinator Catherine Blum, the other DMF representatives at the meeting, stated that they stood behind the data.

“I do believe in the results for southern flounder. We’ve seen declines in independent studies as well, and we to need to (be concerned) about this fishery,” said Rawls.

“I believe in the assessment in this case,” added Loeffler. “However, I believe southern flounder can recover if we get the reduction.”

Alana Harrison noted how the changes affected her Hatteras fish house business, and asked if the economic impact study conducted by a social economist outside of the DMF took into account the trickle-down effect of reducing southern flounder catches, particularly in a tourism economy like the Outer Banks. She also noted how sudden changes, like the implementation of Draft Amendment 2 in August, impacted many people’s ability to conduct business.

Mary Ellon Balance of NC Watermen United touched on how DMF Director Stephen Murphey stated that the reduction requirements would not be met without cooperation from the other states. “Can we make sure that the other states are on board for Amendment 3?”

Loeffler said that DMF was working with the other southern states, and were involved and aware of North Carolina’s Southern Flounder FMP.

Dare County Commissioner Wally Overman noted how the Board of Commissioners requested that the season be shifted by a week due to Hurricane Dorian, but that the request was denied.

Many commenters also shared their concerns that, while the public scoping period and meetings were appreciated, their input was not being taken into consideration when developing strategies and the ensuing FMP.

The DMF representatives stated at the end of the meeting that public input would be part of the decision making process going forward.

“We do understand the significance of this fishery, and how important this fishery is to this (specific) economy,” stated Rawls.

The public scoping period ended Dec. 18. DMF then will consider public input and begin drafting Amendment 3 during the first half of 2020. Marine Fisheries Commission will receive a summary of the public input collected during the scoping period at their February 2020 meeting.  DMF will then work with the FMP Advisory Committee to further develop Amendment 3 from June through September 2020, and the final vote on Draft Amendment 3 by the Marine Fisheries Commission is expected in May 2021.

A scoping document further outlining the potential management strategies can also be found on the DMF’s  Southern Flounder Information Page.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Dare County commissioners agreed earlier this month to allocate up to $250,000 from the county’s beach nourishment fund to pay for a study of a proposed beach renourishment project in Avon, the Island Free Press reported.

The action followed a similar request for study-related funds from Southern Shores, which is also considering a beach renourishment project.

“As you know, down in Avon, they’ve been asking us for a long time for some kind of funds to do a study to figure out what it would cost to do a beach nourishment project,” said County Manager Bobby Outten at the commissioners meeting. “We said we didn’t want to do that just yet, because we didn’t know when or if we would have money to do a project.”

But Southern Shores is moving forward in earnest, Outten said. “So at some point, we have to figure out what we can do, and when we can do it – for either or both entities.”

The study would target the general Ocean View Drive area of Avon, a roughly 2-mile stretch that has been subjected to regular ocean overwash during recent nor’easters and storms. When these storms occur, overwash pours onto Ocean View Drive and then inundates N.C. 12. Advocates contend that the project could be a possible solution, but there are unknowns for a potential Avon project, including funding.

The county beach nourishment fund is supported by a portion of the 6% county occupancy tax on visitor accommodations and money for beach nourishment also come from property and municipal service district taxes.

The amount in the fund fluctuates based on current projects and visitor numbers, and with no beach nourishment projects currently slated for 2020, some said it was an opportune time to dip into the fund to pay for the Avon and Southern Shores studies. But the cost of studies is well below the price tag for pumping sand on the beach.

“The cost of beach nourishment is essentially $10 million per mile, and if Avon is done fully, we are looking at a $20 million dollar project,” said Couch. “My concern is the ability of Avon to pay their share.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Island Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Updated 10:30 a.m. Monday:

State Department of Transportation officials announced Monday morning that sections of N.C. 12 remain closed and they are unsure when it will be safe to reopen the Outer Banks road.

Sections of the Outer Banks road are covered with sand and water due to dune breaches and ocean overwash. NCDOT crews are assessing impacts and are working to clear the road of sand caused by the dune breaches between Rodanthe and Oregon Inlet.

N.C. 12 is still closed after high winds, ocean overwash and wind-blown sand covering sections of the road between the Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe. The last of the storm is forecast to exit coastal North Carolina later today.

NCDOT officials also announced Monday it has resumed operations on four of its coastal ferry routes after having to close all seven ferry routes during the weekend due to strong winds and heavy rain from a powerful storm.

Ocracoke-Swan Quarter, Ocracoke-Cedar Island, Aurora-Bayview, and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach resumed Monday. The ferry division is assessing the Hatteras-Ocracoke Silver Lake and Currituck-Knotts Island ferry routes, which could resume operations later Monday. The Southport-Fort Fisher route resumed operations Sunday afternoon.

Original story reprinted from Island Free Press

On Monday morning, standing water and sand remained on portions of N.C. 12 that were affected by ocean overwash with this weekend’s nor’easter.

Saltwater and sand were reported in Avon from the Avon Pier to the southern end of the village, in northern Buxton, and in north Rodanthe and Mirlo Beach.

Per a Monday morning update from the National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City office, the threat of minor coastal flooding continues Monday along the Outer Banks, and additional overwash is possible with Monday’s high tide cycles. The next high tide is between 11 a.m. and noon.

Water levels on the sound side of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands were down slightly Monday morning, but minor soundside flooding is still possible through early afternoon.

The low-pressure system off the Mid-Atlantic coast is forecast to continue moving Monday away from the Outer Banks region and lose its influence on the weather for eastern North Carolina.

N.C. 12 was still closed from Rodanthe to Oregon Inlet Monday morning, and state transportation officials were to reassess road conditions Monday and begin clearing the sand and making repairs required to reopen the road.

Limited visibility, severe ocean overwash and wind-blown sand prompted the North Carolina Department of Transportation to close the road between Oregon Inlet and Rodanthe at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Significant oceanside flooding was also reported with multiple breaches along the dune line on Ocracoke Island.

Due to weather conditions, Cape Hatteras Elementary School and Cape Hatteras Secondary School were closed for staff and students Monday. All other Dare County schools were on their regular schedule.

A high surf advisory remains in effect until 7 p.m. Monday, and a coastal flood advisory remains in effect until 2 p.m. Monday.

For more information on the local forecast, visit www.weather.gov/mhx for weather information, or the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City’s Facebook page.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Resident project engineer Pablo Hernandez and a team of North Carolina Department of Transportation representatives answered questions and provided updates Thursday on the ongoing construction of the Rodanthe Bridge, often referred to as the “jug handle” bridge,  in an at-times heated community meeting with residents and property owners.

The meeting in the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Community Center, held to provide a status report on the bridge project and to address questions from the public, began with a summary of how the 2.4-mile-long bridge is progressing.

Hernandez said the new jug handle bridge is roughly 20% complete, and to date, the state has spent roughly $65 million on construction efforts out of the $145 million total budget.

Since starting in the summer of 2018, the primary focus has been on building the project’s one-of-a-kind rail system, or gantry system, which will enable crews to move materials and construction efforts out into the Pamlico Sound.

“It takes about nine to 13 months to get the ‘building machines’ up and running,” said Hernandez. “In the next month or so, we will have all the equipment settled on the north end of the bridge.”

Once work begins in the water, the jug handle bridge will have fewer obstacles than the Bonner Bridge replacement, due to its design.

“The bridge is not anywhere as near a dramatic structure as the Basnight Bridge,” said Hernandez. “There is no navigation channel (in the Pamlico Sound), so we do not have to have a high rise section, (per the U.S. Coast Guard).”

“We’re hoping for a completion of project – with traffic on the structure – by late 2020, but it’s looking more like (it will be finished) in early 2021,” he added.

The jug handle bridge is considered part of Phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the last of the three bridges within the project guidelines to be built. The bridge will effectively bypass the S-Turns section of N.C. 12 north of Rodanthe, which is highly susceptible to breaches during storms.

Once the jug handle bridge is complete, the roughly 1.5-mile section of N.C. 12 that will be bypassed will be dismantled, and the land will return to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

After the overview, Rodanthe property owners and residents immediately affected by the bridge project asked questions and gave feedback. The most prevalent request being better communication in order for homeowners to be prepared for excess noise or to have a better ability to notify their tenants of construction updates in the vicinity, specifically when it came to pile driving.

Hernandez said there have been internal discussions about providing better predictions on when pile driving would occur, and that they would look into compiling weekly schedule updates.

Another attendee asked about the potential impact on the Pappy’s Lane Shipwreck in the Pamlico Sound near Rodanthe, which was identified in October of 2017 by a team of researchers as a World War II troop transport. Hernandez confirmed that the jug handle bridge would travel over the shipwreck, but that no pilings in either the temporary work or in the permanent structure will be driven into the wreck itself.

There were several clarification questions regarding the height of the bridge, which is designed to stand 15 feet above the Pamlico Sound, and several concerns about its ability to withstand high winds.

Hernandez stated that while there are currently no concrete guidelines when it comes to shutting down a bridge based on wind speeds, a task force was being initiated to gauge and formulate a wind policy for the future.

There was also a lot of lingering frustration among many attendees on how the project came to fruition, as well as concerns with the design of the bridge, which jets out into the Pamlico Sound, and has a roundabout in Rodanthe instead of a traffic signal.

Maintaining soundside watersports and fishing access were also vocal concerns, with at least one public commenter requesting that NCDOT work with local residents to identify potential new access points.

Updates on the status of the jug handle bridge as well as planned construction activities through Oct. 26, are available online.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

OCRACOKE — The new Ocracoke Express passenger ferry has transported 27,153 passengers since initially launching May 20, and hopes are high that the number can climb to 30,000 before the ferry shuts down for the summer season.

“September 5 is the last day of service, and we’re hoping that everyone gets a chance to ride it,” said Tim Haas, North Carolina Department of Transportation communications officer. “We hope that those who were too busy during the summer – particularly locals – have a chance to ride the ferry before we wrap it up for the season.”

As of Sunday, NCDOT reported that 27,153 passengers had ridden the ferry between Hatteras and Ocracoke over the course of the summer, and 1,582 bicycles were brought along for the trip as well.

“Bicycles are a great way to get around Ocracoke,” Haas said. “The fact that people are using that availability is also very encouraging.”

The passenger ferry whisks as many as 149 passengers per trip across the Pamlico Sound, landing directly into Ocracoke Village or the Hatteras ferry docks. Currently, the passenger ferry runs three times per day from both sides of Hatteras Inlet, with morning, early afternoon and evening crossings.

The ferry, M/V Martha’s Vineyard Express, was leased by NCDOT Ferry Division from the New Jersey-based ferry company Seastreak Marine after several issues were identified in the construction of the new state passenger ferry, which was originally slated to begin service in 2018.

It is not yet known whether North Carolina’s own passenger ferry will be ready for service by the time next summer rolls around, or if NCDOT will once again use the M/V Martha’s Vineyard Express for passenger service in 2020.

“It’s too soon to tell what’s happening for next year, but we do have the option to rent the same boat for next season, depending on funds and availability,” Haas said.

In the meantime, NCDOT reports good reviews of the new passenger ferry service, and is hopeful that the total number of passengers will top 30,000 by the end of Labor Day Weekend.

“Those are great numbers, and the response we’re getting from passengers has been overwhelmingly positive,” Haas said. “The (ferry) is definitely something that people are enjoying, and we are very happy about that.”

For more information on the ferry system, including online reservations and the current schedule, visit the website.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

DARE COUNTY — After numerous obstacles and setbacks, the pieces are coming together for the emergency ferry channel between Rodanthe and Stumpy Point to be dredged during the first part of August.

The ferry channel provides emergency transportation in the event of N.C. 12 road closures north of Rodanthe, and is a lifeline for island residents in the wake of hurricanes and coastal storms.

At the July 15 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, County Manager Bobby Outten outlined the problems with the ferry channel, as well as the steps required to move forward with a scheduled dredging project.

“In the spring before every hurricane season, we get with the Ferry Division and say ‘run the channel and tell us what’s going on so we know that it’s open, and know that it will work,’” said Outten at the meeting. “They did that this spring, and found that it needed some dredging to get to proper depths so they could operate the ferries, should we have a storm that takes out the road later this year.”

He said they have been working with the state Department of Transportation and Army Corps of Engineers “since spring to make it happen, and frankly, we’ve run into problem after problem after problem.”

A survey conducted this spring found depths in some sections of channel as shallow as 4 to 6 feet. The ferries, which draw 5.5 feet, need a minimum of 6 feet of water.

Since the spring, there have been three primary obstacles that have prevented the dredging project from moving forward.

The spoil site next to the Rodanthe Harbor where dredge material is deposited needed to be cleared, the multi-purpose dredge that the corps uses for the project, the Snell, was unavailable, and the estimated $300,000 to $400,000 for the project needed to be secured.

Outten said in a phone interview July 23 that contractors are working on the spoil site to have it cleared and ready before the dredging project begins in August. In addition, the corps reported that they could borrow a similar dredge located in Norfolk by the projected early August start date.

The last obstacle, money for the project, was addressed at the July 15 board meeting.

It was originally hoped that the cost for the dredging would be shared between the corps, the state and the county, however Outten reported at the meeting that there were issues with getting the state and federal governments to pitch in, as both entities stated that they did not have extra funds for the project.

As a result, Outten requested that $324,000 in county funds be redirected in order pay for the upcoming dredging project.

“We have $1.9 million dollars left over in the Oregon Inlet account that we did not spend last year,” he said, with $600,000 belonging to the county and the rest is funding from the state.  “So what we’re proposing is to take $324,000 out of that dredge account (and move it to) the Rodanthe account for the corps to do that work.”

“It’s an emergency ferry channel and something we’re trying to be proactive about,” said Commissioner Steve House at the meeting. “I think this is something we definitely need to do to be proactive during the hurricane season, and to protect our citizens on Hatteras Island. I move to approve.”

Tobin also spoke on the lack of financial support from state and federal agencies, stating that “I think it’s appalling that no one has taken responsibility for this.”

The motion to move the funds was unanimously approved, clearing the way for the dredging at the emergency ferry channel to be completed before the height of hurricane season.

“We are still on track to have dredging done by the first part of August,” said Outten in a later interview. “This is all subject to the corps vessel being available, which could change.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

There are a number of routine questions that arise with every weather event where high winds and coastal flooding are an imminent concern – “Do I need to move my car? What about my lawnmower? Do I need to take all my outside stuff indoors?”

There’s a relatively new online tool to help find immediate answers to these questions – the local flood gauges that are installed and monitored by the Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, or FIMAN.

The first four were installed in 2018 at the emergency ferry dock in Rodanthe, the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching campus in Ocracoke, the Coast Guard station in Hatteras and at the Oregon Inlet Marina.

There have been more added as FIMAN expands its reach to provide a state network that alerts local communities to dangerous flooding conditions.

A new flood gauge popped up in the Askins Creek neighborhood of Avon earlier in 2019, and plans are in the works to add another flood gauge at the Fessenden Center in Buxton.

“Hopefully, the one at the Fessenden Center will be installed at the end of July or early August,” said Drew Pearson, emergency management director for Dare County. “Having one in every village and every town would be my hope, and we’re hoping to continue to beat the drum to get them installed so residents can say ‘This one is in my village and my community, so I can look at this gauge for information.’”

The public can access any of the flood gauges using the online interactive map and use the color-coded information to determine the current risk of minor, moderate, or major flooding for their area.

