The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is seeking volunteers for its annual spring count of diamondback terrapins.

The 2026 Terrapin Tally occurs in areas of the state’s southern coast, where the small, aquatic turtles call marshes, estuaries and tidal creeks home.

Diamondback terrapins are listed as a species of special concern in North Carolina and federally as a species of greatest conservation need.

“Diamondback terrapins are a keystone species, critical to the health of the saltmarsh ecosystem,” Sarah Finn, a Wildlife Resources Commission biologist said in a release. “Studying their populations is difficult due to their habitat characteristics and North Carolina’s expansive estuarine systems. Understanding the population status and trends of terrapins in North Carolina is important to the long-term management of this species, and we can work toward this goal with the help of volunteer community scientists.”

Volunteers must supply their own kayaks, mobile phones and take part in a mandatory training session. There will be two training sessions, the first of which is scheduled for 10 a.m. – noon on April 11 at Carolina Beach State Park visitor center. Another training session has been set for 10 a.m. – noon on April 18 at Hammocks Beach State Park visitor center.

Registration is required.

“It’s a wonderful way to get out to explore and learn about our local waterways, while also contributing to a long-term citizen science project,” Amy Long, who will be volunteering in the tally for an 11th year, said in the release. “Really, who doesn’t want to spot adorable terrapins?!? It’s like an easter egg hunt, and when you have friends doing other days or trails, it’s fun to see who had better luck out on the water.”

The Terrapin tally is headed by the Wildlife Resources Commission and supported by partner organizations including the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management, N.C. State Parks, Bald Head Island Conservancy, N.C. Audubon, N.C. Aquarium and National Park Service.

Data collected in the tallies has contributed to fisheries management to protect terrapins from drowning in blue-crab pots, according to the Wildlife Resources Commission.

Additional information is available at 2026 Terrapin Tally.

Friends of Hammocks Beach and Bear Island plan to honor Saturday the North Carolina Teacher’s Association, the only organization for African American educators in the state, and a fundamental part of Hammocks Beach State Park history.

Set for 3 p.m. in the teacher’s building at 1572 Hammock Beach Road, Swansboro, the nonprofit friends group is recognizing “those who paved the way to help shape our coastline through the preservation of Bear Island and shaped the minds of many, through education,” organizers said.

The $40 donation covers entry to the event and a meal. Register online.

The land that is now Hammocks Beach State Park was purchased by Dr. William Sharpe, a white neurosurgeon, in the 1940s for hunting and fishing. Sharpe hired John Hurst, a Black country club guide, to manage the site.

Sharpe intended to leave the land to the Hurst family, but Mrs. Gertrude Hurst, who was a school teacher, suggested the property be donated to theNorth Carolina Teachers Association, to provide recreational opportunities for Black residents in a segregated state, according to the state park.

In the early 1950s, the park became a gathering space for Black residents. In 1961, the state park was created, becoming the first coastal park in North Carolina specifically for Black visitors. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the park was integrated.

“FHBI proudly honors the North Carolina Teacher’s Association and hopes that you will join us as we share a meal and celebrate the memories that helped to create a space unlike any other,” the group said.

Guest Commentary

To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues. 

It was a losing battle from the start, watching the inevitable rising and receding of the waves simultaneously fill up the hole I had been digging, and swiftly erode the accompanying pile of sand I had dug.

Perhaps it is an intrinsic childhood need to move sand from one location to another. As Sisyphean as the task may seem to an adult, sand is an all-encompassing playground; a place to dig in, sink into, and even to create your own tide pool/hot tub as the waves accentuate your enjoyment.

My first exposure to the sand with every beach trip was the arduous trek (for a young child) up the stairs of the public beach access point down Heverly Drive in Emerald Isle.

I would pause in equal measure to catch my breath and take in just how cool it was to be atop the dunes, peering down on the crashing Atlantic Ocean below. But my expeditions into the dunes as a child were limited to exactly this: brief crossings on established wooden traverses. The landscape of the dunes was dotted with sign after sign stating, in no ambiguous terms, to keep off of their sea oat-covered crests. 

Folks from all over North Carolina and beyond flock to the Crystal Coast to experience the sensation of warm sand on their toes, the waves crashing on top of them, and perhaps a shrimp burger (or 10). Whether or not they realize it, visitors and residents pass through several distinct ecosystems as they stroll toward the beckoning ocean. The first ecosystem is the maritime forest, where hardy Live oaks and Wax myrtles make their living despite the sandy soil.

Then you reach the dunes, where crystal skippers eke out a living amongst the stalwart grasses that stitch the Bogue Banks in place against the ravages of the wind and waves. Afterwards comes the open beach, which might seem like a domain reserved exclusively for beachgoers but is also one that provides critical habitat for nesting least terns and loggerhead sea turtles.

Lastly before the ocean, the area where the waves first crash on the beach is known as the swash zone, where sanderlings, a small wading bird, can be frequently observed searching for bivalves. All of these ecosystems are within sight of each other, and yet their differences can be felt the moment one no longer has a delicious sea breeze standing behind the dunes. 

Flash forward to the present day, and I am a member of a team of scientists tasked with flaunting each and every one of these signs, looking straight at passersby as we rock our highlighter yellow vests and our sweat and sunscreen-streaked faces. We catch our breath and explain to these folks the nature of what we are doing.

“We are researchers with NC State and the North Carolina Aquarium, studying a butterfly endemic to this area called the crystal skipper,” we repeat to various folks taking an interest in our work.

One of the most underappreciated skills required of us is the ability to clarify what terms like “endemic” mean or to satiate people’s curiosity about the subject while being fully conscious of just how bad we smell after a day of traversing the hot and humid dunes.

What is it like to walk through the dunes? In a word, or several, hot, breezeless, and saturated with ankle-seizing smilax. One step takes the energy of three normal steps as the sand inevitably gives way on your ascent. The dunes blocking the sea breeze is likely important ecologically for our skippers, but that perspective is hard to maintain as the stifling air quickly dishevels and frustrates us. For nature nerds like myself, the presence of snakes and wheel bugs as well as the opportunity to study a rare species are well worth the effort. 

To answer that aforementioned question about what “endemic” means, it’s a term used in biology to refer to an organism whose range is restricted to a very specific place. Marine iguanas are endemic to the Galapagos Archipelago, lemurs are endemic to Madagascar, and the crystal skipper is endemic to our own coastal North Carolina.

North Carolina’s barrier islands are famous for how thin they are, and the crystal skipper’s range spans a mere 30 miles of said barrier islands. We as researchers are fairly fortunate in that this range encompasses not one, but two state parks: Hammocks Beach and Fort Macon. This means that we have a considerable amount of public land to study this species on.

True to the moniker of the Bogue Banks, the species can be identified by the distinctive white “crystals” speckling its brown wings. If you are fortunate enough to see a skipper, however, in some cases you might see black markings on their wings. Those are the codes that we have written onto their wings as a part of our mark-recapture study, where we endeavor to estimate the population of skippers in a given area based on the percentage, we are able to recapture.

But our research isn’t limited only to the adults, we spend substantial time looking through the seaside little bluestem, which is the grass the skippers are dependent on, to find and track the development of eggs and caterpillars as they stitch the grass around them into tents that would make the Spanish architect Gaudí proud.

This is all in addition to studying the habitat itself, which encapsulates everything from collecting nectar samples to taking seaside little bluestem samples back to the lab to assess desiccation. 

One of my favorite things about our work is that we find ourselves with equal frequency in the backcountry of the Crystal Coast in remote areas such as Bear Island, part of Hammocks Beach, as often as we find ourselves in the backyards of, at times, residents and unsuspecting tourists. This seems to encapsulate the essence of both conservation and preservation in our project.

One of the most fortuitous happenstances in the preservation of the crystal skipper is that roughly half of its range is already protected within Hammocks Beach State Park in the Swansboro area, which encompasses some of the undeveloped dune habitat in the state outside of its two national seashores. This land offers researchers a chance to observe the crystal skipper in an area of land that is wild and remote.

