The restoration advisory board for the Buxton Naval Facility Formerly Used Defense Sites is to meet at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club in Buxton.

During the quarterly meeting this week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is expected to give an update on the current environmental restoration projects, and discuss community interest in continuing the restoration advisory board, or RAB, or adjourning it.

The advisory board is a stakeholder advisory group that meets regularly to discuss environmental restoration at Department of Defense sites, such as the Buxton Naval Facility FUDS property.

Army Corps has been removing petroleum-contaminated soil and infrastructure that remains at the oceanfront site once used by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.

For more information, visit the project website Formerly Used Defense Sites/ Buxton Naval Facility or email Cesas-FUDS@usace.army.mil.

The hundreds of thousands of visitors who come to Carteret County each year to observe the wild herd roaming free on Shackleford Banks wouldn’t have much to see if the National Park Service’s proposal in the mid-1990s to dramatically reduce the herd had come to pass.

But when talk began in 1995 about removing a large portion of the wild horses to preserve island vegetation on the undeveloped barrier island, a part of Cape Lookout National Seashore, a group created a nonprofit to fight on behalf of the horses and won.

According to the grassroots nonprofit, the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, formed on Aug. 9, 1996, the park service’s plan to reduce the herd was detrimental, “Because you are talking about something that people identify with this place as much as they do the lighthouse or fishing or the beaches. The horses are an intrinsic part of this place, and this place is an intrinsic part of each one of us that loves it and calls it home.”

Foundation President Margaret Poindexter said the nonprofit evolved after a handful of concerned residents first gathered at public meetings, and then at public protests, in 1995. The foundation members consulted with scientists and collected data, research, and historical information, and approached then-Congressman Walter B. Jones Jr. to help protect the herd.

“Together, they stood up to the government’s ill-conceived policy proposal and blatant disregard for local interests, cultivated public, and eventually, bipartisan political support for their issue, which ultimately resulted in the enactment of unprecedented federal legislation in 1998, the ‘Shackleford Banks Wild Horses Protection Act,’ to ensure preservation and protection of a treasured resource, an ideal, a value,” Pondexter wrote in an email.

Since the legislation passed in 1998, the foundation has been cooperating with the National Park Service to make decisions about contraception, remove horses from the herd, veterinary intervention and humane euthanasia to end a horse’s suffering. DNA testing is also conducted to maintain the records documenting their lineage, and to monitor the overall genetic health of the herd, she continued.

The foundation is commemorating is 30 years at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, at Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center on Harkers Island. Attendees are asked to bring a covered dish to share during the 6 p.m. dinner before the 7 p.m. program with special guest, behavioral ecologist Dr. Dan Rubenstein, who has studied the herd for decades and was one of the scientists consulted back in 1995. RSVP for planning purposes to shackhorsemail@gmail.com.

Poindexter said that Rubenstein’s “study of the horses has been instrumental in their protection and preservation” and the foundation “believes that, without the study and work of Dr. Rubenstein, the wild herd of Shackleford Banks would not exist today.”

The Princeton University professor and his graduate students have been studying and documenting the social behavior of the Shackleford horses for decades. He was named in 2008 Princeton’s Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology, an endowed professorship, and transferred to emeritus status in 2023.

Rubenstein, who had just returned to the United States from Kenya where he studies zebras, told Coastal Review last week that he remembers when the foundation’s founder and former president, Carolyn Mason, called him out of the blue 30 years ago about his decades of research on the herd.

“She said, ‘You don’t know me. I’m a librarian at Cherry Point, and we have a problem,’” Rubenstein said, “and she explained the problem, and we became friends. And the foundation was started. And long story short, the horses are still there.”

The equine ecologist learned about Carteret County’s wild horses almost by accident, he said, because of his interest in animal behavior while a zoology graduate student at Duke University in the early 1970s.

“I was on main campus, and I was at the beginning of this emerging field called behavioral ecology,” which Rubenstein explained as “behaviors related to the ecology, and it can go both ways. The behavior can change the ecology, or the ecology can impact the behavior.”

But, his interest in animal behavior started a few years before this while an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. He read a study on the family structure of the herd in the Pryor Mountains on the Montana-Wyoming border. The scientist who observed wild horse behavior looked at how the horses organize their social lives.

“I read his papers and said, ‘I want to study those horses’ and the one reason I did is that we were learning in our classes that animals live in groups largely because they have relatives in those groups,” even though “there’s no automatic benefits to living in groups, only costs.” This is because of competition for resources. The cost can be minimized through kin selection, the evolutionary theory that animals help their relatives survive so their shared genes are passed to the next generation.