Users can register to receive email or text alerts when flooding reaches dangerous levels, and can also see an overview of what is considered “normal” for a flood gauge.

The information is constantly being updated with real-time data, so when a storm is on the horizon, islanders can follow water local water levels and proceed accordingly.

“Anyone who wants to know how much water is in the sound at any particular point in time can take a look at the water levels and see how much is there,” said Pearson. “When waters are on the rise, anyone can see the sound levels coming up, and the higher it gets, the more likely it is that there will be flooding … And you can see that in real time with the gauges that are being installed.”

While the gauges don’t forecast what might come next, the real-time ebb and flow of water levels provides snapshot of what’s happening and can help guide any appropriate next steps.

“This will give people the opportunity to be alerted that water levels are changing, and it can help them make decisions when there are warnings in place,” said Pearson. “There might be an event where people see the water levels rising, so they know they need to move their car, or clean up their yard.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

BUXTON — National Weather Service and Dare County representatives met Tuesday with the about 40 attendees to discuss hurricane preparation steps and online forecasting tools at a Hurricane Community Forum.

The forum was one of two held on the Outer Banks, with the first was in Kill Devil Hills on July 8.

Meteorologist Carl Barnes of the service’s Newport-Morehead City office focused on the importance of paying attention to flooding and storm surge impacts, as opposed to the category of the storm.

“I won’t say which one, but we stopped at a tackle store on the way here, and the people there told us what category of storm they evacuated for,” said Barnes. “It was hard to hear … If you’re deciding not to evacuate based on that category number – (which gauges) the wind – you’re missing a huge portion of the threat.”

The importance of focusing on storm surge and flooding as opposed to the category of the storm was reiterated several times during the presentation, with Barnes noting that half of all storm-related fatalities in the past 50 years were related to storm surge, and a quarter of all fatalities were because of rain flooding. “That’s 75% of all fatalities related to water – not wind,” he said.

He also stated that in the past few years, all storm fatalities were related to water, and outlined several examples of when a lower-category storm caused significant damage. “It’s not about the category – it’s about the impacts,” he said.

Barnes touched on the interactive storm surge/flooding maps introduced during Hurricane Arthur in 2014, which have been revised and upgraded in the years since to provide more accurate details on the threat of flooding by neighborhood.

“These graphics show what to prepare for,” said Barnes. “If 2 feet of flooding is likely, we might say there could be 3 to 4 feet, because the slightest deviation can change everything.”

Barnes also discussed the importance of avoiding flooded roads, using a road in Hookerton in Greene County during Matthew as an example. In before and after images, the road appeared flooded during the storm, but once the water receded, it was evident that the road had been washed away, leaving a deep hole behind.

Dare County Emergency Manager Drew Pearson stressed to the crowd the importance of creating an evacuation plan before any storms are on the horizon and outlined seven steps of creating a preparation plan, which included determining where to go, securing an insurance check-up, and assembling disaster supplies well in advance.

He also shared other tips, which included contacting Dare County Social Services in advance if a resident had special needs, or was aware of someone who would require extra assistance during the storm.

He also stressed the importance of knowing valuable sources for information such as on the ReadyNC app which provides storm-related information, as well as the relatively new flood gauges which are stationed throughout Hatteras Island and record flooding in real-time during a storm.

Pearson recommended using Dare County Emergency Management’s new alerts system. By signing up for text, email, or over-the-phone alerts, the public is notified of any time-sensitive and essential information during an emergency.

Learn More

• Dare County hurricane preparation recommendations

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Dare County Board of Commissioners approved this week a resolution  to apply for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, Transportation Discretionary Grant program, in an effort to secure funding for the Hatteras village multi-use path project.

The 3.75-mile pathway will connect the Hatteras ferry docks to the northern town borders and include a loop along Eagle Pass Road, making all areas along the route safer and more accessible.

The BUILD Grant program provides funding for projects that have a significant local or regional impact. BUILD grants are announced in December, and if funds are obtained, construction on the pathway could start as early as spring, 2020.

The action came during the board’s meeting Monday. A similar resolution was adopted in 2018, and an application that stemmed from the resolution was denied, however, Planning Director Donna Creef noted that the chances of acquiring grant funds through the program are improved this year.

“Hatteras village has hired a gentleman who has a past history of writing grants, so he is helping with it this year, and hopefully we will submit the grant and be successful,” said Creef.

A recent survey was also conducted for the pathway, which provides a detailed outline of where the pathway will be located. Ricki Shepherd, chairperson for the Hatteras Village Community Center District, stated in an earlier interview that having a concrete survey could increase the odds of securing grant funds as well.

“The deadline for the BUILD grant is July, and last year, we found out about it at the last minute and sent in an application on the deadline date,”  Shepherd said in the interview. “This year, with the completion of the surveys, we have skin in the game, and I think our chances are very good to get the money to actually build the pathway.”

The resolution that was passed at Monday’s meeting was similar to the 2018 version, however it noted that the Ocracoke passenger ferry was in service, instead of being a work in progress, which increases the need for reliable transportation in the village.

“That BUILD grant, if this is successful, (is) going to be providing some inertia for some real critical mass here,” said  County Commissioner Danny Couch at the meeting.  Couch represents Hatteras Island on the board. “This is almost going to ensure that we can complement that money and get this done. This is critical.”

Creef also said at the meeting that if the grant application were successful, it could result in roughly $1 million in funds for the project.

The seven-member board unanimously approved the motion to submit the grant application.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” said Chairman Bob Woodard.

Learn More

• Pathway Organizers Ask for Support

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

BUXTON — Residents garnered more information Wednesday on the development of the Outer Banks Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan during a lightly attended meeting.

The meeting was held to inform the public about the planning process, the identified hazards for the area, and to outline additional opportunities for public involvement.

Though the crowd was small, it included members of the Hatteras Island Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, representatives from Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative and Dare County, and other individuals who play a role in disaster preparation or recovery.

“I think having you all here is very helpful. You are the most vulnerable part of the country, and I hope you continue to help us look at what’s going on (with the plan), and continue to help us formulate our goals and objectives,” said Dare County Emergency Management Director, Drew Pearson.

The public meetings are part of the ongoing process by the county to update the Dare-Currituck County Hazard Mitigation Plan, which allows the counties to be eligible for FEMA disaster relief assistance. Updated every five years, last revised in 2015, the plan is a multiple-phase project that identifies natural hazards, develops strategies to reduce or eliminate the loss of life and property damage, and educate the community about these hazards and loss reduction strategies.

Wednesday’s meeting provided an overview of the 10 steps that are required in the process to update the plan, and also covered the identified hazards that could potentially impact the Outer Banks. For example, landslides or dam failures are not hazards that need to be considered or that require strategies in the plan, but more obvious hazards like coastal-related issues, drought, flooding, hurricanes and tropical storms, and wildfires are included. A complete list of identified hazards can be reviewed online.

Attendees asked questions about corresponding hazards that should be considered, such as mosquito-related diseases that stem from standing water after a storm, or transportation for Buxton and Frisco residents should a new inlet be formed, and residents were cut off from emergency ferry services.

The ensuing conversation was a give and take of information among residents and county officials about disaster prep and recovery, and though there were only 10 residents in attendance, Pearson noted it was the highest attended meeting of the three community meetings that were held in Buxton, Manteo and Kill Devil Hills. “This blew our previous attendance out of the water,” said Pearson, “and we’re proud of the residents who are concerned about the Outer Banks.”

One component of the process is the solicitation of public input on the hazards that affect the Outer Banks, and the appropriate responses to these hazards, which is what launched the public meetings, as well as an online survey requesting the community’s insight.

Roughly 600 completed surveys have been received so far, which is a strong response per the plan’s organizers. The public survey will be available online until June 15.

The Dare-Currituck County Hazard Mitigation Draft Plan for 2019 is estimated to be completed in September, where it will then be available for public review.

Learn More

• Agendas, minutes, and presentations 

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE — The tip of Cape Point closed Monday due to a large colony of least terns that are beginning to nest in the area.

Off-road vehicle ramp 44, which leads to the Point, is open for 0.64 miles, with the last quarter mile of the shoreline bordering Cape Point currently closed.

“The primary (factor) that caused the change is the presence of a fairly large colony of least terns that are setting up,” said National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent David Hallac. “This morning, there were 50-100 least terns that are beginning to nest at that site, and we also have oystercatchers (in the area) as well.”

Another oystercatcher nest and three piping plover nests have also been identified to the west of the Cape Point area.

Nesting activity began in early April on Cape Point, but a drive-through corridor was established on April 9 to provide access to the Point for roughly a month.

Due to the large tern colony, there is not an estimate of how long the seasonal closure will last, however, the National Park Service will continually monitor the area and install drive-through corridors and reinstate access as soon as possible.

“Generally, bird nests take about 30 days to hatch – and sometimes sooner for terns and plovers – and after that, it takes about three to four weeks for fledgling birds to leave the nesting area,” said Hallac. “But it’s hard to make a (time frame) prediction, because there could be additional terns, and we are starting to see black skimmers show up as well.

“Essentially, it’s hard to predict when it’s going to begin and end when there is colonial nesting activity, as opposed to a lone oystercatcher or piping plover nest.”

As of Monday morning, there were about 27 out of 29 total miles of beach open for ORV vehicles.

For current beach access status and updates, visit the Cape Hatteras National Seashore website.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A big crowd of island residents and visitors headed to the Frisco Bath House beach Saturday morning to watch as six sea turtles were released after being rehabilitated for months by the  North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island’s Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation Center, or STAR Center.

The released sea turtles included two green sea turtles and four loggerhead turtles, and dozens of volunteers from NEST Outer Banks, the Aquarium, the National Park Service, and other local organizations were on hand to see their hard work pay off.

It was the first sea turtle release to occur on Hatteras Island in several years, and the Frisco location was chosen because of several factors.

“The beach conditions and water temperatures were ideal for the release,” said organizer Amber Hitt, “and many of our volunteers are from Hatteras Island, so we wanted them to see their efforts come full circle.”

While most of the former STAR Center resident reptiles had recovered from being cold stunned in January 2019, one loggerhead turtle, who was arguably the star of the show, had a particularly long journey from injury to release.

Ada, a 230-pound loggerhead sea turtle, was first rescued by Capt. Brian Patteson, who runs fishing charters and tours out of Hatteras Landing via his vessel, the Stormy Petrel II.While on a birding tour in October of 2018, Patteson encountered Ada 3 miles offshore, who had been severely injured after an entanglement with a net.

“She appeared to be in bad shape, but we brought her on board,” says Patteson. “She had a gouge on her neck, and I didn’t think she would make it.”

It took a while to carefully get Ada safely on board, and the roughly 200-pound turtle connected with Patteson’s foot during the process, leaving a scar that was still visible months later at her release.

But Patteson contacted NEST on his way back to shore, an organization he had worked with before in a half dozen prior turtle rescues, and on Saturday, Ada was finally able to return to the ocean waters with just a lone missing fin as a reminder of her ordeal.

“I checked in on (her) in December, and I’m amazed she made it, and was able to be released today,” said Patteson.

Ada required a team of volunteers to haul the “turtle taxi” to the water’s edge, but despite her fin amputation, Ada made an easy cruise back into the ocean, garnering a big round of applause from the crowd.

Hitt says that the public turtle releases help to raise awareness about what volunteers do to help injured and cold-stunned sea turtles, and it also gives folks a rare opportunity to get an up-close view of these endangered and threatened species.

“Not only can we educate folks, but we can give people a chance to see a 230-pound loggerhead sea turtle, which is a sight that not many people get to see in their lifetime,” said Hitt.

More sea turtle releases may be scheduled in the months to come, depending on how the current injured STAR turtles are faring.

While the winter of 2017-18 had multiple days of freezing temperatures, resulting in several hundred sea turtles being admitted to the STAR Center, this past winter was relatively mild, with only 60 or so turtle admissions.

With the exception of one loggerhead sea turtle who was rescued from Corolla, all of the sea turtles released on Saturday morning hailed from Hatters Island, so once they shimmied back into the water, they were basically close to home.

“This is a great day, and a great crowd,” said Frisco resident and longtime Volunteer Frank Welles, “and I’m glad that we were able to do (this release) here on Hatteras Island.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

With the Bonner Bridge replacement open, and work on demolishing the old bridge imminent, crews are busy focusing on what has been dubbed the “jug handle” bridge, which will extend for 2.4 miles from Rodanthe to the southern edge of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge.

The jug handle bridge is considered part of phase II of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, and is the last of the three bridges within the project guidelines to be built. The jug handle bridge will bypass the S-Turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches during storms.

Scheduled to open to traffic in late 2020, the project remains on schedule, and work in the open waters of the Pamlico Sound is expected to begin in the not-so-distant future.

The first pilings were driven into the ground on the Rodanthe terminus of the new bridge in early September 2018 and work is now progressing on both ends of the new bridge, with permits in place to start extending the project into the Pamlico Sound.

“The Coast Guard-approved permits are good to go, and we will start to see some building out in the water in the next few weeks,” said Tim Haas, NCDOT Public Relations Officer.

Work also continues on the construction of a rail system at the southern Rodanthe terminal of the Jug Handle Bridge, which will make it easier for materials to be moved into the open water in the future. At the northern terminal, a recent shift of N.C. Highway 12 of about 20-30 feet east has allowed more space for staging and managing equipment.

Meanwhile, while the Bonner Bridge replacement is open, final touches are being made to finalize the move of electric and internet cables from the old bridge to the new structure. Once that happens, crews can get to work on demolishing the old Bonner Bridge, leaving behind 1,000 feet of the structure on the southern side of Oregon Inlet as a walkway and fishing pier. Once demolition begins, it should take an estimated 10 months to complete.

Land closures may occur at both the Jug Handle Bridge and the Bonner Bridge replacement as work continues throughout the spring.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

Despite a forced delay caused by the federal government shutdown, parking areas at the new Buxton Day Use Area and at Kite Point are scheduled to be open by late May, per the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Chief of Maintenance John Kowlok.

Buxton Day Use Area

The new parking area at the end of Old Lighthouse Road is being constructed in two phases. Phase one of the Buxton Day Use Area is set to be complete and open by Memorial Day.

The first phase of the project includes clearing the road and opening the entrance to the site, as well as installing roughly 50 parking spaces, and a portable “Mobi-mat” walkway to provide handicapped access. Sand fencing will also be installed at several small portions of the site where potential pollutants were identified by an examination contracted by the U.S. Coast Guard several years ago.

The second phase is a more costly endeavor, with a construction estimate of $355,526, and does not have a concrete start date. During the second phase of the project, a comfort station, or public restrooms, will be installed, with four stalls for women, and two stalls and two urinals for the men’s portion of the station. The parking spaces will also be striped, or outlined, during the second phase of the project.

The site where the parking area is being established was once the home of the Naval Facility Cape Hatteras, which was in operation from January 1956 until it was decommissioned in June 1982. The site was then transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard where it eventually served as a housing complex, and was later transferred to the National Park Service.

Kite Point Soundside Access

Cape Hatteras National Seashore also reports that the Kite Point parking project is starting imminently, as the contractor is currently mobilizing and staking out the site. Construction will begin in earnest by the end of February, and the project is scheduled to be complete by mid-May, assuming the weather cooperates.