While we hope that our work will help ensure the population remains robust, the lives of individual adult crystal skippers are not very long. All skippers emerge during two time periods: April through early May and July through mid-August. Insects as a rule are very short-lived, and the crystal skipper is no exception with a lifespan of only one to two weeks.

The nature of our line of work means that multiple cycles of technicians such as myself will study the crystal skipper over summers as ephemeral as the butterfly itself. And while the crystal skipper is immortalized through passing on its genes, we hope that our legacy in the dunes is immortalized in others taking up this work after we have gone. And yet, at the same time, the crystal skipper is always here in the dunes with us, even when passers-by cannot see it.

The caterpillars are going about their business eating, making tents, and growing as they wage an often-unseen struggle for survival against the ravages of hurricanes and the myriad predators of the insect world. This is a struggle unseen by most passers-by in the dunes, and yet forms of the crystal skipper are always present in and around these select islands. It was here before our study of it began, and hopefully it will be here long after, both ever-present and ever-ephemeral. 

The Crystal Coast is many things. From the least terns laying their eggs on the beach to the deft slithering of eastern glass lizards to the skips and flutters of our beloved crystal skippers, nature permeates the man-made structures of the Crystal Coast. It’s an area where the natural world and the human history of the islands are both preserved and lived-in.

The islands of the Bogue Banks are narrow and yet flanking both sides of the narrow dividing roads are natural wonders and all the facets of human life. We, the human race, are locked in an existential struggle trying to figure out how to balance our own needs with those of the natural world.

Existential crises are often easier to face when we can break them into bite-sized pieces, and I believe that by learning to harmonize human life with the natural world here in the living laboratory of the Bogue Banks, we can help create a template for how to do so in the world at large. All of that is reflected in the rare and humble crystal skipper, a butterfly that is uniquely our own.

Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Coastal Review or our publisher, the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

Update March 18: The post has been updated to include the correct email address. The previously published email address was provided to Coastal Review in error.

Got a kayak, smart phone and basic math skills?

If the answer is yes, you’re eligible to participate in this year’s Terrapin Tally.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal management Coastal Reserve program and partners from the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, N.C. State Parks, Bald Head Island Conservancy, N.C. Audubon, N.C. Aquariums and National Park Service are seeking volunteers to count the elusive diamondback terrapin in their coastal habitat from Carteret County to Brunswick County.

This year marks the 11th Terrapin Tally, a community science project created to collect a snapshot of the diamondback terrapin population numbers in the state. Literal headcounts are conducted from volunteers on kayaks during specific times and predetermined routes.

These surveys, over time, will provide wildlife biologists with population statistics and trends of diamondback terrapins. Tallies collected have contributed to new research projects and management programs for terrapin populations at Masonboro island Reserve and other coastal sites.

“Many NC Coastal Reserve sites provide ideal habitat for diamondback terrapins, and we are excited to continue these efforts for the 11th year alongside the NC Wildlife Resources Commission,” Elizabeth Pinnix, Coastal Reserve southern sites manager, said in a release. “These data are important in understanding terrapin population trends and contribute to informed management decisions to protect this estuarine turtle.”  

Diamondback terrapins are the only reptile that can tolerate brackish waters, where salinity levels constantly change as freshwater runs off land and mixes with ocean saltwater.

The turtles were once abundant in salt marshes, estuaries and mangrove swamps along the country’s East and Gulf Coasts. But coastal development, habitat loss, commercial harvest and fishing interactions have contributed to a population decline.

Diamondback terrapins are a species of special concern in North Carolina.

“Data from the past ten years of Terrapin Tally events has helped point us to areas where further study is needed and has supported management actions that provide additional protection in specific coastal areas,” Wildlife Resources Commission Eastern Wildlife Diversity Supervisor Hope Sutton said in the release. “We hope to continue to contribute to broader conservation goals related to this special little turtle. It will take time and substantial effort, considering the extensive area of its potential habitat here in N.C.”

Volunteers must register to attend one training session in which they will learn how to use a smartphone application and sign up for at least one field collection session scheduled sometime between April 25 and June 15.

Training sessions will be held in-person 10 a.m.-noon April 12 at Carolina Beach State Park visitor center, Hammocks Beach State Park visitor center and via Zoom.

Collection sessions will be conducted in two-hour blocks on the following dates:

• April 25-27.
• May 10-11 and May 15-18.
• June 12-15.

Times may vary by site depending on the tide. Volunteers may choose the dates and number of sessions they would like to complete.

Tally sites this year include Cape Lookout National Seashore, Rachel Carson Reserve, Calico Creek, Hammocks Beach State Park, Lea Hutaff Island, Masonboro Island Reserve, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, Zeke’s Island Reserve, Bald head Island and Bird Island Reserve.

For questions, email terrapintallync@ncwildlife.org.

As a young adult right out of high school, I had just finished what I hoped would be my last summer suffering in the hot farm fields harvesting tobacco.

It was late August and I headed to Hammocks Beach State Park near Swansboro to cool off in the waters off of Bear Island. A secret spot, available only by boat, that I had heard about, but never been to. Arriving late in the day, the ranger that was piloting the passenger ferry told me it was the last run of the day. Instead of sending me on my way, he invited me ride to the island with him.

Docking on the sound side of the island, he gave me 20 minutes, just enough time to run the trail to the ocean. I bodysurfed a couple of waves, admired the magnificent beach and sand dunes, then raced back to the dock. The ferry returned to the mainland with a load of sunburnt, sand-crusted beachgoers and I headed off to college. Little did I know at the time, that this ranger would become someone that I admire, respect and have been fortunate to call a friend.

Four years later, in the fall of 1980, I am a newly hired ranger at Fort Macon State Park. I hadn’t forgotten the kindness of this ranger and now, as a ranger myself, I was eager to repay the debt. During my first few months at Fort Macon, I heard a number of stories about the superintendent at Hammocks Beach, Claude Crews, and his stature only grew.

The following summer, I was assigned to help out at Hammocks Beach for a few days due to staffing issues. I jumped at the chance to meet Superintendent Crews, commuting the 35 miles from Fort Macon to Swansboro. To get me familiarized with Bear Island and its park operations, Crews took me on a thrilling boat tour of the soundside backwaters along with a four-wheel-drive excursion on the island.

This was a man in his element. His knowledge and passion left a lasting impression on me, along with a hidden desire to one day follow in his footsteps.

Superintendent Crews had been the guardian of Bear Island long before I formally met him as a fellow ranger. Off the beaten path and accessible only by boat, Bear Island was, and still is, one of the crown jewels of the North Carolina State Parks system. A pristine barrier island of natural and cultural significance, how the island became a state park, is in itself, an amazing story of a colorblind friendship and generosity.

In 1914, the renowned, pioneering neurosurgeon William J.C. Sharpe went on a duck hunting retreat with the Onslow Rod and Gun Club in the marsh waters of coastal North Carolina.

He stepped onto a boat piloted by his guide, John Hurst. Cultures collided as Hurst, an African American and the son of an enslaved man, met the Harvard-educated, internationally distinguished medical doctor. This “chance encounter,” as Dr. Sharpe described it, ignited a close friendship that lasted for decades and created an enduring legacy.

In the brain surgeon’s autobiography, Sharpe described Bear Island as such, “… a four-mile stretch of Atlantic beach, wide, level, and firm enough to permit the landing of airplanes — another Daytona.”

Dr. Sharpe also owned many acres on the mainland, a “peninsular wonderland” known as “The Hammocks.” He purchased the properties as his personal retreat sometime around 1920 and recruited John Hurst and his wife Gertrude as caretakers of the land. This was a bold decision in the heavily segregated South near a town that had a reputation as a “sundown town,” meaning Black people were not allowed after dark. Pressured to remove Hurst as the property manager, Sharpe notes in his book, “I refused to make the change.”

An advocate of civil rights, Sharpe was deeply disturbed by the injustices of segregation that deprived African Americans of basic rights. Later in life, he wanted to gift “The Hammocks” properties to the Hursts for their years of loyal service and friendship. In discussions with Gertrude Hurst, a retired school teacher, a plan was hatched to gift the property to the North Carolina Teachers Association in 1950.

Recognizing the need for recreational and educational opportunities for African Americans along the coast, the teachers association formed the Hammocks Beach Corp. The corporation managed the property providing a “resort” where African Americans could freely enjoy going to the beach, swimming, fishing and camping. It essentially served as its own segregated private park.

Looking for long-term management and protection of Bear Island, the Hammocks Beach Corp. negotiated with the state for the island to be included in the state park system. In 1961, Hammocks Beach State Park became one of only three state parks in North Carolina exclusively for Black people. The other two being the Reedy Creek section of the William B. Umstead State Park and the Jones Lake State Park.

Accustomed to hard work

Born in 1941 in Wake County, Claude E. Crews grew up accustomed to the hard work associated with running the family farm. After high school he attended Shaw University with an interest in elementary education. However, he had a chance encounter that changed his course.

One day while at his grandfather’s farm, a state engineer showed up to do some work for his grandfather. The two started talking and the engineer suggested that Claude apply for a job with the Division of State Parks, and the rest, as they say, “is history.”

Crews first donned the proud colors of the gray and green ranger uniform in 1963 with an appointment at the then-recently christened Hammocks Beach State Park. It was now on his shoulders to carry on the legacy of Dr. Sharpe and John and Gertrude Hurst.

Nine years had passed since deadly Hurricane Hazel swept over Bear Island in 1954, and its devastation was still visible when Ranger Crews stepped onto the island for the first time in his official capacity. The overwash and salt spray from this Category 4 hurricane scorched the island as if by wildfire. The island was barren with dead trees and grasses and new vegetation was struggling to take hold.

Ranger Crews put his farming expertise to good use, planting thousands of native trees and shrubs. Many of the live oak trees you see on the island today were carefully nurtured by Crews, planted from tiny acorns.

Prior to the availability of commercially manufactured sand fencing, ranger Crews collected boatloads of wax myrtle branches from the mainland and brought them to the island. Here, he fashioned his own version of sand fence to tame the blowing sand. This ingenious fencing slowed down the sand, piling it up, creating dunes that rebuilt the primary dune line.

Ranger Crews then teamed up with Karl Graetz of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Soil Conservation Service to plant hundreds of thousands of individual sprigs of sea oats and beach grass to stabilize these growing sand dunes.

Bear Island was alive and green again.

Face of the park

As a young man with a new job, Crews went about his work managing the seasonal park operations, which included operating a passenger ferry service, bathhouse, concession stand and swimming area. He was the personnel and financial officer, maintenance man, mechanic and custodian.

As he began his park career, the dark cloud of segregation was still overhead and a Black man was still in charge of “The Hammocks.” Crews was not a local, yet, but he was now the face of the park. How would he be received by the community?

When Crews started at the park, Gertrude Hurst was still alive and living on
The Hammocks. He was a regular at the Hursts’ dinner table, enjoying her cooking. She attributed her longevity to eating fish every day, and Crews, who was not a fish eater, soon learned to love fish.

The welcoming friendship he received from her went a long way toward his broader acceptance by the locals, regardless of their race. But there was more: Crews’ character and calm demeanor were also key. He went about managing the park without any serious racial issues. Crews stated to me, “racial issues were not really an issue when I arrived at The Hammocks, any issues in the past had already been addressed by Mr. Sharpe.”

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said in 1963.

In July 1964, with the passage of the monumental Civil Rights Act, the formerly segregated Hammocks Beach State Park was now open to all visitors regardless of skin color. In the first few years after the act, park visitors continued to be mainly African American.

Park Service administrators were a tad nervous when Ranger Crews hired white lifeguards to protect the ocean swimming area. Fearing racial conflicts, trips were made to Swansboro to inspect park operations. It was clear that Crews’ leadership and calm reassurance were respected and any worry of problems was unwarranted.

After a few years at the coast, Crews was briefly stationed at Jones Lake State Park in Bladen County before returning to Hammocks Beach. In 1966, Uncle Sam called his number and he was drafted into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War. He pulled his two-year hitch and his job at Hammocks Beach was still waiting for him, but now, officially as the park superintendent.

After integration of Hammocks Beach, the beauty of the park was now a lure to all. This hidden jewel was beginning to be found. Crews guided the park for the next 13 years.

Understaffed and underfunded, Crews and Ranger Jesse Hines, along with some seasonal help, somehow managed to always get the work done. If an engine on the ferry broke down, they had to fix it. They prided themselves in switching out motors in under an hour, keeping the ferries on time. As a captain licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard, Crews piloted the ferries when seasonal captains were unavailable – an issue attributed to the low pay.

With files and a clipboard in hand, Crews also took on the administrative work while on the boat during the 10 minutes of down time between trips while at the dock.

For decades, the North Carolina State Park system struggled with woefully inadequate budget appropriations. Specialty positions such as resource management and educational interpretation were pie-in-the-sky aspirations. A ranger had to have the interest and desire to initiate these duties on their own.

One summer morning Superintendent Crews got word that a nesting loggerhead sea turtle was flipped over on its back and unable to return to the ocean. The turtle was rescued and this awareness led to one of the longest research programs documenting sea turtle nesting in the state.

In 1981, Crews was promoted to a senior level superintendent position at Cliffs of the Neuse State Park near Goldsboro. Leaving Hammocks Beach, he took the same leadership skills to “The Cliffs,” managing it for 16 years before retiring in 1997.

In retirement, Crews didn’t just kick up his heels and sit around drinking iced tea on the porch. He continued serving his community as he had been doing for decades while working at Hammocks Beach and Cliffs of the Neuse.

More than 40 years ago, Crews, who has a deep interest in youth sports, became a charter member of the Swansboro Century Club, which supports school athletics. He was a fixture at hundreds of high school and middle school football and basketball games, keeping a steady hand on the clock as the timekeeper and official scorekeeper.

For close to 20 years, he worked as a district coordinator with Onslow County Parks and Recreation, organizing and managing youth basketball programs. In 2021, the school system honored Crews for his contributions to the community by naming Swansboro’s middle school gymnasium the “Claude E. Crews Annex Gymnasium.” In a newspaper article recounting the event, words like “role model, dependable, selfless, dedicated, respected and friend” were used to describe his commitment to public service.

Crews continues to support the park where he started his career, serving as treasurer, board member and member of the park support group, the Friends of the Hammocks and Bear Island.

I, too, eventually became the superintendent at Hammocks Beach State Park, my dream job. During my years at the park, I was frequently asked about Crews by park visitors who remembered him from his time at the park.

“Where is Superintendent Crews?” they would ask with a smile on their faces.

These included his old friends wanting to catch up and say hello and some people just wanting to tell me a story about his kindness. Parents showed up with their children, hoping to introducing them to Superintendent Crews. A true ambassador of North Carolina State Parks, people still ask about Crews today.

Recently, Crews was honored by the North Carolina Coastal Federation with a Pelican Award for “Leadership and Dedication to Coastal Protection, Recreation, and Cultural Resources,” a well-deserved honor to recognize his contributions to our coastal heritage.

There is a Bob Dylan song where he sings in search of dignity. “Searching high, searching low, Searching everywhere I know.” Finally, he sings, “Have you seen Dignity?”

Dylan may not have found dignity, but I can point him in the right direction. Claude Crews, a man of character, dignity and grace, a person whom we would all do well to emulate.

Hammocks Beach State Park’s campsites and ferry service on Bear Island will be closed at a minimum through the summer for a major construction project to make necessary water and septic system repairs and replacements.