The Kite Point parking lot is being established on the soundside, just south of the current Haulover Day Use Area. The parking area will have spaces for about 50 cars, as well as a paved entrance and a hard-packed surface utilizing clay and shells instead of pavement.

Both the Kite Point parking area and the new Buxton Day Use Area were earmarked as two out of 29 potential projects that were identified in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Proposal to Facilitate Additional Public Beach Access Project in June of 2013.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

National Park Service representatives examined Cape Hatteras National Seashore after the end of the 35-day government shutdown to identify cases of vandalism, violations, and other instances of misuse of the seashore’s facilities.

During the government shutdown, Cape Hatteras National Seashore had seven to 10 staff members of their 90 total employees working intermittently, while all other personnel were furloughed.

Though multiple violations occurred during the lapse in operations, the violations were not extreme or numerous, and were counterbalanced by efforts from community organizations and members who worked to preserve the seashore.

Public Affairs Specialist Michael Barber said there were 32 different incidences of beach driving violations, which included donuts on the beach, using vehicles on non-vehicle routes, and drivers on the beach who did not have an off-road vehicle beach driving permit.

There were 12 incidents of vandalism reported, which included damage to bathrooms or showers, and broken signs.

Seven cases of illegal camping were also reported, which included camping along the beaches, but not in the seashore-managed campgrounds.

There were six incidences of human waste outside of seashore bathrooms, including four incidents at the Salvo Day Use Area, one incident at Coquina Beach, and one incident at Whalebone Junction.

Park service personnel responded to 21 calls during the shutdown, despite the furloughs, which included calls to assist EMS, motor vehicle accidents, issues with park-managed buildings, and public drunkenness.

The shutdown prompted a number of efforts to keep the beaches clean, such as a Jan. 12 cleanup coordinated by the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association to empty trash cans, and clean public areas and beaches.

“One thing that should be pointed out is that despite these instances, most of our visitors were very respectful of park resources. Moreover, we were impressed by community organizations and members who went out of their way to remove debris, like NCBBA’s Operation Beach Respect,” Barber said.

“We did not close any recreational areas of the seashore – we did close visitors’ centers, but actual recreational areas remained open throughout the shutdown,” he added. “January is historically one of the slowest months of the seashore in terms of visitation, so we were able to handle that.”

The federal government shutdown was suspended Jan. 25 for three weeks. It is not known if the shutdown will resume if a resolution for government funding is not reached by Feb. 14.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A weather buoy that was originally stationed about 17 miles off of Cape Point has made a long voyage up the Eastern Seaboard, and was last located about 671 miles away, well off the coast of New York City.

The buoy, formally known as Station 41025 – Diamond Shoals, is one of several buoys in the Outer Banks region that is managed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Data Buoy Center, which provides valuable data for researchers and meteorologists.

“We use these buoys to collect observational information, which we then use for our forecasts,” said Morgan Simms of the National Weather Service office in Newport. “The big data we get out there especially is wave (activity), so we can use that as an estimate for wave height and swell height in that part of Atlantic.”

“(That buoy) provides water temperatures in the Gulf Stream as well, so we can get a rough idea of water temps in that area,” he added. “It’s one of multiple buoys on the North Carolina coast that we use for data.”

However, on Dec. 21, the National Data Buoy Center noted that the 3-meter foam buoy went adrift, and while the buoy has stopped transmitting some data, such as wave height and water temperature, it is still reporting it’s locale – and it has gone on quite the journey.

Seemingly following the Gulf Stream current in a northeast direction, the Station 41025 buoy covered more than 150 nautical miles during the past weekend alone, and is currently situated 40.22 degrees north latitude and 63.09 degrees west longitude, or roughly 671 nautical miles away from its original location in the Diamond Shoals.

Retrievals of runaway buoys are orchestrated by the National Data Buoy Center, which was temporarily closed during the government shutdown, and there is no word yet on when Station 41025 – Diamond Shoals might be returned back home.

Station 41025 has been providing data on the Outer Banks waters since 2003, and more information about the Diamond Shoals buoy can be found on the NOAA website.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From reports by Island Free Press

DARE COUNTY — As work continues on the new Bonner Bridge on track to open in February or March, the second phase of the project is underway.

About a 3,500 foot section of N.C. 12 just north of Rodanthe and the S-curves is being shifted 20 to 30 feet to the east to make way for upcoming construction on the new 2.4-mile “jug handle” bridge, which is considered part of the second phase of the Bonner Bridge Replacement Project, along with the Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island that was completed spring 2018.

The jug handle bridge, expected to open to traffic by late 2020, will stretch from the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, and will bypass the S-turns section of N.C. 12, which is highly susceptible to breaches during storms.

The temporary traffic shift similar to the temporary highway relocation while the Bonner Bridge was under construction will remain in place until the jug handle bridge construction is complete. The move provides more room on the soundside for trucks and equipment to access the northern terminus site of the new jug handle bridge.

“Shifting Highway 12 a little to the east will make it safer and easier for people to (travel through) the area,” said NCDOT Public Relations Officer Tim Haas.

During the move of the roadway and construction, travelers may encounter daytime lane closures Monday through Friday until June 14. One lane of traffic will remain open during these closures. From June 14 through Sept. 14, lane closures will only occur at night to accommodate summertime traffic.

Crews continue to work on the finishing touches of the new Bonner Bridge to allow vehicles on the structure, such as paving the on-ramps that connect the bridge to N.C. 12.

Though there remains a possibility that the bridge will open in one-lane stages, with one lane of traffic directed to the old bridge and one lane directed to the new bridge, it is hoped that the bridge will be accessible in its entirety when it opens, with both lanes ready for traffic.

“Our goal is to open the (entire) bridge at once, without one-lane closures,” said Haas.

Once the new bridge is finished, crews will remove the current Bonner Bridge just east of the new site, leaving behind 1,000 feet of the existing structure at the southern end for recreational use, and sending the old bridge debris to bolster artificial reef sites in Oregon Inlet. The entire project, including the 10 months needed for demolition of the original bridge, is expected to to be complete by the end of the year.

The Bonner Bridge was originally scheduled to open by the end of 2018, but bad weather and two major storms that affected the Outer Banks in the fall caused delay late in the project, which did remain on schedule for the majority of the construction time frame. The bridge will open roughly three years after the project first broke ground in March 2016.

Using high-durability concrete, stainless reinforcing steel and other engineering features, the new Bonner Bridge will have a 100-year lifespan and will provide more options for navigation under the bridge, with a high-rise portion that is 3,500 feet long, and which reaches heights of 90.5 feet into the air.

Project managers are also in the process of orchestrating the grand opening celebration, and the specifics of the official ribbon-cutting ceremony and related events are to be announced soon.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A new river-class vehicle ferry that was originally contracted by the state Department of Transportation  Ferry Division in 2017 is nearing completion and is expected to be in the water by the spring of 2019, per a recent announcement by the NCDOT.

The M/V Rodanthe, which is being built at the Bollinger Shipyard in Amelia, Louisiana, will be replacing the Hatteras-class and roughly 24-year-old Thomas A. Baum ferry, adding more room for vehicles on the Hatteras-Ocracoke route.

Hatteras-class ferries can accommodate about 26 vehicles on average, while river-class ferries can accommodate 38 to 40 vehicles.

“We’re phasing out the smaller (ferries) so we can take fewer trips,” said Tim Haas, an NCDOT public relations officer. “The (M/V Rodanthe) should be in North Carolina in March, and then should be out in the water by April or May for the summer season.”

Two additional river-class vehicle ferries were contracted in November 2018 to replace the smaller Hatteras-class ferries, the M/V Kinnakeet and the M/V Chicamacomico. These new ferries, which are tentatively named the M/V Avon and the M/V Salvo, are scheduled to be delivered to the Outer Banks in 2020.

“These two new boats, along with the two others already under construction, will both increase our capacity and upgrade our technology,” said Ferry Division Director Harold Thomas in an earlier statement regarding the 2018 contract for the M/V Avon and M/V Salvo. “The new ferries mark a major step in improving and modernizing the North Carolina Ferry System.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

Due to a pattern of bad weather and storms throughout the fall season, the opening of the new Bonner Bridge has been delayed from the originally scheduled January 2019 to February or March of 2019.

Though the bridge is complete and fully intact, crews are still working on the finishing touches to allow vehicles on the structure.

“The main thing that has (delayed the opening) has been the weather,” said Tim Haas, a North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesman. “Over the fall we had a lot of regular rain, and then two major storms, and that tends to delay things – especially at the end of a project like this.

“Even though the structure itself is done, there’s a lot of little work that has to be completed before we can open it to traffic,” he added, noting that both electric lines and internet cables are in the process of being moved from the old bridge to the new bridge as well. “Lots of things have to be finished before we can put cars on it.”

Once the bridge is complete, it may open in one-lane stages. For example, one direction of traffic will be directed to the new bridge while the other lane is worked on, while traffic in the opposite direction, north or south, will be directed to the old bridge.

“There are still a lot of details on the opening to be determined, like if we can open both lanes at the same time, or open one lane first, and then the other,” said Haas.

Project managers are also in the process of orchestrating the grand opening celebration, and the specifics of the official ribbon cutting ceremony and related events will be forthcoming.

Once the new bridge is finished, crews will get to work removing the old Bonner Bridge just east of the new site, leaving behind 1,000 feet of the existing structure at the southern end. This portion of the old bridge will remain in place and will be open for pedestrians and fishermen, and the rail will be updated to be more pedestrian-friendly and safer.

The project in its entirety is set to be completed by the end of 2019, which includes about 10 months for the demolition of the original bridge. The project began with a groundbreaking in March of 2016, and has remained relatively on schedule throughout the duration of the construction.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Dare County Board of Commissioners approved the proposed framework of the recently revived Commission for Working Watermen at their Nov. 5 meeting, paving the way for commission member appointments to be made.

The Dare County Commission for Working Watermen originally formed in 2008, but quietly ceased meeting in December of 2012 without formally disbanding. After public comments made by journalist and researcher Susan West at the commissioner’s meeting Aug. 20, interest in reviving the commission was renewed, with Commissioner Steve House signing on to be the point person and county commissioner representative for the endeavor.

House orchestrated a reorganizational meeting in early October, which solicited insight and input from local working watermen and stakeholders on how the “new” commission should be formed. Using this feedback, House presented the proposed commission composition to the board at their November meeting.

“After very lengthy discussions with several individuals, I would like to make a recommendation to set this commission up as a seven-member voting commission with a non-voting science seat,” said House at the board meeting. “(There will also be) a seat for a Dare County Commissioner, a seat for a fish house dealer, a seat for a charter boat captain, and four seats for Dare County, N.C. fishermen with the goal of having representation from Hatteras Island, Roanoke Island, the mainland and the northern beaches.”

The original 2008 commission was comprised of commercial fishermen of specific specialties – such as Ocean Drop Netting, Trawl Boat Industry, Gill Netter / Crabber, and Net Fishermen – but House noted that after talking with members of the commercial fishing community, seats based on specific gear types were not necessarily the best way to proceed.

“I know in the past we’ve had different seats for different types of gear, but in the past few years, commercial fishing has become so regulated that you don’t have a commercial fisherman just doing one specific gear (type) – he has to do three or four other gears just to make a living,” said House.

He also noted that while there was previous discussion about adding a recreational fishermen seat to the seven-member commission, it was ultimately determined that a recreational seat was not directly aligned with the commission’s purpose.

“The objective of this commission is for our Dare County working watermen (to serve) as an advisory council for us as Dare County Commissioners, and to voice their concerns – both praises and objections – to not only our North Carolina (Marine) Fisheries, but to our legislators in Raleigh,” said House. “With that being said, I would like to make a motion that the commission be set up in those capacities.”

The motion was unanimously approved by the board of commissioners, solidifying the new makeup of the Dare County Commission for Working Watermen.

The topic will be revisited again in an upcoming December meeting of the board of commissioners, with recommended appointments potentially being approved by the Dare County Commissioners.

“Now that we have (finalized) how the board will be set up, I have received a few applications, and I will start vetting those,” said House. “In December, I plan on presenting a few recommendations.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

OCRACOKE — The new Ocracoke Express passenger ferry is coming together, and is expected to be complete by the end of the year, per a recent announcement from the North Carolina Ferry System.

Stakeholders for the new Hatteras/Ocracoke passenger ferry headed to Swansboro Friday to check out the progress of the vessel itself, which is being constructed by contractor U.S. Workboats.

Once it’s complete, the passenger ferry will make a number of trial runs along its route from Hatteras village to Ocracoke village, with paid passenger service expected to officially launch in May.

The new Ocracoke Express will be a 100-passenger, catamaran-style ferry with 96 interior seats, an upper deck with 26 additional seats, two wheelchair tie-downs, 16 bicycle racks, wireless internet access and a concession area. The route will take passengers from the Hatteras ferry docks to Silver Lake Harbor in Ocracoke village and back, in a trip that is estimated to be around 70 minutes each way.

Passenger lounge areas are complete on both sides of the ferry route in Hatteras and Ocracoke villages, and the accompanying public tram service on Ocracoke Island was already tested and temporarily launched to accommodate visitors after Hurricane Florence in September.

“Right now, the trams are ready, the visitor facilities are ready, and we are just waiting on the boat,” said NCDOT Public Relations Officer Tim Haas in an earlier interview.

Learn More

• Information on the Ocracoke Express

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

OUTER BANKS — As work on the “jug-handle” bridge in northern Rodanthe continues to heat up, the new Bonner Bridge replacement is inching closer to a late 2018 completion and opening date.

“They are still evaluating if there will be any schedule changes due to the recent storms,” said Tim Haas, state Department of Transportation public relations officer. “(But) we are still expecting to be complete by the end of the year.

“We should have a clearer idea of the actual (opening) date in a week or so.”

Once the bridge is complete, it is expected to open in one-lane stages. For example, one direction of traffic will be directed to the new bridge while the other lane is worked on, while traffic in the opposite direction, north or south, will be directed to the old, current Bonner Bridge.

There are two or three decks on the new Bonner Bridge replacement that still need to be cast, and a new barrier rail that is being constructed, in addition to the continual grinding, or smoothing, of decks and approaches. Utilities to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands have to be moved over to the new bridge structure as well in the weeks to come.

Meanwhile, at the new 2.4-mile jug-handle bridge, so named because of its curve over Pamlico Sound, which will extend from Rodanthe to the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, a platform and rail system is being built to make it easier to move materials required for the project.

“What you’re seeing there is not an actual part of the bridge, but the platform that will allow materials to be sent out to the sound,” said Haas.

Currently, all work is concentrated on the Rodanthe terminus of the bridge, and there is no set date on when work at the Pea Island side of the bridge will begin.

Staging for the jug handle bridge, or the initial portion of the overall project, began earlier this summer, and based on the current schedule, is expected to open to traffic by late 2020.

Traffic is to be maintained on N.C. 12 while the jug-handle bridge is being built, and once construction is complete, the existing roadway in the refuge will be removed, while the existing section of N.C. 12 in Rodanthe will remain open to provide access to private properties.

The new jug-handle bridge, along with the Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island, which was completed this past spring, is considered part of the second phase of the overall Bonner Bridge replacement project.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

From an Island Free Press report.

The newly revitalized Dare County Commission for Working Watermen began to take shape on Monday evening at a lightly attended but energized meeting that attracted potential applicants and commission members.