Currently, there is no potable water or working restrooms at the 4-mile-long Bear Island, one of three islands at Hammocks Beach State Park in Swansboro.

Campsites on Bear Island are closed to new reservations and the ferry service between the mainland and the island, which normally begins operating in April, will not open until construction is complete, North Carolina Division of Parks and Recreation officials announced last week.

Though Bear Island will be closed, park rangers will continue to offer free educational programming.

“We recognize that Bear Island is a popular summer destination for many of our visitors,” State Parks Director Brian Strong said in a statement. “However, the health and safety of our visitors and staff always comes first and foremost. We are excited about the opportunity to enhance the infrastructure on Bear Island, as making these improvements will allow for a better experience when visiting the park for many years to come.”

Campers with existing reservations will be contacted by park staff for alternate options.

In addition, the park is set to open its new campground at the mainland access later this year, and that will include cabins, recreational vehicle campsites and tent camping. Visit the park website for updates on the status of facilities throughout the summer.

The Swansboro Historical Association is recognizing the town’s African American heritage with a special program on the past, present and future of Hammocks Beach State Park and the surrounding area.

The event is scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Swansboro Area Heritage Center Assembly Room, 502 Church St.

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear how the park became important to the Swansboro community and how it evolved into a center for recreation, education, preservation, and conservation.

Area historian and author Patricia Hughey, Onslow County Museum Director Lisa Whitman-Grice, past Hammocks Beach State Park Superintendent Claude Crews and park ranger Renee Evans have been invited to speak during the program.

Hammocks Beach State Park is made up of its mainland, where there’s a visitor center, and three barrier islands, including the 4-mile-long Bear Island.

New York neurosurgeon, Dr. William Sharp, purchased 4,600 acres including Bear Island in 1914 for a hunting and fishing preserve after visiting the area, according to a N.C. State Parks report. The land was deeded in 1950 to the North Carolina Teachers Association, a nonprofit group of Black educators. After an unsuccessful attempt to develop the land, it was donated to the state in 1961. The land was a state park for Black citizens until it was opened to all people in 1963. Hammocks Beach State Park opened for all citizens following the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The U.S. Department of the Interior Designated Bear Island a National Natural Landmark in 1980.

With the shoreline surveys of three state-owned lands complete, North Carolina Office of State Archaeology officials are waiting for the contractor’s draft assessment of storm-related impacts before they can develop a plan to protect these vulnerable cultural sites.

When that data is delivered in the coming months about Hammocks Beach State Park in the Swansboro area, and Alligator River Game Land and the Scuppernong River section of Pettigrew State Park, both in Tyrrell County, Historic Preservation Archaeology Specialist Allyson Ropp said recently that her office intends to look at ways to protect the cultural sites on land, underwater and in the tidal zone.

Called North Carolina Shorescape Survey, this project and the Historic Cemetery Survey, which documented how cemeteries had been affected by hurricanes and identified unmarked cemeteries, are being funded through the Emergency Supplemental Historic Preservation Fund, administered by the National Park Service.

The state’s archaeology office was awarded $1 million of the $17 million North Carolina received following the storm surges, rain and high winds from hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018. Those storms threatened coastal historic structures and archaeological sites, according to an October 2023 update on the project. Both projects have been in the planning stages since 2020. Fieldwork for the shore survey wrapped up in late 2023.

Scott Seibel, associate vice president of multinational infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, told Coastal Review last week that his team worked on the three sites this past fall and are producing the draft report now. The plan is to deliver the draft by early March.

If there’s anything of interest in the data, they will explore it further, and if not, Ropp said her office will complete its report and then hold public meetings, most likely in April.

The three sites were chosen using a model that ranked the state-owned and -managed lands by environmental and historical significance.

Ropp said she designed the model by combining known data on storm surge and sediment movement, historic maps and existing archaeological information to prioritize all of the state lands in the 12 counties. Those counties are Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Carteret, Craven, Dare, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender and Tyrrell.

The shoreline is the focus because, as Acting State Archaeologist and Deputy State Archaeologist Chris Southerly said, there was a lot of activity at the shoreline environment, such as fishing or wading out into the water to collect shellfish.

“I’d say almost the majority of the cultural interface that we have maritime dealings with in water happens in that 60 meters (about 197 feet) one way to 60 meters the other from the shoreline,” Southerly said.

Because that interface can be difficult to reach, land-based archaeologists may not go all the way to shore and in-water archaeologists will stop where the boat stops.

Shorelines are where “a lot of cultural material could be lost,” Southerly continued. For example, an American Indian could have dropped something into the muck while getting out of his dugout canoe, or English settlers from their vessels, or by soldiers during war time.

The project in the Swansboro area is looking at archaeological sites within the shoreline environment – about 60 meters inland from the low-tide mark and about 60 meters offshore the low-tide mark – “to see how archaeological resources in those areas are being impacted by shoreline erosion, hurricanes, storm surge, inundation in general,” Ropp said.

Hammocks Beach is one of the more vulnerable sites, Ropp said, because the state-managed park is part of a barrier island, has a lot of known resources, and has a high potential for more to be discovered. The land also has a rich African American maritime history, which is another reason the park topped the list.

There are 27 known sites on two of the protected islands and the mainland. “Most of those, I believe, are prehistoric shell middens,” she said.

A midden is a mound of refuse that may include shells, fish and deer bones and plant remains — things Indigenous peoples harvested from the landscapes around them.

Southerly noted that shell middens are extensive in Carteret County and parts of Onslow County and are usually indicative of long-term habitation by American Indians. This means there’s a higher probability of finding an intact Native American site nearby.

“Shell middens are one of the key markers to look for along the coastal area for pre-contact American Indians,” he said, and built-up shell middens are a good indication of repeated settlement or habitation.

Both sites in Tyrrell County have a high potential for plantation-related resources, canal building, shipwrecks, and general marine infrastructure.

AECOM, a cultural resource management firm with offices all over the East Coast, performed this fall the land and in-water surveys with a field crew of about 15 and around 10 in the office working on artifact analysis and geographic information system, or GIS data.

The area for each of the three projects was 60 meters landward of the shoreline and 200 meters, or 656 feet, into the water.

The fieldwork at Hammocks Beach State Park included both terrestrial and underwater archaeology, Seibel said. “We surveyed the entire shoreline area of the mainland portion of the park, all of the shoreline area of Huggins Island, and the sound-side shoreline of Bear Island.”

For the terrestrial archaeology, which took place from early October to early December 2023, most of the work involved shovel-digging test pits at 100- and 50-foot intervals within the project area. The pits were about 12 to 16 inches in diameter and about 3.3 feet in depth.

The sediments were screened through 0.25-inch wire mesh to collect artifacts such as ceramic sherds, stone flakes and oyster shell from the pre-contact middens. They found brick and glass, too.

“We also inspected the ground surface for artifacts and features, such as brick foundations from former houses,” Southerly said. “All of our shovel test pits and any features that we found were mapped using a GPS system. Along the shorelines, we used an electronic data form to record information about the condition of the shoreline and the possible threats to archaeological sites from things like waves, tree fall, and looting.”

The underwater survey, which took about a week to complete, included using remote sensing equipment towed behind a boat including a side-scan sonar, magnetometer and sub-bottom profiler, Seibel continued.

“A side-scan sonar uses sound waves to produce images of the seafloor. A magnetometer records anomalies in the Earth’s magnetic field and is useful for identifying shipwrecks that contain iron, like nails,” he explained. “A sub-bottom profiler is similar to a side-scan sonar, except that it provides information about sediment layers below the seafloor and can be used to identify old and buried streams and terrestrial landforms from when sea levels were much lower than today.”

The terrestrial archaeology work was different at the two project locations in Tyrrell County, Seibel said.

“Along the Scuppernong River, since it was all cypress or cedar swamp, all we were able to do was slowly run a boat along the river’s edge to see if there were any signs of piers, docks, or other similar features or small areas that could be shovel tested,” he explained. “At the other project area along the Little Alligator River and fronting Albemarle Sound, most of the project area was also swamp, but often thick with phragmites, an invasive reedy plant. We were able to walk over the small beach areas looking for artifacts and dig shovel test pits in scattered areas.”

The underwater survey took about a week to complete for each of the areas, while the terrestrial survey work for all three areas totaled over three months last fall.

“As we expected, the mainland and Huggins Island portions of Hammocks Beach State Park have been used by people for thousands of years. Archaeological site types include large pre-contact shell middens and even a pre-contact village as well as the remains of historic home sites and a Confederate earthwork from the Civil War,” he said. 

At the sites along the Little Alligator River and Albemarle Sound, remains of fishing pound nets in the water were found as well as small scatters of artifacts from 19th and early 20th century houses and farms that used to line the shoreline of Albemarle Sound. Remains of a sunken ship were found during the underwater survey.

“Regrettably, there were no finds of any kind within our survey area in the Scuppernong River,” he said.

Seibel explained that this kind of work is important to North Carolina because it can help the state understand the types of archaeological resources present at Hammocks Beach.

“The more important aspect of the work is determining which of the archaeological sites along the shorelines of the park are under the most environmental threat and providing recommendations about how the state can prioritize preservation actions to help protect the most vulnerable archaeological sites and help preserve them for future generations,” he said.

In addition to the archaeological survey work, Seibel said they’re including a shoreline assessment to let the state know the types of environmental threats the archaeological sites at the park are under.

The assessment includes looking at historic and present-day data to determine the level of shoreline erosion that has taken place over the past 100 years or more, as well as projections for future erosion and other threats. This information is being used to help assess which archaeological sites are at the most risk and provide recommendations to the state for preservation efforts.

Ropp said the survey is not only going to be the baseline to gather the data of what’s at these locations and what they look like, but also testing out the methodology.

Coming out of this work will be foundational data for these areas as well as a way to perform this work, and come up with a methodology that can be adjusted as needed.

Combining AECOM’s management strategy suggestions plus boots on the ground, “we can come up with a means to manage and mitigate and adjust to these coming changes,” Ropp said.

Southerly said this work is going to be valuable in the long term because the methodology can be further developed to collect data about the different types of shorelines that “you would assume would probably be very similar” but are different, like the Alligator River and Hammocks Beach.

“You’re still coastal, you’re on the sounds, but putting tools in the toolbox so to speak, and having a methodology, having techniques, knowing what works, knowing what doesn’t work, lets us and lets other archaeologists once these reports are published, look at it and adapt and evolve the sites and that alone — other than figuring out what we’ve got here in North Carolina — that methodology, those techniques that can go into the field that someone else can use can help sites elsewhere, help someone else manage the sites collect the data before the sites become inundated,” he said.

Within this project, Ropp explained they plan to look at known sites across the coastal counties to see where they are in relation to some of these climate projections, particularly with sea level rise. “There’ll be a lot coming out of this project beyond the survey that we’re doing on the shoreline.”

Ropp and Southerly are encouraging the public to share any history or information about Hammocks Beach and the sites in Tyrrell County. Email the team at archaeology@ncdcr.gov.

A statewide effort to offer low-cost kayaking instruction will take place Saturday, May 20, at several North Carolina state parks, including a three on the coast.

The state park system, North Carolina chapter of the American Canoe Association, or ACA, and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary are offering “Kayaking 101” as part of National Safe Boating Week, which begins the same day.

Classes offered by the ACA will cost $15 per person for the day, a discount of over $35. Register at https://tinyurl.com/Kayaking-101-NC. In-person spaces are limited to 15. A free online class is also available but in-person training with a certified instructor is strongly encouraged.

Division of Parks and Recreation Interim Director Brian Strong said they love providing opportunities to paddle for our residents and visitors to North Carolina.

“Paddling comes with some of the greatest responsibility for visitors,” he said. “Being educated and prepared improves safety not only for paddlers but also for emergency personnel.”

Participating state parks are the following:

• Jockey’s Ridge State Park
• Hammocks Beach State Park
• Carolina Beach State Park
• Morrow Mountain State Park
• Hanging Rock State Park
• Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
• Lake Norman State Park
• Falls Lake State Recreational Area
• Lake James State Park
• Jordan Lake State Recreational Area

All instructors are volunteers who are nationally certified to provide paddling and rescue training. Each park’s event will be limited to 15 participants. Participants can either bring their own kayak or indicate at registration that they would like to borrow a kayak, paddle and life jacket at no additional cost.

“The volunteer instructors are excited to help out again this year to bring new paddlers into our sport,” said ACA Southeastern Chair Andrea White. ”Just one day of training can make the difference between setting yourself up for a bad experience that ruins the sport for you versus setting yourself up for a whole lifetime of paddling fun, enjoying our amazing waterways.”

These classes are made available by certified instructor volunteers and safety boaters from multiple organizations and businesses. Equipment and financial support were donated by other sponsors. All partners and sponsors have helped to make this event possible with one goal in mind: to help educate paddlers statewide who enjoy North Carolina waterways and paddlesports.

The ACA is the national accrediting body for paddle sports education.

Contact William Holman with ACA North Carolina at 910-578-392 for more information.

Projects at three state parks on the coast will see some of the nearly $14 million in recent funding from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, or PARTF.

The North Carolina Parks and Recreation Authority, which oversees PARTF grants, approved $13.7 million to fund 11 capital improvement projects for state parks, state Division of Parks and Recreation announced Tuesday.

Of the money from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, 65% is allocated for North Carolina state parks capital projects, repairs, and renovations of facilities, and land acquisition. PARTF also provides matching grants to local governments to assist with public park and recreation projects.

The authority approved the capital projects funding Jan. 9 during its first quarterly meeting of the year.

Carolina Beach State Park was approved for $2.2 million for maintenance facility improvements, and Fort Fisher State Recreation Area was awarded $500,000 for repairs to beach access and boardwalks. Additionally, Hammocks Beach and Carolina Beach state parks were awarded $2 million for dredging projects.

“These much-needed park improvement projects will bring several of our state parks facilities at some of our most visited parks up to modern standards to improve our visitors’ experiences in the parks,” state Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary D. Reid Wilson said in a statement. “We remain grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Roy Cooper for providing significantly increased investments in the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund over the last two years, a clear recognition of the importance of our state parks to the people and economy of North Carolina.”

Other capital improvement projects funded include overlook and trail improvements at Crowders Mountain, a disc golf course at Falls Lake, family campground renovations at Hanging Rock, a new restroom at Mount Jefferson, and renovation of shower houses at Jordan Lake.

North Carolina State Parks, which manages more than 258,000 acres within North Carolina’s state parks, state recreation areas and state natural areas, welcomes more than 22.7 million visitors annually.

Reprinted from the Tideland News.

The 2022 interns at Hammocks Beach State Park have expressed a variety of goals in mind that led them to spend a summer in what some would consider primitive circumstances on a barrier island. They range in age from 17 to 23 and attend, have attended or will attend, colleges from across the country. But what they all have in common is a love of nature.

This year’s interns are Rachel Hoag, Destini Hudson, Kylee Johnson, Sarah Kinicki, Sydney Machion and Megan Rozier.

Megan Rozier, 19, is a rising sophomore at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. She is studying environmental biology and ecology.

A resident of Swansboro, she did not have to travel far to become familiar with Hammocks Beach State Park.

“I found out about Hammocks Beach State Park pretty soon after we first moved here about 10 years ago,” she said. “My first visit to Hammocks Beach was quite a long time ago. I was about 10 years old and my family and I came to check the place out. It didn’t take long for us to come back and start exploring the beautiful nature trails. Ever since we have been to the park many times for various events such as the Pirate Fest, Military Appreciation Day, educational programs, etc. It wasn’t until a few years later though that we would start to visit Bear Island.”