The meeting was presided over by Dare County Commissioner Steve House, who took on the role of point person and county board representative once the commission was relaunched over the summer.

The revived interest in the Commission for Working Watermen started with public comments made by journalist and researcher Susan West, who spoke in favor of reactivating the commission at the Aug. 20 meeting of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.

The Commission for Working Watermen originally formed in 2008, but ceased meeting in December 2012 without formally disbanding.

“When it was up and running, the commission definitely served a need, and helped the board of commissioners stay ahead of the game,” said West.

West was at Monday evening’s re-organizational meeting, as well as a group of local fishermen and advocates who provided insight into a few key changes to the original guidelines of the commission.

“We’re starting brand new,” House told the group early on in the meeting. “The only (concrete) thing is that we’re an advisory group to monitor what’s coming down the road, and to advise us – the board of commissioners – on how to address this in Raleigh.”

House also noted that the reformed panel would include new voices on commercial fishing issues at the local and state levels.

“The boards and members of (similar) organizations are intermingled,” he said, noting that new players would be involved with the commission. “And does that make a difference in Raleigh? Yes it does. … when (the legislators) see that it’s different people, and not the same group, it carries a lot of weight.”

One of the biggest changes that was agreed upon by group consensus at the meeting was to eliminate the previous required roles of the commission members. Originally, the seats on the commission were to include a “Charter Fishermen, Ocean Drop Netting, Trawl Boat Industry, Gill Netter/Crabber, Net Fishermen, Fish House/Dealer,” but House noted that the problem with having such specific roles was that if a seat became vacant, it would need to be filled by a specific type of fishermen.

The group also noted that having geographical representation – with fishermen from Hatteras, Wanchese, and other corners of Dare County – was more important than the specific gear or fishing type.

The group agreed to reserve a seat for a fish house dealer who would understand the specifics of the market, and to encourage recreational fishermen to have seats on the commission as well.

The group also supported the idea of allowing family members or spouses of fishermen on the commission, as well as designating a non-voting advisory seat to a scientist who could explain the research that drives certain pieces of legislation or initiatives.

The group also considered giving a seat to several members of the general public but agreed that would water down the commission’s makeup, leaving fewer seats available for fishermen.

While the exact positions will change, the need for new and invested voices is essential, many agreed.

West noted that through her many interviews with fishermen along the East Coast, the next generation of fishermen is willing to get involved. “There are a lot of high energy, younger fishermen out there who aren’t oblivious to the challenges, but who want to be engaged,” she said.

Interested candidates are advised to get their applications in as soon as possible, as they will be vetted over the next several weeks before recommendations are presented to the Dare County Board of Commissioners, likely at the Nov. 5 meeting.

For more information, contact Commissioner House at 252-216-8985.

Learn More

• Dare County Commission for Working Watermen application

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

OCRACOKE ISLAND — Despite some additional ocean over-wash of the highway Wednesday morning from a low-pressure system off the coast, the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division announced Wednesday that plans were still in place to reopen the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry to the public Friday .

“Weather and tides permitting, we still hope to have the road open on Friday, with the Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry route resuming service at the same time,” according to an online statement from the ferry division. The Facebook post continued that there will be a more definitive answer on timing  available Thursday.

The ferry has been closed since Hurricane Florence brushed the Outer Banks Sept. 13-14, causing oceanside flooding that affected more than a mile of the northern section of N.C. 12 on Ocracoke Island. Portions of the pavement were flooded and subsequently damaged, while a large section of the oceanfront dune bordering the highway was wiped out.

Immediately after Florence hit the area, an emergency contract was initiated with Barnhill Contracting Co. of Kitty Hawk and crews have been working to remove sand and debris and repair the road.

Once the road has been repaired and has reopened, the crews will then concentrate on re-establishing the dune line that protects N.C. 12, which is scheduled to be completed by Nov. 30.

The Hatteras-Ocracoke ferry has been making limited runs to haul equipment and crews to the repair sites along N.C. 12. Currently, visitors and residents can access Ocracoke Island via the Swan Quarter Ferry and the Cedar Island ferry, which have both reopened to the public.

Hyde County has also started running the free public tram service on Ocracoke Island for walk-on ferry passengers, with trams cycling around the village every 30 minutes.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Update 12:25 Sept. 10: Organizers announced on social media that Day at the Docks has been cancelled for 2018.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

HATTERAS VILLAGE —  Visitors of all ages can learn about daily life along the Hatteras waterfront as part of the Day at the Docks celebration.

Day at the Docks kicks off the evening of Sept. 14, with the annual Hurricane Awareness Town Hall, Taste of NC and the Talk of the Villages around Hatteras village. The main event Sept. 15 will be along the docks.

“There will be live music in the main tent, the chowder cook-off, and even one or two of the boats from Wicked Tuna Outer Banks will be here, and will be at the docks for people to meet and greet,” said five-year event organizer Jon Kelmer. “One thing we’re also going to spotlight this year is island boatbuilders. We will have several boatbuilders on the island that will have their boats represented. That will be a new attraction for everyone to enjoy.”

Day at the Docks began as a one-day event in 2004, as an effort to recover after 2003’s Hurricane Isabel. Organizers say this year the event is returning to its roots as a tribute to local life on the water.

“The main focus of Day at the Docks has always been fishing, and we’re bringing that back,” said Lynne Foster, who helped create the event.

“We’re trying to slim the event down, and make it more about the watermen, their lives and their existence here on Hatteras Island,” Kelmer added.

Attendees can look forward to the same attractions and events that Day at the Docks has had in the past, including the annual chowder contest with area restaurants, the kids fishing tournament, the concrete marlin competition, the U.S. Coast Guard’s “sinking stimulator” and live music and demonstrations throughout the day, followed by the evening’s Blessing of the Fleet.

There are some changes and additions for this year, starting with the Seafood Throwdown.

In previous years, the Seafood Throwdown featured two competing chefs from area or North Carolina restaurants, who would race to create an inspired seafood dish that was then judged by a panel of experts. This year, the folks competing will be representatives from Hatteras Island’s volunteer fire departments.

“It’s very exciting to add another element to the Seafood Throwdown that’s different,” said Foster. “The Hatteras Fire Department will serve as the host village, and they have challenged the Frisco Fire Department in the Seafood Throwdown. So they will be competing against each other with a mystery seafood ingredient.”

Jeff Aiken will provide and present the mystery ingredient, and will provide a play-by-play of the action along with Bob Barris, event emcee since 2008.

“We have some new people involved, too,” said Foster. “The produce is from the new Village Market Red & White, and the salt is coming from our own Hatteras Saltworks, so we’ll have more local (ingredients) involved than ever before.”

She added that the judges are commercial fishermen from Kitty Hawk, Beaufort and Elizabeth City. “We’re involving as many fisherman as we can in this competition.”

Day at the Docks also will feature a Watermen United project to spotlight commercial fishing on Hatteras Island and Hatteras village through the voices of the fishermen and their families themselves.

“Another new thing we added for this year is that we’re asking anyone who has ties to the water to write out a couple of paragraphs about who they are and how they or their loved one work on the water” said Kelmer. The stories will be displayed all day as an Island Heritage Project.

“We’re bringing it back to the water and back to Hatteras,” added Kelmer. “It’s important for people to come down here to understand just how many ties the community has to the water.”

Learn More

• Schedule of events

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

BUXTON — The Dare County Waterways Commission tackled a long list of Outer Banks projects at their Aug. 13 meeting, which included updates on Rodanthe Harbor, and the impending fall dredging at Hatteras Inlet.

The Rodanthe Harbor, which serves as the launching point for the Rodanthe-Stumpy Point Emergency Ferry, was successfully dredged in late July by the Army Corps of Engineers. The multi-purpose vessel, the Snell, tackled the shallow area close to the harbor, expanding the depths from roughly 4.5 feet to 8.5 feet.

Several topics pertaining to Hatteras Inlet were discussed in depth, starting with the need to move buoys in the South Ferry Channel. Commissioners discussed the steps that needed in order to start dredging the South Ferry Channel, or Connecting Channel, on Sept. 1, which would be a month outside the permitted window of Oct. 1 through March 31. Outside of this window, approval is required from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the Division of Coastal Management and the Corps.

“If things are in place, can we move the start date to September 1?” asked Commissioner Steve “Creature” Coulter. “My concern is that we’re going to lose all the work that (the Corps) has done in the spring.”

Joen Petersen of the Corps said the tentative answer was yes, but there were many steps required to move forward. “The (hopper dredge) Currituck is in Dare County for the month of September, so if permits were in place, we could likely get the hopper there,” said Petersen.

Waterways Commissioner and Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch said he would check with the country manager on the next steps. “We need to start to firm up a plan and take it day by day, and determine what our priorities are,” he said.

Jim Medlock, civil works project manager with the Corps, also gave an update on projects underway to address the Rollinson Channel leading to Hatteras Harbor.

In the meantime, emergency dredging in Rollinson Channel connected to Hurricane Matthew is slated to begin in the early fall, though there is not an exact start date. Medlock said that if available, the contractor could start as early as Sept. 1.

A trio of Avon property owners also addressed the Waterways Commission, asking for guidance on what to do about erosion on properties that border the northern side of the Avon Harbor. Sand from these northern properties has eroded and drifted into the harbor, creating a spit and shallower depths in the harbor itself.

Todd Horton, the Corps’ deputy chief of navigation, noted that the Avon Harbor hadn’t been dredged in at least 30 years, and it was also determined that if the primary purpose of the project was for allowing shallow-draft navigation through the channel, and not sand mitigation, it could be eligible for state funds.

The cost for such a project was also discussed, with commission members and Corps representatives noting that the area could be addressed with smaller equipment – namely an excavator – for a fraction of the price of a larger dredging project.

The Waterways Commission’s next meeting is at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 10, in Manteo.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

RODANTHE — Construction on the 2.4-mile “jug-handle” bridge on N.C. 12 is expected to begin in a few weeks, as staging preparations in Rodanthe begin to wind down, and final permits are put into place.

“Prep work is continuing at the staging area, but we should expect to see work begin on the actual bridge itself in a month or so,” said North Carolina Department of Transportation public relations officer Tim Haas. “The staging area is pretty much done, and we are awaiting the very final permits (for the project).”

Construction is to begin on the land-based portions of the bridge before moving out into the open water. Based on the current schedule, the bridge is expected to open to traffic by late 2020.

The bridge will stretch from the southern portion of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge to northern Rodanthe, and will bypass the S-turns section of N.C. Highway 12, an area highly susceptible to breaches during storms.

The bridge earned its “jug handle” moniker from its distinctive shape that juts out into the Pamlico Sound before reconnecting with N.C. 12 north of Rodanthe.

NCDOT also proposes building a one-lane roundabout at the end of the existing N.C. 12, and by the relocated N.C. 12 near the refuge.

Traffic is to be maintained on N.C. 12 while the new bridge is built, and once construction is complete, the existing roadway in the refuge will be removed, while the existing section of N.C. 12 in Rodanthe will remain open to provide access to private properties.

The new bridge, along with the Capt. Richard Etheridge Bridge on Pea Island completed in the spring, is considered part of the second phase of the Bonner Bridge replacement project. Staging for the jug handle bridge, or the initial portion of the overall project, began earlier this summer.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

From an Island Free Press report

BUXTON — The early impression from a recent survey of the 2017-18 beach re-nourishment project here is that the shoreline has adapted quicker than expected to the influx of sand.

The goal of the project that began in summer 2017 was to widen a stretch of beach that extended 2.94 miles in northern Buxton. A total of 2.6 million cubic yards of sand was deposited on the shoreline from an offshore ridge 1.7 miles offshore, a site that was chosen for its sand quality and consistency with the rest of the shoreline.

The dredging was officially completed Feb. 27, right before four nor’easters pounded the Outer Banks.

Haiqing Liu Kaczkowski, senior coastal engineer for project manager Coastal Science and Engineering, which conducted the survey, estimated that the series of storms sped up the sand-distribution process.

“The early impression is that the initial volume has adapted very fast, especially during the March nor’easters,” Kaczkowski reiterated.

“The overall impression is that the project has served its original purpose, which is to protect N.C. Highway 12,” said Kaczkowski. “Since the volume (of sand) was put in place, Highway 12 has not been (impassible), even during the September hurricanes and March nor’easters. The volume has adjusted faster than it would in a normal year. Because the groins at the south end of Buxton have deteriorated and have little capacity to hold more sand, the sand loss to the south has been much higher than the historical average. The detailed reasons as to why will be evaluated.”

Beach re-nourishment project surveys are typically conducted immediately after they are complete to ensure that the total volume of sand deposited aligns with the original project specs. This survey had to wait until weather conditions were optimal for obtaining the most accurate results.

The survey was conducted in two parts, measuring both the width of the beach and the depth of the waters within the sandbox, or area where the sand moves within the project. The surveyors examined the land on foot with handheld equipment and the nearshore waters with a boat equipped with GPS and tools that examine the underwater topography.

Janet Morrow Dawson, owner of the Cape Hatteras Motel in Buxton, said that the goal of protecting N.C. 12 has been successful.

“Overall, we’re very satisfied,” she said.

There’s still a little more behind-the-scenes work going on before the exact results of the survey are expected to be completed by August. Contractor Weeks Marine has been working roughly 1,000 feet offshore to remove sublines that were buried and have been inaccessible until recently. All of the equipment on the beach and close to shore was removed shortly after the project’s completion.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

A new flood gauge is being installed at the Emergency Ferry Dock in Rodanthe, per a recent announcement by North Carolina Emergency Management.

The new gauge will join a network of more than 560 strategically positioned rain and stream gauges across the state that measure rainfall and water levels in order to warn first responders and residents who live near flood-prone areas.

As the backbone of the state’s Flood Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, or FIMAN, the gauges provide real-time data that is used to formulate forecasts, issue alerts and convey the anticipated flood impact to buildings and infrastructure. The data collected by N.C. Emergency Management is provided to federal agencies and is available through NOAA and the National Weather Service.

FIMAN can show precisely which buildings and homes will flood when local rivers or streams reach certain flood levels. During Hurricane Matthew in 2016, this capability was used to direct efficient and appropriate evacuations and resources.

Currently, three flood gauges are stationed along Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, which includes a gauge at the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching, or NCCAT, campus in Ocracoke, a gauge at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Hatteras and a gauge at the Oregon Inlet Marina.

The new gauge in Rodanthe is part of 13 more devices that will join this state network, and help alert local communities to dangerous flooding.

“Time and again over the last several years, we’ve used data from these flood gauges to warn residents and communities about dangerous flood conditions,” said State Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry.

Much of the flood data is available in real time through the ReadyNC mobile app developed by N.C. Emergency Management. App users can click on Flood Gauges to check the current status of sounds, creeks, and rivers nearby to see if the water level is at normal levels or minor, moderate or major flood stage.

“Adding new gauges in these areas will help communities be more aware and prepared for flooding, and will allow for better warning when floods are coming,” said State Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry. “FIMAN is a powerful tool that helps us very accurately define what areas will be affected by flood waters, so emergency managers and local officials can take the appropriate actions to keep people safe.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

BUXTON — The Dare County Waterways Commission started to look ahead to possible late summer or early fall dredging of the South Ferry Channel in Hatteras Inlet during a brief June 11 meeting.

Commission members were grateful for the current navigable condition of Hatteras Inlet, but noted that maintenance dredging of the South Ferry Channel would be needed eventually after a summer of calm weather and southwest winds.

“This isn’t a 5K, it’s a marathon,” said member Dan Oden. “And come September, if it’s closed up again, we don’t want to be sitting on our hands.”

But the good news for members was that mariners were returning and were getting through the South Ferry Channel with relative ease.

“We’re seeing (visitors) return who haven’t been here in quite a while,” said Oden. “The Miss Hatteras is going in and out, and he’s one of the largest boats (in the area).

“However … it is showing signs of trying to shoal up, and we should start talking about maintenance dredging late this summer,” he added.

Waterways Commission member and Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch said he would reach out to the county after the meeting to request funds to conduct a survey of South Ferry Channel, which will start the process for getting special permission to dredge.

“It’s a good use of the funds, just so we can see what’s happening there,” said Couch. “We need the survey first to see what’s going on.”

Dredging the South Ferry Channel in Hatteras Inlet, also known as the Connecting Channel, is allowed from Oct. 1 through March 31.

But outside of this window, approval is required from the state Department of Environmental Quality, the Division of Coastal Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to receive permission to dredge outside the permitted season.

The county was granted multiple extensions by these state and federal agencies to dredge outside of the permitted timeframe in 2017, but it was noted at previous meetings that obtaining future extensions could be challenging.

In related news, the sidecaster dredge Merritt, which is currently in a shipyard in Memphis undergoing repairs, is expected to be back in the water and potentially available for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands in July, as needed. The hopper dredge Murden will also be in the area come mid to late July.

The Dare County Waterways Commission also revisited the conversation about the emergency ferry channel from Rodanthe to Stumpy Point, with member Ernie Foster noting that ensuring that the route was navigable was crucial in hurricane season.

“If we have to start using that channel for emergency services for all of Hatteras Island tomorrow, will we be OK?” said Foster. “Making sure it is usable is our responsibility.” It was noted that the process for addressing potential repairs and maintenance in the emergency ferry channel is currently in progress, though there is not yet a timeframe on when it will be complete.

Couch also noted at the meeting that Avon Harbor needed to be revisited as well.

“We need to see what condition it’s in,” he said. “There aren’t a lot of commercial fishermen there now, but historically, it was a commercial fishing (hub).” Couch said he would start the process by talking with local fishermen in the area, “to take a temperature reading of what’s happening there.”

Commission members Chairman Dave May, Couch, Oden, Foster and newly appointed member Natalie Kavanagh were in attendance at the June 11 meeting. Three seats on the Dare County Waterways Commission were also recently re-appointed for Couch, Foster and Fletcher Willey.

The next meeting of the Dare County Waterways Commission is set for 7 p.m. July 9 in Manteo.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

HATTERAS ISLAND — The contractor for the removal of the remnants of Frisco Pier, also known as Cape Hatteras Pier, has enlisted some heavy-duty equipment to tackle the underwater pilings that remain close to shore, and to adapt to the rough weather that has been prevalent in the past few months.

Using a custom modified excavator that has been adjusted for the project, DOT Construction has been systematically removing pilings from the roots, with the assistance of trained divers.

“We have a very good contractor that’s been working on the (removal project), and they’ve done a great job of adapting to the weather conditions,” said David Hallac, Cape Hatteras National Seashore superintendent. “The seas were quite rough this winter, and it was hard to implement the original plan.”

“However, they found a piece of equipment that can do a better job of getting the nearshore pilings out, and they have made quite a bit of progress. They have taken several dozen pilings out so far (with this method).”

The removal of the Frisco Pier began in December 2017, starting with the Pier House itself, as well as the on-the-beach structures and pilings, which took just a couple weeks at most to complete.

The hard part of the project was always tackling the pilings that were located in the ocean waters. The pier was originally 20 feet wide and 500 feet long, with a total of 263 pilings that needed to be removed during the course of the project.

Of these 263 pilings, 120 are completely hidden as they have broken off beneath the water’s surface.

It was safety concerns of debris both in the water and washing ashore that prompted the project, which was first proposed in 2013. And while the pier itself has completely disappeared from the Frisco shoreline, the beach will continue to be a popular public access spot.

The original plan for the underwater pilings was to enlist teams of divers to address these submerged structures, however this labor-intensive portion of the project was dependent on good weather conditions – something that has been rare on Hatteras Island in the past few months.

By utilizing the custom modified excavator along with the divers, however, the project has not been as dependent on continually calm seas.

“(The excavator) is being used in conjunction with the divers, and it’s a better way to pull the pilings up once the divers loosen the sediment around the pilings,” said Hallac.

The custom modified excavator can only work in depths of 15 feet, however, so alternative methods will be utilized to address any pilings in deeper waters. Though progress has been steadily made since work began in December, it is likely that the removal will continue into the fall.

The removal project will have to pause for the summer season on May 11, due to the potential impact on sea turtle nesting season. However, it can resume again in the fall, after the season is over.

“We may not remove all the pilings by May 11, due to the weather we’ve had so far (this year),” said Hallac. “So we’ll likely come back in September to finish up the removal.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Island Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Buxton Beach Nourishment project was completed on Feb. 27 with all of the 2.6 million cubic yards of sand deposited on the 2.9 miles of Buxton beach.

The completion of the project was roughly a week or two ahead of schedule, and was announced to involved parties and stakeholders at a Wednesday morning meeting in Buxton.

“Yesterday was a big day, as it was the last day of pumping,” said Dr. Haiqing Liu Kaczkowski, senior coastal engineer for Coastal Science and Engineering, or CSE. “A week ago, they were 92 percent complete. Everybody thought it would take another week or two [to finish], but then we got good news.”

The contractor, Weeks Marine, had logged in more than 114 hours of work in recent days, and had been breaking records on the amount of dredging completed during the project.

Alberto Saavedra of Weeks Marine said that the crew would be removing all equipment from the beach over the next three days, before forecasted severe weather arrives over the weekend.

“Hopefully by this weekend, all of the beach will be released to the public except for a small footprint,” he said.

The only elements from the project remaining will be two sublines, as the contractor will be unable to remove those before the bad weather arrives. However, Saavedra noted that crews would be patrolling the subline areas to ensure they are not impacted by any upcoming rough seas and winds.

The final steps will be restoring the beach to its pre-construction state, leveling the recently deposited sand, and possible tilling depending on the results of a pending compaction test.

National Park Service and Dare County representatives also discussed the possibility of adding county-funded sand fencing and vegetation, or “sprigging,” along the project area to protect the newly deposited sand.

“We asked Haiqing [and CSE] to come up with a plan for fencing and sprigging,” said County Manager Bobby Outten. “Assuming all goes well, it’s our intention to do just that.”

“This is a $22 million dollar investment, and we want to protect it,” added Dare County Commissioner Chairman Bob Woodard.

Though possible Dare County-sponsored sand fencing is in the initial discussion stages, Kaczkowski noted that installing sand fencing was an important step for affected homeowners and stakeholders.

“Sand fencing will help stabilize the dunes, so it’s a smart move,” she said. “It will protect your investment.”

In the meantime, both CSE and Weeks Marine were anticipating getting all equipment removed from the beach, so that the Buxton shoreline would get “back to normal.”

“We’re anxious about getting everything cleared out, and getting back to normal, so it looks like nothing has occurred,” said Timothy W. Kana, president of CSE. “We’ll still have natural rhythmic variations along the beach,” he added, noting that upcoming storms would shift the geography of the shoreline, “and that’s something we will be monitoring. With each project, we learn something new.”

“Our goal is for people not to recognize this as an unnatural beach,” he said.

The weekend’s forecasted windy weather, with gusts of up to 40-45 mph and high seas, will be a bit of a test, but will also speed up the adjustments that will transform the shoreline from unnaturally wide to more in-line with the other shorelines on Hatteras Island.

“What we’re trying to do is keep as much water off the highway as we can,” said Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch. “We’ve had two tests [of severe weather] so far, and it’s doing its job.”

The Buxton Beach Nourishment project was originally expected to last until August, but rough weather in the summer and fall, as well as a month of hurricanes in September, lead to multiple delays.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

After more than a month of dark skies, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was once again shining its light on Saturday night, Feb. 17.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse had been turned off since about Jan. 12, after several severe winter storms affected the Hatteras Island area, and caused damage to hard-to-replace parts on the lighthouse’s electrical systems.

“This wasn’t a typical malfunction – this seemed to be a much more complex malfunction,” said Petty Officer Third Class Nate Cox, public affairs specialist for District 5 of the U.S. Coast Guard in an earlier interview.

The damage was reported to the National Park Service, or NPS, which manages the site, and the Coast Guard, which manages the light itself, shortly after the damage occurred.

The Aids to Navigation Teams in Wanchese sent an electrician mate to the site once the damage was initially reported in January, but the repair required new parts to be manufactured from scratch, due to both the age of the lighthouse as well as the rarity of the lighting fixtures.

“They are not stock parts,” said Cox in an earlier interview. “From what we can tell, they are the original parts to the lighthouse, and they’ve had to locate a manufacturer, go through the description process of what the part entails, and custom make the parts to fit a very specific mechanism.”

A company in Cincinnati, Ohio, tackled the task of creating the parts, which took around 20 days to build from start to finish. Once complete, they were installed by the Coast Guard on Saturday, Feb. 17, shortly after they arrived.

By sunset Saturday night, the lighthouse was once again rotating its beam after weeks of darkened skies in Buxton. The more than a month-long time frame for the complicated repairs and parts replacement was the longest period that the lighthouse had been turned off recently.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

BUXTON — The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has been “turned off” for roughly a month now, due to damage from a wave of January storms.

Though it was not clear which storm caused the lighting issue, whether it was the early January storm or the severe thunderstorms on Jan. 12, the damage was reported by the weekend of Jan. 13 to the National Park Service, or NPS, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The NPS manages the lighthouse itself, while the U.S. Coast Guard maintains the operation of the light.

The Aids to Navigation Teams in Wanchese sent an electrician mate to the site once the damage was reported in January. Since then, the parts needed to make the repair have been ordered, however there is not yet an exact time frame of when the repair will be complete.

“Unfortunately, due to the custom nature of the parts, we are simply waiting for the parts to come in,” said Petty Officer Third Class Nate Cox, public affairs specialist for District 5 of the U.S. Coast Guard. “The good news is that our team in Hatteras is ready. As soon as the parts come in, they are poised and ready to get them placed and mechanically working again.”

“The U.S. Coast Guard said they will fix it on the same day that the (parts arrive),” said Boone Vandzura, chief ranger for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, who has been in continual communication with the Coast Guard on the issue. “They understand the significance. They know it isn’t just a job, and we appreciate that they understand the importance (of getting the lighthouse fixed) for our community.”

The slow process to make the repair boils down to the initial paperwork, but more significantly, to the replacement parts themselves.

By the end of January, the paperwork to order the parts had been filed. Once the paperwork was submitted, the company manufacturing the parts, which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, required roughly 20 days to create the parts from scratch.

“They are not stock parts,” said Cox. “From what we can tell, they are the original parts to the lighthouse, and they’ve had to locate a manufacturer, go through the description process of what the part entails, and custom make the parts to fit a very specific mechanism.”

“(These parts are) extremely rare,” he added. “It’s an estimated 20 days (to build), but with custom parts, the design time and manufacturing times could take longer.”

The parts that need to be replaced and re-created tie into the lighthouse’s electrical systems. According to Vandzura, the light of the beacon itself works, however the problem is located where the electric goes to the power base to make the rotating arms move.

“This wasn’t a typical malfunction – this seemed to be a much more complex malfunction,” said Cox.

A similar issue popped up in February of 2016, when the lighthouse became stuck, with its beacon fixed into the homes of a number of Buxton residents. This go around, the lighthouse has been turned off, which removes any potential annoyance of a stray beacon shining into a local home.

“Instead of being in one position, it’s been temporarily turned off,” said Vandzura.

Monday, Feb. 12, marked day 17 of the 20-day window for the parts’ creation, and Vandzura and the U.S. Coast Guard were jointly examining options for expedited shipping once the parts were complete.

In the meantime, the nearly one-month period marks the longest time in recent memory that the lighthouse hasn’t been continually shining its light.

“This is the longest time that it’s been off in history, that we’re aware of,” said Vandzura. “But as soon as the part(s) comes in, they will (install them) on the same day.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The pier house at the Frisco Pier, also known as Cape Hatteras Pier, is underway – a project that will last just a few days to several weeks.

After the initial staging phase, which included asbestos abatement by a special contractor, inspections and securing the site with fencing, the removal portion of the project can now begin in earnest, starting with the pier house and working towards the visible pilings.

DOT Construction, which has worked with the National Park Service on several projects, is tackling the removal, which has presented several obstacles from the get go.

First, the pier needs to be dismantled without creating debris along the beach and in the water, and second, pilings that may be lodged 30 feet deep need to be fully removed to prevent future injury.

To tackle the potential debris issue, the crews are using small equipment like chainsaws to remove the visible components piece by piece, and take them away from the site.

“This way, we can minimize any debris flying around,” said Cary Huffman, facility operations specialist with the National Park Service.

For the pilings, diving teams will be enlisted to ensure each pilling is fully and completely removed from the site. This phase of the project is the most labor intensive, and is the most dependent on good weather conditions.

“All of the pilings below the water’s surface are not smooth – they are jagged and dangerous,” said Huffman, noting that leaving any portions of submerged pilings behind could create treacherous conditions for mariners, surfers, and swimmers in the future. “We need to make sure they are completely gone.”

Removal of all the visible elements of the pier will be a relatively quick process, but the diving team has to work with the wind and current conditions to proceed safely. Because of this, while it’s more likely than not that the project will be completed by the May 1, 2018 deadline, there may be unforeseen weather delays.

The Frisco Pier was built in 1960 but began to deteriorate in the 2000s. David Hallac, Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent, said that in 2010 – before a barrage of subsequent storms – the cost to repair the pier would have been roughly $2 million dollars. At this point, with less than 150 feet of the original 600 ft. long pier remaining, (or less than 40 percent of the structure), the cost of rebuilding would be much higher.

It was safety concerns of debris both in the water and washing ashore that prompted the project, which was first proposed in 2013. And while the pier itself will completely disappear from the Frisco shoreline, the beach will continue to be a popular public access spot.

When the pier was operational, the parking lot and the road that led to the structure were both privately owned, however after the project is over, the parking lot and road will remain open to the public, and a future comfort station with restrooms – perhaps similar to the Bathhouse in Hatteras village – has already been proposed and is being considered.

“The silver lining is that we will be able to make the parking lot and the road accessible to everyone,” said Hallac.

In the meantime, the site will be barricaded during the duration of the project for safety as crews begin the slow and steady process of removing the pier from the landscape.

Today, with the tiles removed from the interior of the pier house, and just the bare floors, walls and ceilings remaining, the pier’s appearance is certainly a stark contrast to how it looked during its heyday, when it was one of the most popular fishing (and surfing spots) on the island.

Just a couple of windows in the pier house remain unbroken, and while there are still flashes of the old operating pier – like an intact counter, or the wide opening that leads out to the ocean – all the fixtures, equipment, and other elements that were intrinsically part of the pier are gone.

Eric Anderson of Harkers Island is the DOT Construction Superintendent of the project, and he says that the removal is a personally bittersweet experience.