In high school and in her first year at UNCC, Rozier has been involved in music.
She was in the band program at Swansboro High School and was drum major in the marching band. Rozier continued playing her primary instrument, the flute, in UNCC’s Wind Ensemble.

“I was also active in various clubs at Swansboro such as Student to Student and National Honor Society and I was a member of the swim team my senior year,” she said.

Rozier is one of four sea turtle interns at the park this year.

“Our responsibilities include tagging the turtles, measuring them and taking an egg DNA sample for research,” she explained. “We also aid in the nesting process by relocating the nest if it is not situated far enough back onto the dune. This all happens at night while we patrol from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m.”

Rozier said she has enjoyed the hands-on experience provided by the internship.

“I personally feel like I am able to learn so much more this way and I am excited to use this knowledge to further me in my field. This opportunity is helping to prepare me for when related topics may come up in my college courses, but more importantly in real life. I love being able to share everything I know with others in hopes of bringing more awareness to the turtles and to ocean health in general.”

The experience could translate into a career.

“I would really love to work with marine animal rehabilitation programs and to be in the field as much as possible … whether it be collecting data, picking up trash, or removing nets and other things from the ocean,” Rozier said. “I am hoping to get SCUBA certified soon and possibly even work part time at a dive shop if time allows.”

When she is not up all night walking the Bear Island shoreline, Rozier still likes to be on Bear Island.

“I am fortunate to have such easy access to a beautiful beach while living on Bear Island,” she said. “This is where I like to spend a lot of my spare time. Us girls also like to watch movies together or take the ferry back to the mainland and go to local events. Some of the places we have been to are the Salty Air Market, Humphrey Farm and the Foundry in Jacksonville.”

Otherwise she said she enjoys catching up on her sleep!

Sydney Machion. 20, is from Mohnton, Pennsylvania.

A rising junior at West Virginia University, she is pursuing a double major in wildlife and fisheries resources and recreation, parks and tourism with a minor in conservation ecology.

She came to be familiar with Hammocks Beach State Park during her internship search.

“I came across this application and that was the first I had heard of the park,” said Machion.

Her first visit to the park came recently. “The day I moved into the barracks this summer to start the internship was the first I had ever visited the park.”

Machion is president of WVU Beekeeping Club, she is a member of the women’s rugby team and is an employee of Adventure WV.

She is a sea turtle intern.

“As a sea turtle intern I work directly with nesting sea turtles, taking measurements and collecting data that is used for conservation efforts around the country,” Machion said.

After college graduation she plans to pursue a career in the U.S. Navy’s Marine Mammal program and/or environmental policy. This internship could help with that goal.

“The hands-on experience, fieldwork and connections have all set me up for a future in marine conservation,” Machion said. “Working directly with a state park has taught me communication skills while participating in field work for my desired career.”

Her spare time is filled with activity.

“I spend most of my time recreating outdoors, so stand up paddleboarding, kayaking, fishing and swimming are my go-to activities,” she said.

Destini Hudson, 21, is originally from Mount Airy but she moved to Shallotte two years ago.

She is a senior at the University of North Carolina Wilmington pursuing a bachelor’s in marine biology with a minor in digital arts.

“I learned of Hammocks Beach State Park when I learned of this internship opportunity, which I had heard about through a flyer that the biology department at UNCW shared with its students,” Hudson said.

She said her first visit to the park came just a day before the start of her internship.

“It’s a beautiful park with one of the best beaches I have been on, definitely worth a visit,” Hudson said.

As befits a student spending her summer on a barrier island, Hudson is formerly a member of a year-round swim team.

“Now I enjoy the sport by swimming at my leisure,” she said.

A turtle intern, Hudson will be keeping up with the loggerheads, and perhaps leatherbacks, that nest on the park’s Bear Island, a 4-mile-long, undeveloped barrier island.

“My role this summer is to study turtles and contribute to their conservation by collecting data on the turtle, such as carapace length, and relocate a nest if necessary,” she said.

“This internship furthers my educational goals by providing me with field experience, of which I was lacking in school due to COVID these past two years,” Hudson explained.

This experience will provide a taste of what lies ahead.

“When I graduate I plan on searching for a job in rehabilitation or husbandry and move wherever the job takes me, but I would like to stick to the East Coast,” she said.

Being on one the nation’s most beautiful undeveloped barrier islands makes leisure time special for Hudson.

“In my spare time I like to go hang out at the beach,” she said. Otherwise, she said she enjoys watching movies and Netflix, reading and playing video games.

Rachel Hoag, 23, is from Erie, Pennsylvania, and is a May 2021 graduate of St. Bonaventure University.

She earned a degree in environmental studies.

Back in Pennsylvania, Hoag raises and trains service dogs with New Hope Assistance Dogs, an organization in Warren.

“I discovered Hammocks Beach State Park through the Texas A&M job board,” she said. “I previously worked with sea turtles along the North Carolina coast as an intern with the sea turtle hospital in Surf City and I was hopeful to find another sea turtle opportunity in North Carolina. Then I found Hammocks Beach State Park.”

Though she had been very close previously, Hoag said her first visit to Hammocks Beach State Park came when she arrived for the internship.

As a sea turtle intern, Hoag has some experience. And she takes the role seriously.
“I conduct nightly surveys with my team looking for nesting loggerhead sea turtles along 4-mile-long Bear Island,” she explained. “When we come across a nesting mother we scan her for pit tags and measure her carapace (sea turtle shell). If she has no previous tags, we tag her ourselves. If necessary, we relocate the nest further back along the dunes, which involves carefully digging up the eggs and placing them carefully one-by-one in containers. Nests are relocated if the nest is too close to the tide line and there is a risk of over-wash.

“One egg sample is taken from the nest for the ongoing DNA study with Duke Labs.
“We then dig our own hole back closer to the dunes approximately the same width and depth as the mother’s and then place the eggs in their home. The nest is then covered and a metal cage is placed over the nest to protect the eggs from predators, like coyotes.”

Hoag hopes to pursue a career in marine conservation, preferably on the East Coast.
She said her work at the park, which has one of the few nighttime sea turtle nesting programs along the east coast, provides good experience.

“In the field of wildlife conservation, hands-on experience is what matters most,” Hoag said. “This internship is giving me the opportunity to participate in this rare program and further my experience with nesting loggerhead sea turtles.”

In her spare time Hoag enjoys spending time at the beach or time with her host family.
“I’ve also had the opportunity to go scuba diving off the Emerald Isle coast and I hope to do more diving this summer,” she said.

Kylee Johnson, 17, is a rising senior at MaST Early College High School/Carteret Community College.

Johnson, who lives in nearby Stella, only visited the park for the first time this past spring.

“I’ve always known Hammocks Beach was here but I’ve never visited before,” she said.
“My first visit was on May 28.” She was impressed with the park and Bear Island. “It was absolutely beautiful and I couldn’t believe I’ve never been before.”

While at MaST Early College High School/Carteret Community College, Johnson is pursuing associate’s in science and arts. She hopes to participate is SkillsUSA beginning with the fall semester. SkillsUSA is a partnership of students, teachers and industry working together to ensure America has a skilled workforce, according to its website.

Johnson is the environmental education intern.

“I’m not sure what I want to be yet, but I definitely want to go in the science direction,” she said of her future course of study. “I took on this role so that I could gather more experience in parks and recreation, to see if this is something I would like to do in the future.”

In her off time, Johnson said there is plenty to do at and near the park.

“During my spare time I love to fish off the ferry dock on the island and the surf,” she said. “Bogue Inlet also has some cool things. I also love to read when I’m at the barracks. I look forward to kayaking and all the other wonderful things you can do on the water.”

Intern coordinator passionate about mission

While a lot of folks may have passing knowledge of the Hammocks Beach State Park summer intern program, few are as involved as Allyson Roberts of Swansboro.

From her role as intern coordinator with the Friends of the Hammocks and Bear Island, a citizen support group for the park, she admits the program is close to her heart.

It is, she noted recently, “a mission.”

“I’m passionate about the park and my volunteer work with the interns,” she said.
When “The Barracks,” the interns’ living quarters on Bear Island, needs repairs or new furniture, you can count on Roberts and her husband Chuck taking care of it.

When Hurricane Florence knocked out The Barracks in 2018, Roberts said a way was found to work around it.

The four turtle interns were local. “They worked very long nights as the rangers took them to Bear Island on the patrol boat and picked them up in the morning,” Roberts said.

When COVID-19 shut down most of the world in 2020, Roberts found a way to work around it.

Again, “We had some local folks just to do turtles,” she said.

So it was a relief for Roberts to return to some sense of normalcy during the summer of 2021.

“Last year. We had the barracks all year and had a full crop of interns,” she said.

To the casual observer, the intern is a young person with a summer job. To Roberts, more is there.

“I truly enjoy the interaction with them. I enjoy being out there with them,” she said. “We have a lot of fun.”

Roberts also matches the interns with host families on the mainland. This gives the young people a place to get away to for a home-cooked meal, to do laundry or use the internet.

“The community is so supportive of them,” she said. And, Roberts added, “As a parent, we want our kids to have these great adventures. But as a parent, we want to know that somebody has their backs.”

Interns work from mid-May to mid-August, according to Ranger Sarah Kendrick, park superintendent.

In addition to being provided lodging at The Barracks during the internship, the interns are considered seasonal employees at the park and are paid $14 an hour.

“Six is our typical intern number,” Kendrick said. “Some years we have less for various reasons. We typically have three to four sea turtle interns, one or two shorebird interns, and an education intern.”

She also said the role the interns play is vital to the park operation.

“Interns are able to complete the valuable work of sea turtle monitoring and protection, shorebird monitoring and protection and extra educational programs above and beyond what the ranger staff is able to do,” Kendrick said. “Without the interns a lot of this work would not be able to be done because of the rangers’ workload. We have one of only two nighttime sea turtle monitoring programs in North Carolina, the other being Bald Head Island.”

This story is provided courtesy of the Tideland News, a weekly newspaper in Swansboro. Coastal Review partners with the Tideland to provide readers with more environmental and lifestyle stories of interest about the North Carolina coast.

SWANSBORO – A six-year legal wrangle over the fate of almost 300 acres of valuable waterfront property that could become part of Hammock Beach State Park is still no closer to being settled and may take several more months or even years to decide.

“This is a very complicated case,” said David Pearson, a local historian and the president of Friends of the Hammocks and Hammock Beach State Park. “Depending on the result of the (current) appeal, it could keep getting appealed.”

It’s also a convoluted tale that involves a beautiful piece of undeveloped property along Queens Creek that its original owner called a “peninsular wonderland.” It involves lawsuits and appeals that have twisted through two state courts. It’s peppered with heirs and descendants, charges and counter claims.

And it all began with an unusual friendship that defied Southern social norms of the time.

A Colorblind Friendship

Dr. William Sharpe and John Hurst

Dr. William Sharpe, a wealthy neurosurgeon from New York, fell in love with the marshes of Onslow County during annual hunting and fishing trips in the early 1900s. He bought about 4,600 acres along Queens Creek known as The Hammocks in 1917 and hired his old guide and friend John L. Hurst and Hurst’s wife, Gertrude, to manage and live on the property. Sharpe’s Swansboro estate, which included the nearby barrier island Bear Island, would eventually grow to about 10,000 acres.

“John was the son of a slave, and his formal education in a backwoods school was meager, to say the most,” Sharpe wrote in his 1953 autobiography, Brain Surgeon. “Yet John can do anything in the rugged outdoor life, and do it well.”

Choosing the Hursts as caretakers, though, stirred quite a bit of local resentment. Anonymous letters were sent threatening trouble. Sharpe refused to be intimidated, though, and placed an ad in local newspapers offering a $5,000 reward for arrest and conviction of anyone damaging the The Hammocks or injuring the Hursts. “There was no further trouble,” Dr. Sharpe wrote.

Peace prevailed for the next 20 years, and Sharpe enjoyed and protected his paradise with frequent and lengthy visits. Controversy was once again ignited, in 1937, when North Carolina announced plans to build a road across Sharpe’s isolated property. His appeals to Raleigh brought no relief. Sharpe then sought the advice of a colleague, who also happened to be the personal physician of President Franklin Roosevelt. Sharpe had a three-minute meeting with Roosevelt. Within days, he wrote, “work on the road had ceased.”

A Resort for Blacks

Sharpe intended to give the property to the Hursts when he died. Gertrude Hurst, a former teacher, related what happened next in a newspaper article in 1979. “Dr. Sharpe offered the estate to me and my husband, and we’d have been glad to take it, but then he made another suggestion, because we wouldn’t have been able to do anything with it,” she says in the article. “He put the question before me, ‘How about turning it over to the teachers?’ knowing that there was an organization that would stick together, I guess. So, it just went like that.”

“In 1949 we transferred the acres constituting The Hammocks to the eight thousand Negro schoolteachers of North Carolina under an arrangement whereby we may share it with them so long as we live, as may John and Gertrude Hurst while they live,” Sharpe wrote in his book, “and we agreed to match every dollar they themselves raised for improving it. So vigorous and successful have they been in raising funds that it’s going to cost us a tidy sum of money, but nothing that we have ever done in our lives has given us more happiness.”The N.C. Teachers Association, an association for black teachers, created the Hammocks Beach Corp. to manage the land for the use and benefit of its members, effectively creating a segregated resort complex. Sharpe deeded the property to the corporation.

Black teachers and their families embraced the vacation spot during segregation. Following a successful fundraising campaign that raised $99,000, two group campsites were built and a third site was developed for use by individuals and families.

A second effort fell short to raise money for a bridge to Bear Island from the mainland. The corporation then donated the island and marshlands to the state in 1959, and Hammock Beach State Park opened two years later for blacks only. A few years later, the corporation sold another 30 acres on the mainland to the state for a park headquarters and ferry service to Bear Island.

Black teachers, students and families continued their vacations on the remaining mainland property to swim, fish, camp and enjoy the coastal landscape, just as Sharpe had imagined. But the crowds began to thin after 1964, when the federal Civil Rights Act ended racial segregation.

The Lawsuits Begin

Trouble began in the 1970s after the black and white teachers’ association merged to form the N.C. Association of Educators. After the merger, many black teachers no longer paid dues to the Hammocks Beach Corp. The lack of money coupled with the Sharpes’ and Hursts’ lifetime right to the land created problems.

“Sometime in the late 1970s there became some disagreement between the Sharpes, the Hursts and the Hammocks Beach Corporation,” according to Pearson. “Hammocks Beach Corporation filed a suit against the Sharpes and Hursts to ‘quiet the title’ to the property in 1986. They couldn’t sell or mortgage the property. As a result, there was an agreement referred to as the ‘consent judgment’ in October 1987.”

The Hammocks Beach Corp. gave Bear Island to the state in 1959 to be used as a state park for blacks. Photo: Sam Bland

One result was that all the land, except for 289 acres, was divided between the Sharpe and Hurst families and eventually developed.

The Hammocks Beach Corp. controlled the remaining land. Members of the 4-H, Future Farmers of America and Boy Scouts were allowed to use the camps there.

John Henry Hurst and Harriett Hurst Turner, the grandchildren of John and Gertrude Hurst, filed a lawsuit in 2006 to remove the corporation as trustee of the deed, claiming it had failed to properly administer the trust.

The deed and an agreement between the Sharpes, the Hursts and the corporation provided that if it became impossible or impractical for the corporation to manage the property as originally planned, the corporation could transfer the property to the N.C. State Board of Education to manage as specified in the agreement. The deed further provided that if the board turned down the property, it would go to the heirs of the Sharpe and Hurst families.