“This is a project that hits close to home,” he said. “I have been surfing and fishing at this pier since 1979 [or] 1980, and it’s a shame to see it in disrepair. But she’ll go out as a pier that brought wonderful memories to myself and so many people, and not as the decayed structure that could hurt somebody’s [child.]”

“She will be missed.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The initial staging process of the Frisco Pier Removal project has begun, but dismantling and tearing down the pier will not be a quick undertaking.

On Tuesday, the Frisco Pier, also known as the Cape Hatteras Pier, was surrounded by a large metal fence to make the area safe for the public, and a series of separate tasks need to be completed before the pier has fully disappeared from the local landscape.

“They are in the staging mode right now,” said David Hallac, Cape Hatteras National Seashore superintendent, “and they are spending a little time preparing the area.”

It is hoped that the removal will be completed in its entirety by the beginning of May 2018, but there are a lot of moving parts and potential weather-related setbacks that could delay the process.

Asbestos has been identified in tiles in the pier house, so a special contractor will soon be enlisted to go into the pier house and perform asbestos abatement and removal. From there, crews will spend a chunk of time removing the pier house itself, as well as the visible pilings that are sticking out of the sand and water.

“Once they finish this phase of the work, which is mostly on the beach, then they will move on to the pilings in the water,” said Hallac.

There are a total of about 263 pilings that need to be removed during the project, and of these, 120 are completely hidden as they have broken off beneath the water’s surface.

“The pier probably has more (components) that are hidden underwater than what you see from the land,” said Hallac.

In 2009, the back of the pier house to the end of the pier extended for an interrupted 600 feet. 2010’s Hurricane Earl removed a large portion of the then-closed pier, and subsequent storms have continually battered the structure in the years since.

Today, the longest section of the remaining pier is less than 120 feet, the second longest is about 110 feet, and the rest of the visible structure measures 15-20 feet long. “More than 60 percent of the pier is completely gone,” said Hallac.

Divers will be enlisted to tackle the hidden and underwater pilings, but the success of their work is dependent on the weather.

“Any work in the water requires fairly calm sea conditions, so they will need to find windows of opportunity where they can utilize a small platform or barge to safely remove the pilings,” said Hallac.

The project will temporarily end in late April or early May regardless due to the sea turtle nesting season, however depending on the weather, it may be finished before then.

“We’re hopeful that the contractor will be able to complete the work before the beginning of May,” Hallac said, “but it’s hard to predict the completion time when weather is such a big factor.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. 

Reprinted from Island Free Press

CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE — Both man-made and natural factors contributed to Cape Point staying open all summer long to off-road vehicles for the first time in roughly a decade.

Though Cape Point was technically closed for almost two hours in July when an unexploded ordnance washed ashore on the Shelly Island sandbar, the beach otherwise remained open for off-road vehicles, or ORVs, thanks to nesting factors and established ORV corridors.

“It was because of a combination of things,” said David Hallac, Cape Hatteras National Seashore superintendent. “The first thing is that we have more flexible wildlife protection buffers. There’s no question that flexible buffers contributed to it being open.”

The changes to the ORV management plan, which stemmed from the implementation of the Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, which were propelled by years of efforts by the OBPA, NCBBA and the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, certainly played a role in continual access for beach-goers.

In 2015, before the changes were implemented, Cape Point closed to ORV access on April 6 and reopened on Aug. 30, for a total of 147 days.

That number was almost cut in half last year, when Cape Point was closed to ORV access from May 11 until July 27, for a total of 77 days.

Not counting the brief closure due to the unexpected Shelly Island ordnance, the total number of closed days in 2017 was zero.

“If we hadn’t had the driving corridor this summer, Cape Point would have been closed,” said Hallac. “In fact, there would have been roughly a two month period where you wouldn’t have been able to access Cape Point.”

Though pedestrians were unable to walk to the Point via the ORV corridor, most folks easily caught a brief ride. “We’re confident that everyone who wanted to get down there found a way,” said Hallac.

The second reason Cape Point was open was due to the season’s nesting patterns. “Really, it’s because of bad luck for some of the wildlife that was out there,” said Hallac. “In some cases, there were nests that got washed away early in the summer. Predators like foxes and coyotes also ate bird eggs that were out there.”

The nests that were successful were either far enough away to not affect the Point, or the flexibility of the National Park Service to establish buffers ensured that access remained open.

“When you combine flexible buffers with the nesting [issues], it led to the Point being open all year,” said Hallac. “Congress asked us to make the buffers the smallest size possible that would still allow us to protect the species. And we really tried to go down to the minimum size.”

2017 may be a bit of anomaly, but it follows a two-year trend that indicates a more accessible Cape Point in the years to come.

“What we are seeing is a likelihood that there will generally be more access to Cape Point in the future,” said Hallac. “It definitely was unusual in terms of all of the right factors coming together when it came to access, but what we try to look at is (access) across longer terms – not just a year’s time.”

“If you look at last year, it was closed for half the amount of time that it was closed the year before… It is likely that Cape Point will continue to be open in the summertime for longer than it was before we changed the wildlife protection buffers (in 2015.)”

Closing and reopening dates for Cape Point for the last five years were the following:

• 2017 – Cape Point closed to ORV access on July 14 due to Unidentified Military Device (2 hours).
• 2016 – Cape Point closed to ORV access on May 11 and reopened on July 27 (77 days).
• 2015 – Cape Point closed to ORV access on April 6 and reopened on Aug. 30 (147 days).
• 2014 – Cape Point closed to ORV access on April 2 and reopened on Aug. 26 (147 days).
• 2013 – Cape Point closed to ORV access on April 9 and reopened on Aug. 23 (136 days).

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The Dare County Waterways Commission met at the Fessenden Center Oct. 10 to review recent dredging at Hatteras Inlet, and to discuss upcoming goals and maintenance projects.

The commission also received some relatively good news.

A survey conducted on Oct. 6 showed little change to the dredged areas of Hatteras Inlet since the last survey was performed Sept. 20.

The survey was created after dredging occurred at the inlet with the hopper dredge Currituck, before it had to cease operations due to stormy weather conditions. Dredging was conducted from Sept. 14-16 for 24 hours a day, and from Sept. 21-23 for 12 hours a day.

“We were pleasantly surprised that it looks as good as it does,” said Steve Shriver, team leader of the Army Corps of Engineers’ survey section. “We were expecting it to be a little more filled in.”

Most of the controlling depths in the channel remained in the 7 or 8 feet range, which was more or less identical to the September 20 survey results.

“The weather may have helped us,” said Shriver, “as well as the couple of storms that came through (the area.)”

In the next few months, the Currituck will be the Corps’ Wilmington District’s only vessel available to dredge in Hatteras Inlet. The Merritt is in Wilmington en route to Memphis where its haul will be replaced, and another dredge, the Murden is committed to projects in the northeast.

As such, Steve Shriver and Jim Medlock, the Corps’ civil works project manager, recommended that brief but regular maintenance dredging be performed in the months to come.

“If the Currituck cannot get in there because it’s too shallow … well, it’s really the Currituck or nothing,” said Medlock. “We certainly don’t want to lose what we’ve done.”

At this time, there are still funds remaining for upcoming dredging projects, which should cover at least one more cycle of maintenance dredging at Hatteras Inlet. Shriver and Medlock also recommended conducting another survey before Thanksgiving, which the board approved via a motion by board member Ernie Foster.

Chris Bock, Hatteras operations superintendent for the NCDOT Ferry Division, also reported at the meeting that there will be some upcoming dredging at South Dock on the northern edge of Ocracoke Island to address, in part, damage from Hurricane Maria.

The South Dock Basin, which is the entrance for vehicular ferries, has historically been 100 feet wide.

Currently, it measures 50 feet wide, which can barely accommodate the 45-foot wide vessels.

A permit is in place to expand the basin to 225 feet, and to use the excess sand to rebuild the parking area and stacking lanes that were damaged by Hurricane Maria.

The federal contract that will allow for several upcoming dredge projects was also discussed at the October 10 meeting.

The contract essentially entails five separate projects in the eastern North Carolina area. These projects include two sites in Wanchese, a site in Carteret County, and locally 1,500 feet of Rollison Channel near the Breakwater, and Walter Slough going to the Coast Guard station.

There is also an option to dredge at Big Foot Slough and other areas of Ocracoke Inlet in the contract, but the missing piece to move forward is funds.

Medlock said at the meeting that there were several ways to move forward. An appropriations bill needs to be passed in order to obtain the $400,000 required to dredge at Big Foot Slough, but last year, this bill was not passed until May 2017. However, the Corps can request funds in advance, (before the bill is passed), and this request is in the works.

“We’re going to try to get the federal funds in advance,” said Medlock.

Another less appealing option is to obtain the funds from the state, however in this scenario, North Carolina would pay 75 percent and a county sponsor, (in this case Hyde County), would need to pay 25 percent or $100,000. Representatives from the newly formed Hyde County Waterways Commission, who attended the meeting, noted that this would be difficult.

Other potential long-term issues were also discussed, which included next summer’s dredging. Because the Corps can only dredge from October through March, unless they have been granted an extension, navigation through the inlet may once again become an issue when summer of 2018 rolls around.

“We’ve got it now, and we need to maintain it,” said board member Steve “Creature” Coulter. “We don’t have unlimited resources or unlimited time, and I’d like to see if there’s any way we can get the dredge window expanded.”

For now, however, Hatteras Inlet remains in decent shape for visiting mariners.

“This is the first time that I have felt optimistic about Hatteras having a usable channel in a long time,” said board member Ernie Foster. “We need to get the word out to anyone who has a boat that there’s enough water to use it… And we haven’t been able to say that in a long time.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from Island Free Press

HATTERAS ISLAND – The Shelly Island sandbar was a shell of its former mile-long stature the day after Hurricane Maria departed the waters off the Outer Banks earlier this week.

Extending for roughly a mile for most of the summer, the sandbar has now been rearranged, with one end connecting to the rest of the Point, and the other end isolated and noticeably offshore.

At roughly mid-tide on Thursday evening, the end of Shelly Island that was closest to the rest of Hatteras Island had merged with the rest of the beach, creating a wide but short peninsula.

The opposite end that was furthest away from Cape Point was the size of an oval, and was surrounded by rough surf and located nearly out of sight from the rest of the Point.

In between, where Shelly Island used to run parallel to Cape Point, was a long shoreline with relatively shallow waters and waves. On Thursday afternoon, beachcombers were wading into the waters that now bordered Cape Point, while surfers made a long trek out into the ocean.

Shell seekers will be glad to know that there were still piles of shells along the newly widened Cape Point, but on Thursday they were intermixed with dozens if not hundreds of starfish, horseshoe crabs and closed pen shells that were washing ashore with every wave.

The island may change again as the surf calms down in the next few days.

For now, however, the long strip of sand that used to be Shelly Island has been replaced with a wide beach where the shelling is still good, but the landscape is noticeably different.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

From an Island Free Press report

BUXTON — Representatives from the Outer Banks Preservation Association, the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association and the National Park Service recently gathered at Ramp 43 to unveil the first sign of a new campaign aimed at addressing the trash problem on the beaches.

Though lightly attended, the launch of the “Pack it In, Pack it Out” program represented months of effort on the parts of both the Park Service and the preservation group, and was a symbolic event that linked the two organizations in a collaborative effort.

“This is a symbolic day that represents a culmination [of our partnership] with the Outer Banks Preservation Association,” said Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent David Hallac at the unveiling. “…We’re so excited that OBPA is helping us take the next step in the ‘Pack it In, Pack it Out’ campaign.”

The campaign began months ago when the association ambassador Pat Weston approached Hallac with an idea for a potential partnership to get the word out about leaving trash behind on the beaches.

Working with the preservation group, the NPS will be installing signs at all oceanside and soundside beach accesses between Coquina Beach and Ocracoke indicating that visitors need to take out whatever they take in.

Hallac said 4 million pounds of trash were removed from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore last year, including 240,000 pounds from the beaches.

Last year, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore spent $231,000 on a dumpster contract, and an additional $183,000 on trash management – for efforts like picking up trash or emptying trash cans.

In addition to signs, postcards will be available at local businesses and park visitors center that spell out the details of what it means to ‘Pack it in, Pack it out.’”

This includes removing all beach chairs, canopies, umbrellas, and other equipment at the end of the day, as well as picking up other trash that’s spotted along the beach.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

RODANTHE – Sometime during the night of Sunday, July 2, one of the favorite structures at the Chicamacomico Historic Site, the 1907 Midgett House, was hit by lightning.

The lightning strike connected with the original wiring in the home, which is not in use but still runs through the structure. From there, the effects of the strike trickled throughout the house, damaging the original panel box, causing old paint to shake loose from the walls and, most noticeably, destroying the original chimney.

Though there was no fire, the result of the strike was pretty damaging. Dinah Beveridge, the site manager, was the first one to see the home on Monday morning, as she was showing a new employee how to open the property for visitors.

“It was a mess,” she said. “We’ve got some renovation to do, for sure.”

Now, the team at this historic Rodanthe landmark is working to collect donations to restore this popular 1907 residence, and reopen it for visitors.

“We do need donations for this project,” said John Griffin, president of the Chicamacomico Historical Life-Saving Station Board. “(A lightning strike) was not in our budget for this year.”

About the Midgett Home

The Midgett House was donated to the Chicamacomico Historic Site in 2006 by residents Bette Gray and Trish Midgett, who also used their own money to have the original 1907 home moved to the site.

The home was an original keeper’s house for Palmer Midgett, who served at several stations throughout the island, and eventually became superintendent of all the stations on Hatteras Island later in his career.

“This was the house he lived in,” said Griffin. “We furnished it as it would have been furnished in 1907 or 1908, and it’s a period piece. When people go through it, we tell them that this is how a well-to-do family may have lived at that time.”

The home has two floors, featuring a total of four bedrooms, a kitchen and a dining room.

“All of the rooms are very small,” said Griffin. “They did originally have running water, but no toilet.”

“A keeper was a high and well-paid rank, so this was a nice home for the time — certainly not the home of an average Joe,” he added.

As part of the five structures that are found at the Chicamacomico Historic Site, including the main 1911 Life-Saving Station, the original 1874 Life-Saving Station and two cook houses, the Midgett House is a favorite component for many visitors.

Before the July 2 lightning strike, visitors could tour the intricate home, which has been outfitted with all original touches, and could step back in time to a Hatteras lifestyle of generations ago.

And more often than not, this brief time travel trip brought back memories for many visitors.

“So many people just love that little house,” said Beveridge. “It’s beautiful, and it’s like many of the houses from the old days. People go through there and say ‘I feel like I just got out of my grandma’s house!’”

For now, the home is closed as the folks at the Chicamacomico Historic Site start plotting out repairs. But hopes are high that it won’t be too long before the little house that everyone seems to love is up and running again.

What Needs to be Done and How you can Help

While cleanup is a big aspect of the coming renovation process, there are some repairs and changes that aren’t as easy as applying a new coat of paint.

One of the biggest projects in the restoration may very well be the chimney.

“We don’t have a lot of brick masons on the island for fixing the chimney,” said Griffin, “But a local guy who is a concrete contractor will take a look, and will hopefully be able to put it back together with the original bricks that got knocked off.”

Another step that the site is planning to take is to address the wiring. There’s no electricity to the home, but removing the wiring is slated to be part of the restoration work.

“It was a house that didn’t have an electrical hook-up, but had wiring in it,” explained Beveridge. “All electrical wiring needs to be pulled out of it — safety first.”

Mike Daughtry, the local Chicamacomico Banks Volunteer Fire Department chief as well as the vice president of the board, helped secure the site from further damage. He placed a tarp over the open chimney to prevent further damage.

“We haven’t been able to assess all of the damage – we’re still in the early stages,” said Beveridge.

In the meantime, the Chicamacomico Historic Site and all other structures are open for business. Additionally, fliers are being posted throughout the villages and on social media in the hopes that donations will come in for the work ahead for the Midgett House.

“People are fascinated by the house. They go through and say, ‘My grandmother had a stove just like that!’” said Griffin. “It’s closed now, and we’re not going to open it until it’s ready, but we’re starting the process to get it fixed.”

In the meantime, folks can donate in one of three ways:

• Donate online:   www.chicamacomico.org
• Mail donation to:  PO Box 5, Rodanthe, NC  27968
• Donate in person at the site

Please note “Midgett House” on your donation.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

BUXTON — A new business on Hatteras Island is adding a little extra flavor to the community and is making waves with residents and visitors who have an appreciation for locally harvested and completely unique fare.

The company is Hatteras Saltworks, and this Buxton-based business is creating authentic sea salt from the island’s ocean waters through a lengthy but fascinating and environmentally-friendly process.

The minds behind the business are Shaena and Bryan McMahon – two longtime locals who had dabbled in homemade salt-making for years before embarking on this new venture.

Starting with a vacation to the Caribbean where Bryan created his own local salt with saltwater, a toaster tray, and a week of sunshine on the deck, the couple started making “local” salts with their son, Declan, during a number of vacations to Nicaragua, Mexico and other coastal destinations around the globe.

They were somewhat surprised to find that the salts from different regions and bodies of water – like the Pacific and the Caribbean – had a different consistency and flavor. And after moving back to Hatteras Island after a couple years of living in Maui and then New Jersey, they realized that the island’s saltwater could be ideal for homegrown, sea salt production.

“We always like to make salt when we travel,” says Bryan, “and when we moved back here, we decided to ‘test the waters.’”

“The No. 1 factor for salt is clean water, and the waters here are perfect,” adds Shaena. “Compared to the other salts we’ve made, it has such a robust flavor.”

“Location is another reason the salt here is so good,” says Bryan. “Two major currents – the Labrador and the Gulf Stream – collide here, so the waters are alive with good nutrients and minerals.”

He said the salty waters off the coast of Hatteras Island are unlike any other waters on Earth, which makes the local Hatteras salt completely distinctive, nicely bold and surprisingly healthy.

“We don’t add anything to it,” explains Bryan. “A lot of companies use iodine and caking agents, but the water here is pure with a high salinity, so we don’t add anything extra.”

The end result is fat flakes that hold a wealth of flavor in each little bite, and which upon first taste, is sharp, zesty and surprisingly different than everyday or even other specialty salts.

And best of all, because the saltwater is slowly evaporated, the final salt is high quality and unrefined, and the McMahons say it retains up to 92 trace minerals, which they note are a crucial contributor to our immune, digestive and circulatory systems.

So how does the process of extracting pure salt from the neighboring ocean work? It’s a lot more complex than you’d think.

The McMahons did a ton of trial-and-error testing before finding the perfect eco-friendly method for salt production, which didn’t utilize fossil fuels, but which still reached the temperatures required during the evaporation process to be approved by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The end result is an ingenious collection of recycled materials and glass-lined wooden box containers — or “ovens” — that use solar energy to speed along the evaporation, as well as enable the “kill stage.”

“We worked with a scientist from N.C. State,” says Bryan. “You need to bring [salt] up to 145 degrees for 15 minutes to kill off organisms. Our ovens reach up to 180 degrees… and all we need is sun.”

The McMahons’ operation takes place on a private lot behind Fox Watersports in Buxton, and at first glance, the site looks like a line of solar panels that are bordered by small huts on pilings and laid-down recycled carpet.

It’s a confusing set-up to be sure, but as the McMahons explain the operation, the individual elements start to make more sense as the process is outlined.

The McMahons collect the saltwater from the breaking waves in huge rectangular tanks that are tricky to transfer to and from the beach. From there, the saltwater goes through several filters that remove any sand or other sediments and is then transferred to the solar-designed ovens which each hold individual tubs.

Once in the tubs, it’s a waiting game of a month or so for the water to heat, evaporate and leave nothing but pure salt behind. The McMahons then do one final “flash” to remove any excess moisture, break it down with a mortar and pestle or just their hands, depending on the batch, and then package it.

Virtually all of the materials and containers in the intricate design are completely recycled.

The boxes or “ovens” that dry the salt are made out of wood that Bryan found on the beach and are covered with repurposed glass windows. The packing room used to be a storage area, and the carpet that lines the area around the ovens was acquired as a secondhand item as well.

And while the materials used for production may be simple on the surface, finding the precise formulas, ratios, and procedures to achieve the final product was a lengthy endeavor.

It took months for the McMahons to go from planning stages to finished product – with the ovens first put into operation in November – but they’ve been amazed by all the community help and support they’ve received to get their project off the ground.

“So many people have helped us with this,” says Shaena. “The community has been so embracing and supportive.”

And once Hatteras Saltworks was approved by the state, the first wave of salt became available to the public at the Avon Farmer’s Market and two local restaurants and was subsequently received with rave reviews.

“We’ve gotten a lot of positive responses,” says Shaena. “People bought it at the farmer’s market, and then came back for more. It’s a great gift to take home, and you can use it for so many things.”

Indeed, Hatteras Salt can actually be used a number of ways, outside the kitchen.

Granted, it’s tempting to use all the fat salt flakes to liven up a grilled fish, a pile of fresh veggies, a soup or pasta dish, or everything in between, but the salt has unexpected skincare and health benefits as well.

“One of my favorite ways to use it is in a scrub,” says Shaena. “There’s a coconut-eucalyptus-sea salt recipe that I love, and we put it on our website.”

The three ingredient recipe, which has been sampled at recent farmer’s markets, can be found here.

And while the salt is currently available in relatively limited supply, the demand for this versatile homegrown product is growing fast. Hatteras Saltworks has already received inquiries from health companies around the world, and they are planning to make their salt available in additional shops and/or restaurants all along the island.

In the meantime, if you want to try the surprisingly vibrant and robust salt, you can pick it up at the weekly Avon farmer’s markets on Tuesday mornings on the Hatteras Realty grounds, or can swing by Conner’s Supermarket in Buxton, Pangea Tavern in Avon, or The Inn on Pamlico Sound in Buxton to pick up a batch.

To Learn More

• Hatteras Saltworks Facebook Page

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

HATTERAS — On a recent Monday afternoon at the Sandy Bay beach access – a spot where sunbathing and swimming are typically the order of the day – a group of beach-goers were surprised when they were approached by a gentleman in uniform who happened to be carrying around a sea turtle skull.

It was certainly an unusual encounter for the crowd at the semi-popular beach that’s just north of Hatteras village, but within about 10 minutes, the man had drummed up about 35 to 40 people who followed him and his uniformed colleagues to the outskirts of a thin black barrier.

As it turns out, the man with the sea turtle skull was Brian Winnett of the National Park Service, and he and his three-person crew – which included William Thompson, the lead biological science technician – were there to excavate a recently hatched turtle nest.

The Cape Hatteras National Seashore is having a record-breaking year for sea turtle nests, and as more and more nests start to hatch, the National Park Service has set up an excavation program hotline at 252-475-9629 where the public can learn more about where and when an excavation will take place.

The excavation is an opportunity for people to see the discarded sea turtle eggs up close, take a peek at the tiny tracks that trickle into the ocean wash and sometimes even see a live hatchling or two that —  for whatever reason — were unable to make the initial run to the ocean.

When it’s at an area that’s easy to access – like the old Cape Hatteras Lighthouse site or another beach with ample public parking – the excavation is publicly announced so that people can stop by and get an insider’s perspective.

But when it’s in a slightly more remote location, like this particular beach between Frisco and Hatteras, it’s simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.

“We try to regularly do the formal (public excavations),” says Winnett, “but so far they’ve been limited to day use areas – like the Old Lighthouse Beach or Coquina Beach. But if we have the opportunity, and people are available on the beach 15 minutes or so before we do the excavation, we try to drum up interest.”

The ensuing experience is an impromptu presentation that sometimes, as on this afternoon, tends to draw quite the crowd, and that starts with the NPS rangers approaching people on the beach to tell them that a potential opportunity to see sea turtle eggs – and maybe even live sea turtles – is just a few minutes and a few yards away.

“Basically we go around, and let people on the beach know what’s happening. That way, people can see firsthand how the Park Service operates, and see what this is all about,” says Winnett, indicating the small roped-off closure that’s immediately torn down after the excavation ends.

“It gives us an opportunity to do a little talk about what we’re doing, and how we protect the sea turtles,” he continues. “And a lot of times, there are live hatchlings, and that’s an opportunity for people to see them up close. This is the first one out of a handful (of nests) that I’ve been to where there weren’t live hatchlings.”

Thompson works in the sand as he explains the nesting process to an engaged crowd who have cell phone cameras in hand. Within 30 minutes or so, the nest has been fully examined, and although here are no live hatchlings present, there are a few unfertilized eggs that Thompson breaks open and shows to the crowd. Several have been semi-cooked due to the heat, and while there’s a slight disappointment that no live hatchlings were uncovered – which would have been transferred to the red cooler container that the Park Service crew has on hand – the overall story of the sea turtles, and the firsthand glimpse of turtle eggs, is nothing short of impressive.

Frank Welles, Freve Pace, and Olie Bedell – three volunteers who sat at the nesting site along with Amy Metting-Galetar and a few other volunteers – were also present for the excavation, and affirmed that seeing a couple of live hatchlings after the hatch was always a possibility, but never a guarantee.

“Often there’s live babies in there, even though we didn’t have any today,” says Welles, indicating the former nest site. “At least half of the time there’s one, two, or even three babies (still present) – and a couple of times, the number has been up in the teens.”

“We all wanted to see a couple of (live hatchlings), but we’re also happy that we didn’t see any,” says Pace.

“It’s the same as when we have to handle the turtles during the hatching,” explains Welles. “We hate to handle them because you really don’t want to have to be involved, but at the same time, we also love to do it because we actually have a chance to pick them up.”

The remnants of this particular nest shows that this nest held 115 hatched eggs out of 127 total. It included two deceased hatchlings, as well as five unfertilized eggs. This information is written down in the log book, as well as shared with the crowd on site.

“So it’s about 90 percent (success rate),” says Thompson to the crowd, “And that’s a pretty good number.”

After the 30-minute or so presentation, which includes the actual excavation of the nest, the Park Service crew answers questions and chats with people for a few minutes, and then the crowd goes back to their regularly scheduled afternoon of enjoying the beach, while the NPS staff members take down the former turtle nest enclosure and leave.

Ten minutes after the NPS crew departs, a couple of new groups arrive on the beach and set up umbrellas and chairs on the now vacant spot along the shoreline. And any indications that the site was a sea turtle nest enclosure just an hour before – with the exception of the still subtle hatchling tracks along the beach – have completely disappeared.

But the folks who were at the scene, and who were lured by the uniformed crew to see what was happening, won’t soon forget this otherwise nondescript Monday afternoon.

“This is really incredible,” says one beach-goer from Virginia. “I didn’t expect to see this when we went to the beach today.”

Volunteers are always needed to help with the sea turtle nest sitting, and volunteer opportunities will come in the fall, as well as for the 2017 summer season.

And in the meantime, visitors should keep an eye out for crowds gathered along the distinctive black barriers along the beach – chances are, it’s another impromptu sea turtle presentation that just happens to coincide with a beach trip.

“By hearing about the sea turtles, and seeing this firsthand, (the public) can appreciate the struggle – how tough it is for them to reach adulthood, and then come back to the beach to lay eggs,” says Winnett. “It’s definitely a numbers game.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

BUXTON — Jamie Rhome, the man who oversees the National Hurricane Center’s Storm Surge Unit and is blazing a trail with new forecasting methods, told a Hatteras Island audience during a weekend presentation on hurricane preparedness that it’s not the category of a storm that the public needs to pay attention to during hurricane watches and warnings – it’s the storm surge probabilities and predictions.

Rhome is one of the country’s leading experts on storm surge, and he gave a presentation to about 50 people at the Fessenden Center in Buxton on Saturday. He spoke to county and municipal officials the day before and gave another public presentation at a Nags Head open house on Friday evening.

The meetings were meant to get people to start thinking about preparing for hurricanes – the storm season begins next week on June 1 – and to familiarize them with new research and tracking methods that are being introduced by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center and the National Weather Service.

“We want you to be prepared – that’s why these meetings are being held,” said Bob Woodard, chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissions Chairmen.

And there was a singular theme throughout the two-hour morning presentations, which grabbed everyone’s attention.

“If you don’t take away anything else – if you want to go to sleep for the rest of the morning – remember this,” said Rhome. “The Saffir-Simpson scale is not the weapon of choice to determine your vulnerability. It’s storm surge that does the damage.”

The Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale is what most folks follow in the days and hours before a storm makes landfall. Dividing storms into categories based on wind speeds affects whether the majority of people leave or stay during a hurricane evacuation.

For example, most islanders have an internal rule to head west if a category 3 or 4 is expected, but will stick around for a less powerful hurricane or a tropical storm.

But, surprisingly, the category has little if any bearing on how bad a storm is actually going to be, according to Rhome. “There is no such thing as ‘just a tropical storm,’” he said.

And paying attention to the category and wind speeds to determine how to react to a storm is a common, misguided practice, he said. Rhome reported that 84 percent of people believe that they need to evacuate based on the strength and category of a hurricane.

“

That is false – the reason why most people need to evacuate is because of storm surge,” he said. In fact, Rhome said, storm surge causes more than 50 percent of fatalities and the majority of financial loss during hurricanes occurs from storm surge.

And through video clips and images of recent storms, Rhome provided some pretty vivid evidence to back up this central message. The attendees watched before-and-after shots of areas that were devastated by category 1 hurricanes and even tropical storms that made landfall miles away from ruined areas.

A photo of a typical home in Biloxi, Miss., was shown before a hurricane and in a post-storm surge shot where only the front yard tree remained on the property. An aerial view of New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy – which didn’t even make regional landfall as a hurricane – was an equally powerful example of the damage storm surge can do.

“Hurricane Sandy was barely a Category 1 and it cost $65 billion dollars in damage,” Rhome said, “It’s a great example of why category doesn’t matter.”

And as locals who lived through 2003’s Hurricane Isabel will attest, the “wall of water” that marks a storm surge is a force of nature that can’t possibly be combated or controlled.

“Think of it as a bulldozer that just marched and marched and marched,” said Rhome while explaining the effect of storm surge depicted in a photo of a ravaged Gulf Coast shoreline. “and when it left, everything in its wake was gone.”

The other key point during the presentation was that history plays no role in determining the effect of future hurricanes.

He used the example of the Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011 as a prime example on how relying on history to determine future occurrences can go terribly wrong.

When the Japanese nuclear power plant was established in the late 1960s and 1970s, engineers looked back at more than a century of tsunami and storm events to determine how high the water had risen in the past. Once they determined that maximum line of how far the water had risen, they built the power plant just past it.  