On that the Hursts have hung their challenge. When seeking ownership of the remaining 289 acres, the Hurst’s lawyer, Charles Francis said the board had previously rejected the conveyance so the property should go to the heirs.

In a ruling handed down on Oct. 26, 2010, by Wake County Superior Court Judge Carl Fox, Hammocks Beach Corporation was removed as trustee, contingent on the formal appointment of the State Board of Education as successor trustee to administer the trust according to the 1950 deed. This time, the board of education chose to accept the appointment.

The Hursts have appealed that ruling to the state Court of Appeals, which also granted a stay while the appeal goes forward. Both sides have submitted briefs to the court, but no date has been scheduled for oral arguments.

According to Katie Cornetto, attorney for the state board of education, the board is defending the court’s decision to name it successor trustee for the property and if it becomes the trustee they would “seek to manage the property in accordance with the grantor’s wishes that it be maintained for the public for recreational and educational interests.”

That would presumably mean that the land would be added to the state park.

In the meantime, while the legal wheels turn slowly, the camping areas and meeting halls remain silent except for the peaceful sound of waves lapping the shore and the seagulls crying in the distance—disguising the turmoil that lies behind the future of the beautiful and tranquil property.

The unaltered marshes of Bear Island teem with wildlife and are one of the few reminders of what barrier island ecosystems are supposed to look like. Photo: Sam Bland.

Almost any time of year, one of my favorite places to be is on Bear Island. But my dedication to the place pales in comparison to that of Sam Bland, my coworker here at the federation. I haven’t been able to get out there yet this year, so I decided to pick his brain (and swipe some of his fantastic photos).

Sam is built for speed; there’s not an extra ounce on his spare frame. He sits in the lumpy chair across from me, speaking in quiet tones about the place he spent more than 20 years protecting in his prior career as the superintend and ranger at Hammocks Beach State Park and still spends as much time as possible, just visiting. His face lights up as he talks; it’s a pleasure to listen.

Between us, we’ve been to Bear Island thousands of times. By that, I mean I’ve been there maybe a dozen and he accounts for the rest, but who’s counting?

First, the basics: Bear Island is part of Hammocks Beach, which is off N.C. 24 in Swansboro, on the central part of the coast. The 892-acre, undeveloped barrier island has more than three miles of oceanfront, and backs up to a wonderland of marsh and tidal creeks. It’s a prime example of what a barrier island should be. In other words, Emerald Isle, it ain’t.

The island played starring roles in Indian culture, pirate lore and the Civil War, before becoming a beach for African Americans during segregation. The park has a good accounting of the rich history of the island here.

The island has primitive camping all year and water and restrooms open March through October. You reserve and pay for your campsite online—the website was down for a while this winter, but it’s active again now. If you don’t book online, you will likely be out of luck. There are 14 camping sites that will hold up to six people each. Three are on the marsh side, the rest on the ocean, tucked in the first line of dunes and they’re all $13 a night.
There are no roads to the island, so you have to get there by water, either on the park ferry or your own personal water craft.  This limits the number of people out there—a huge bonus in my book.

The ferry begins to run again Friday. It’s first-come, first-served, so even though you reserve your campsite online, you still need to go into the visitor center, register and buy a ferry ticket ($5 for adults, $3 for children and people over 62). Come early, or you may be waiting around.

Pack lightly if going by ferry—you will need to schlep your belongings anywhere from a half to a little over a mile along the trail to your

Look closely at the marsh grass. Periwinkles abound. Photo: Sam Bland

When I go, we paddle, and most of the time when Sam goes now, he paddles, so I’ll focus on that.

If you’re kayaking, you still need to park and register, show them ID and your reservation and give them your car tag number. They have a cart, if you need help hauling your boat down to the dock. They also have a nifty launching tube on the dock. Once you’re in it, you can slide yourself right on into the water, very smoothly.

Check the tides before you go. Low tide is very low, and when it’s down you will not make it to the lagoon at the end of the trail; you will find yourself stuck until the water comes back in.

Once you cut across the Intracoastal Waterway, the Bear Island paddle trail is clearly defined with orange markers. Don’t follow the yellow ones unless you want to circle nearby Huggins Island.  It’s gorgeous, but takes you through six miles of meandering marsh. Very impressive, granted, but if you’re headed for the campsite, you’re better off meandering on the orange path.

The trail takes you along tidal creeks through the marsh, with crabs skittering and birds calling throughout the trip. The trail ends at a lagoon. Pull out by the park sign. Campsites 7, 8 and 9 are just a short haul through a cut in the dune after you land. For this reason, they’re also the first to be reserved.

The inland landscape contains both maritime forest and sand dunes. While the shore is the right place for sunset and moon rise, the high (well, high for the coast) inland dunes are the place to take a blanket and sky watch. While full moon nights are popular, Sam prefers the new moon; the lack of light pollution almost guarantees that you’ll see shooting stars, even if you’re not there for the Perseids.

Sam has a warning, though—two, actually. First, there are cacti on the island that will laugh at your flip flops as they stab their way to your feet. Bring sturdy shoes or you’ll sport puncture holes on the way home.

Also, there is almost always a breeze on the island, which feels great. Occasionally, however, there is not. If you’re stretched out stargazing when the wind dies down, bloodthirsty bugs of all descriptions will descend upon you, so bring bug spray, the tough stuff.  Sam tells a fine tale of being driven so crazy by mosquitoes and no see ‘ems that he had to jump up and run into the ocean at 3 a.m. one night in his PJs.

Of course, Sam being Sam, this led to him discovering the joys of bioluminescence, which peaks in the shallow waters off Bear Island in late spring and early summer. The small sea creatures light up when they brush by. I’ve seen it, and it’s magical. The bioluminescence, I mean, not Sam in PJs.

Through the marshes, birds abound. Egrets stalk elegantly, poised to strike their prey if only we would paddle on by. An osprey takes a dive into the water and emerges with half a fish sticking out of its beak. Terns do the same, though with more frequency and less success. Also smaller splashes. In the spring, migratory colonial shore birds will show up to nest on the exposed beaches at the point, including hundreds of least terns, Wilson’s plovers and others. Sam says the flocks, which nest together on the flat sand at the point of the island, make great photo subjects.

If you watch the water as you paddle the marshes, you may see a cow-nosed ray—they hide in the creek bottoms, coming in on the tides. Shrimp and various fish are also plentiful.

Bottlenose dolphins are always good for a show. Photo: Sam Bland

And charismatic mega-fauna—Bear Island’s got ‘em.  I’ve seen bottlenose dolphins most of the times I’ve visited, and Sam has not only seen them, but taken some striking pictures. We’ve put one on this page. The dolphins cruise the ocean shoreline, and there are few beach sites that generate such excitement for visitors.

And turtles. Bear Island hosts between 20 and 30 loggerhead sea turtle nests each year. The mama turtles lay their eggs in mid-to late-May, and the hatchlings emerge and make a run for the sea August to October. Rangers mark and watch the sites, and volunteers come to watch over the nests and to try to protect the tiny turtles from those that want to snack upon them, such as ghost crabs, raccoons and foxes.

No fires are allowed on the island. I like a good campfire as much as most, but in this case, it makes good sense. If a fire starts, there is no way to put it out, so, in Sam’s words, “the whole thing would go up.” That’s what happened in 1945, when the maritime forest was destroyed. The park learned the lesson.

While I’m at it, there is also no alcohol allowed in the park, and Sam says to tell you that big scary rangers will find you and take it away if you bring it.

By the time we’re done talking, I’m itching to look at the weather and the site reservations to see if I can get myself out there this weekend.  I think he is, too. He looks off into the middle distance. “When I’m there, I’m home,” he says. “It brings me joy.”

The joy part: Me, too, Sam—me, too.

The tracks of baby turtles in the sand on Bear Island. Photo: Sam Bland