In March 2011, a tsunami that was triggered by the Tōhoku earthquake went well past that line and destroyed the plant. It was the largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986, and was the second disaster to be given the Level 7 event classification on the International Nuclear Event Scale.

“My job is to find the worst-case scenario, and once we find it, give it to emergency planning,” explained Rhome. “We call it the ‘black swan’ – If I find the black swan, I say ‘Don’t put a power plant here.’

“And the storm you had 10, 20, or 30 years ago will not tell you what the next storm will look like,” he added.

So how is the severity of a storm determined? There are a number of factors that affect storm surge, which don’t include history, but which do make the forecasting of the actual effects of a hurricane easier to determine.

These factors include forward speed, the angle of approach, the shape of the coastline, the slope of the coastline and the central pressure and size of the eyewall. “Just because a storm weakens from a category 4 to a category 1 doesn’t mean you dodged a bullet,” said Rhome. “All of that energy has to go somewhere.”

With this new wave of information, Rhome and his team are able to create probabilistic storm surge reports. “We go in and built multiple tracks and landfall locations, and say ‘If it comes in like this, you’re in trouble,” said Rhome.

The prototype of the storm surge forecasts was launched during 2014’s Hurricane Arthur and will be available online for all future storms. Found alongside the other tracking information, maps, graphs and reports on the NOAA and National Hurricane Center websites for each individual hurricane, these new graphs will highlight storm surge probability and will be posted with the first hurricane watch for a specific storm.

The color-coded graphs show the storm surge probability for each specific region, as well as the potential of how high waters could rise above ground level in increments of three feet.  Though still being tweaked, the new graphs are a powerful tool for determining a course of action for coastal communities.

And Rhome noted that in future hurricanes, we won’t have just hurricane watches and warning about the hurricanes wind strength, but also storm surge watches and warnings, which may urge evacuations based on the storm surge forecast only.

“They’ve given us the best information in the world to make a determination,” concluded Drew Pearson at the end of the presentations. “Storm surge is not a new phenomenon – but forecasting is.”

And Richard Bandy of NOAA noted that there were some improvements and future developments that are still in the works, including using the technology to forecast the storm surges of winter storms – a recurring and more common threat for islanders – as well as factoring in wave height and strength.

“The probable [total feet of] storm surge does not include the height and strength of waves on top of that,” he cautioned.

It was also noted that this information was being shared with regional and national media outlets. “One of my top guys has gone to the Weather Channel [as a forecaster],” said Rhome. “We’re trying to move the Weather Channel and other media towards storm surge.”

And perhaps the biggest takeaway for presentation attendees? Don’t keep this information to yourself – share it as much as possible.

“Go home, talk to your neighbors, give them a hand-out, and share this information,” said Pearson. “We need to get the word out.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

To Learn More

• National Hurricane Center
• Storm surge: An Overview
• Tropical outlook

Reprinted from the Island Free Press

SALVO — Efforts to help repair and save the Salvo Day Use Cemetery – also known as the Midgett Cemetery – are heating up as community members recognize the current dire state of the site, as well as the devastating effects the next major hurricane or storm could inflict on the already troubled area.

The cemetery, which is on National Park Service land within the popular Salvo Day Use Area just south of the tri-villages of Salvo, Waves and Rodanthe, has been battered by storms and erosion, particularly for the past five to 10 years, and has rapidly deteriorated to the dismay of the descendants of the islanders who are buried there.

Headstones have broken, washed away or have been removed by concerned family members who worry they could disappear altogether, and tombs are becoming exposed as the sound front area steadily recedes from a regular battering of high water and waves.

Tri-village community members have been fighting for a long time to address the issue, but it’s quickly becoming a race against time to raise the roughly $120,000 required to protect and save the site.

“If you look at pictures [of the cemetery] from the 1970s until now, it’s clear that it has gotten bad,” says Jenny Creech, president of the Hatteras Island Genealogical and Preservation Society. “Even since this past December, you can see a significant change.”

Creech has become the point person for the effort to raise funds and find ways to address the problem, and has created a GoFundMe page to reach out to the community and ask for help. She was asked last year by residents to get involved.

“I knew it was in bad shape, but was under the same conclusion as everyone else – that it was Park Service property, and not private property. It became a big issue for me, and I want to get more people involved,” says Creech.

And while it’s a common misconception that the cemetery is owned by the National Park Service and should be eligible for federal funding, the fact is that the site is actually private property and must therefore be funded through community donations.

“[The government] can’t step in,” says Creech, “But I’ve been working with Dave Hallac of the National Seashore, and whatever we decide to do, he’s willing to help us.”

It’s easy to see why so many people believe that the cemetery is on Park Service land. Surrounded by the Salvo Day Use Area – a popular park-managed spot for windsurfers, kite boarders, fishermen and everyday beach fans – the cemetery is effectively bordered by undeveloped park property.

However, according to Creech, the site was deeded as in-holding when the surrounding property was sold to the National Park Service and belongs to the community of Salvo. Therefore, it’s the descendants of the interred who actually own the property.

And in a small community like Hatteras Island, the descendants are numerous.

“My own great-great grandfather and great-great-great grandfather are both buried there,” says Creech. “And we want to get our generation more involved and ready to help.”

The gravesites within the cemetery – those that are still intact and standing – are effectively a who’s who list of generations of island families. Familiar names such as Gray, Williams, Midgett and Farrow are all present, with headstones that date back to the mid-to-late 1800s.

Essentially, there are possibly hundreds of area residents who have a personal stake in the cemetery’s survival – and that doesn’t include long-time visitors who are saddened to see the continual decay of the gravesites at their favorite sound side beach.

“We have more and more visitors there every year, and I’ve talked to several people while I was taking photos that have said ‘We’ve been coming here for years, and it’s such a beautiful place, and we want to help if we can,’” says Creech.

And once people understand that it’s not in the Park Service’s hands but the community’s hands to save the cemetery, folks are stepping up to contribute. But there’s still a long way to go to reach the $120,000 mark.

The figure was reached after a conversation with a contractor several years ago, so it may need to be adjusted for any present-day inflation. The money will pay for a vinyl bulkhead – which will last much longer than a wooden one – as well as a wall of rocks to help with absorbing the wave energy. In addition, permits can be obtained with the funds to complete the project, and a fence or barrier could be installed to keep foot traffic away from the gravesites.

“The Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Civic Association will be our umbrella group because they are a non-profit [organization],” says Creech. “This way, everything is tax deductible and is on the up and up.”

Once all the money is raised, the group can start taking bids from contractors, she adds.

And so the effort to raise awareness, and get the community involved in funding, is on.

You can donate at the Gofundme page. Checks can also be mailed to the RWS Civic Association, Attn: Gene Stoel, PO Box 323, Rodanthe, NC 27968. Checks should be made payable to the Rodanthe-Waves-Salvo Civic Association, with “Salvo Cemetery” written in the memo line.

A Facebook group has also been established to share images, stories, and information on the cemetery, featuring both recent and more dated photos. The page is a striking testament to just how much the area has changed.

“There’s a lot to do, and a lot of money to raise,” says Creech. “My biggest concern is that if we have one bad storm this year, it’s going to do some really bad damage.

“We’re definitely racing against the clock on this.”

Learn More

• Gofundme site for donations
• Facebook page

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

Editor’s note: To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review Online welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues. See our guidelines for submitting guest columns. The opinions expressed here are not those of Coastal Review Online or the N.C. Coastal Federation.

Reprinted From the Island Free Press

AVON — After a lot of “discussion,” my hubby and I finally finagled a way to head back to Hatteras Island for the winter.

I use the term “discussion” loosely, because what I learned from this, um, negotiation process, is that apparently if you nag long enough, you can accomplish just about anything. Yay, marriage.

(Clearly, I am a charming newlywed.)

But as I began plotting how to efficiently caravan five grumpy cats to an island seven hours away, I started thinking about what new residents must feel when they freshly arrive on good old, desolate Hatteras Island for the wintertime.

After all, I know what I’m getting into, and I am completely and 100 percent on board. January on Hatteras Island means an influx of deer, beer and poker games with friends — and not much else, except miles of freezing beaches that are nevertheless still beautiful and worth the frostbite.

Even so, I do recall a time when January on the beach didn’t bring an automatic smile to my face.

Because your first winter on Hatteras Island is, well, a little rough. It’s different from every other area on Earth, because the island more or less “shuts down” and you’re fairly reliant on the entertainment you and your friends can provide on your own steam and ingenuity.

Fun Fact: This is how I discovered the sport of snow-surfing in my early 20s – which is when you tie an old surfboard to the back of a pick-up truck, wait for a dusting of snow, and then ride through the streets of Avon village. (Don’t try this at home — or at least utilize a helmet. Also, tequila.)

But that very first winter I spent full-time on Hatteras Island, I was so displaced, discombobulated and bored.

I remember watching a work-out VHS tape every day — not to date myself — and finding new, exciting nuances in the 45-minute routine – like the one chick in the back who looked like she was so disappointed to be there or the dude in neon bike shorts who looked like he wanted to wear something more comfortable.

I also remember going to Charles’ grocery store daily — again, not dating myself — and being excited when a new variety of Chef Boyardee popped up on the shelves.

So, yeah, I get it. Moving to the islands in the wintertime can be, well, off-putting

But to the new residents I haven’t met yet, don’t lose hope. The winter is actually a wonderful time to be on the islands and is filled with veritable months of fun, provided you embrace all the weird ways the islands are different.

To this end, I am providing a list of all the reasons why life on Hatteras Island is truly fantastic in the winter months and how newcomers can get out and make a community connection.

And who knows, on a personal note, maybe it will make my upcoming task of driving across the state with multiple cats and a dog – yet again – all the more enjoyable.

OK, that’s a lie. Nothing is going to make that fun. Ever.

Meet and Greet

You know you’re acclimated to Hatteras Island when you go for SIX months without talking to virtually anyone except close friends and the folks at work and then you suddenly run into absolutely everyone you know at the grocery store, post office, doctor’s office and all essential island locales.

Know why this happens? It’s because we all have an abundance of this previously foreign concept called “time.”

When it’s Fourth of July weekend, you’re surrounded by a swarm of 20,000 people who are in town for a week, who will always remain strangers, and whom you’ll never see again. (TIP: This is an ideal time to do something stupid and out of character, like hit on a Canadian or sing karaoke.)

But in the wintertime, it’s just us. And we’re not in a hurry to clean the next house, inspect the next pool, or serve the next table – we can take a few precious moments to, you know, actually catch up.

Take advantage of these encounters and start talking. Wintertime is truly “island time” for residents, and I do believe most of us look forward to good, impromptu conversation.

Community Events

I bet you thought this header applied to all the amazing events that take place during the winter, didn’t you? Like the local seasonal benefits, the Outer Banks marathon or the Hatteras Village Christmas Parade?

Well, it doesn’t. It applies to bars.

You’re going to meet a lot of good people at your local watering hole, and the best thing is that without tinny loud music and throngs of intoxicated vacationers, you’ll be able to sit down, order a beer and an appetizer and talk to the person on the bar stool next to you.

I met my husband this way, as well as a lot of ridiculously wonderful people whom I happened to encounter because I was lonely and was tired of watching the increasingly awkward VHS work-out video.

The point is, it’s perfectly OK to go out to lunch alone, dinner alone or have a drink alone – just find a spot where you’ll have a chance to chat with the people next to you.

I honestly don’t know if this practice is socially appropriate or not. I do know, however, that on Hatteras Island, we have a disproportionate amount of people who are incredibly friendly and newcomers should take full advantage.

More Community Events

OK, I touted the bar as the first stop for making friends, but it is obviously not the only option. And you really should take part in all the amazing events that are more or less accessible during the winter months only.

Case in point, my hubby met one of his favorite friends by joining a local basketball league.

It was informal at best and comprised of all volunteers who just wanted to meet at the Fessenden Center and play a casual game of B-Ball during the winter months, which, not to sound like a broken record, is when you have plenty of time.

Hubby had a fantastic experience, met some new acquaintances and formed a lifelong friendship with one of the participants, whom he admired immediately because A) He was kicked out of the game for being too opinionated and B) He was also the volunteer referee. (Hubby was on to something, because I adore this dude too.)

Anyways, the lesson learned is that you should get out and go forth into the community – whether it’s on a bar stool, or by frantically running around a gymnasium. (I prefer the former.) This is the optimal time to make lifelong buddies who are as odd as you are, so take advantage.

Beach It

At this point, I have about 10 years of articles under my belt that detail the lengths I’m willing to go to ensure that I get the best shells out of everyone who has ever lived on Hatteras Island.

This includes, in no particular order, flashing fishermen, swimming in inlets, fighting pelicans, glaring at beachcombers and even purchasing an off-road “driving permit.” (OK. I haven’t succumbed to that last ridiculous effort yet, but I’m afraid I may have to at some point. Dammit.)

So when I say the following, I can understand why you’d take it with a big old grain of sea salt, but I assure you it’s valid:  If we’re shelling on the same beach, I promise I will smile at you.

And to go a step further, if you’ve scored a find that’s better than what I have, I promise I will genuinely admire it and not try to snatch it out of your hands and take off running down the beach.

The wintertime is when you’ll discover the other people who are as dedicated to the same coastal activity that you adore – and this sets the stage for a pretty good long-term friendship.

Now I can’t lie. I have Facebook friends who constantly post photos of the amazing shells they’ve found, and I am internally forced to “like” and respond with a “smiley” emoticon, because the Internet hasn’t come up with a “seething jealousy” emoticon yet. (Or an “I will steal that shell while you sleep” emoticon, for that matter.)

But the crazed beachcombers are, inherently, my people. And every genre of on-the-water activity has these people, from surfers to kiteboarders, and from fishermen to birdwatchers.

As a result, the beach is a solid place to meet folks who live on Hatteras Island in January for the exact same reason that you do.

So do as I say and not as I do – abandon your jealousy, stop your glaring, and start chatting with follow anglers/beachcombers without the intention of stealing. Or at least, send a very endearing apology note if you do take off running down the beach with someone else’s shell.

Lesson learned?

The only way to get acclimated to Hatteras Island is to get out there.

Granted, there are all sorts of modern reasons to enjoy your own little cocoon of seclusion on the off-season. (I hear there’s this newfangled thing called “Netflix,” which is taking over the VHS industry), but you’ll have so much more fun if you get out there and introduce yourself to the community.

And if you make a jackass out of yourself, (which I’m sure I have done – see aforementioned shelling behavior), the good news is that come summer, you won’t see any of these people for months.

Someone much smarter than I — large demographic, I know — once explained that when you first get to Hatteras Island, you love the summer, and hate the winter. And then, over the years, that feeling gradually changes – like a tide – until you treasure the winter months and dread the busy, steaming arrival of the summertime.

Now this is in no way a command that you should immediately embrace a season with limited restaurants, shops, and freezing cold waters.

But after more than a decade of making this transition — still not dating myself,  I hope — I am so excited to return to a season of friends, community, and reclaiming my title as Hatteras Island’s Beachcomber Extraordinaire.

Yes, I just made that title up.

This story is provided courtesy of the Island Free Press, a digital newspaper covering Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. Coastal Review Online is partnering with the Free Press to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest along our coast. You can read other stories about Hatteras and Ocracoke here.

There’s nothing like a winter storm to illustrate the majesty and power of the ocean. This is a storm on Hatteras Island in the winter of 2010.