“Virtually all animal societies are based around mothers staying with their daughters or sons staying with their fathers. So there’s a kin relationship. Horses and bats are unique in the sense that they’re like Western humans. Everybody leaves home,” he said. “Horses represented the toughest case to understand why animals live in groups because the genetic connectedness was not there. So I was interested in that.”

He had planned to head west and study the wild horses on Pryor Mountain but while on a visit to Beaufort in 1973 he learned that there were wild horses on Shackleford Banks.

“I decided I’d go out and camp on the island for a week and learn how to study horses because I’d never studied horses. I didn’t have horses when I was growing up. I didn’t ride horses. I worked on crayfish for my undergraduate thesis at Michigan. I was in the river all the time, snorkeling, cold, miserable,” but with the horses, you can study the behavior.

“And that week was miserable. In the spring, it rained every day. The tent I borrowed had holes in the top. Didn’t have a fly,” but he met a local who had a fish camp on the island and told Rubenstein all about the Shackleford horses, including the myths surrounding the wild herd.

Calling the horses beautiful, he said it was fascinating how they were culturally connected to people from Harkers Island, one of the 13 unincorporated communities making up Down East in Carteret County.

“I also learned on my first trip that they were not behaving like horses should be. They were being territorial, and that has to do with the structure of the island. There are all these channels of water that come in, and the horses used those as boundaries that they didn’t have to mark. That would be dividing lines between groups, and so I got fascinated by that and that’s how I got started studying the horses. And one thing led to another, and the numbers that I had before they took the cows, sheep and goats off the island became the basis for the legislation,” he said, referring to when the park service removed the livestock but left the horses in the early 1980s.

Rubenstein said he’s looking forward to his visit to Carteret County and talking about the process of coming up with the management plan. “I’ll talk on the secret lives of horses, but I’m also going to talk about the secret lives of management,” and how the conservation program was built.

The park service is mandated “to open the land up for the public, but it’s to have land that is stable, sustainable, protected,” Rubenstein said Wednesday. “And horses do have an impact. You know they graze; they’re going to change the plant composition. But by having the numbers at a low enough level, their impact is very minimal, and so the process by which we came up with the management plan is what I’ll talk about to the public next Saturday night.”

About a tenth of a mile of beach and swimming area in Buxton will be temporarily closed to the public starting Aug. 3 while the southernmost groin is repaired.

The work is taking place in conjunction with a beach nourishment project in the Hatteras Island village expected to begin this week.

Dare County commissioners, during a special meeting June 15, voted to award $8.6 million to repair the groin to SJ Hamill Construction Co. “which has the experience, resources and project history necessary to successfully complete this type of coastal construction,” according to the county. The marine and heavy civil contractor is based in Charleston, South Carolina.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials said Monday that the 600 feet of beach flanking the site where the work is taking place, as well as the adjacent ocean area to the east, will be closed until repairs are complete. The county anticipates that to be by the end of the year, but if weather or material lead times cause delays, the contractor must have the project fully completed by June 1, 2027.

The groin being repaired is one of three the U.S. Navy constructed in 1970 in response to coastal erosion adjacent to Naval Facility Cape Hatteras, now known as the Buxton Beach Access or Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site. Two groins were built to the north of the former location of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and one just south.

The park service granted the permit in April for the permitted repairs that include the removal of deteriorated materials and installation of new steel sheet piles, with stone scour protection at the base to help prevent erosion.

For the beach nourishment project intended to protect N.C. 12 from ocean hazards, the Houston, Texas-based Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. is to begin this week the roughly three-month project to place 2 million cubic yards of sand along Buxton’s beachfront, according a county July 14 update.

The unoccupied oceanfront structure at 46000 Ocean Drive in Buxton that collapsed Tuesday night is the fifth to collapse this year, and the 32nd house since 2020 to be demolished by the Atlantic on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches.

The collapse will not cause any delays for the beach renourishment project scheduled to begin later this month for the Dare County village.

Because varying amounts and sizes of hazardous debris is scattered along the beach to the south of the collapse site, National Park Service officials are “strongly urging” visitors to avoid the beach and stay out of the water from the Village of Buxton south to the Cape Point area.

Officials also have temporarily closed beach access from the north end of Buxton through the lifeguarded beach to access the situation.

Dare County Manager and Attorney Bobby Outten told Coastal Review Wednesday morning that the collapse will not affect the planned Buxton beach nourishment project.

The contractor for the project is a few weeks from mobilizing and the beach will be cleaned up by then, he added.

Catherine Kozak contributed to this report.

The scorching sun, nearly unbearable humidity and the impenetrable clouds of insects are no deterrent for the thousands who spend the day exploring either Shackleford Banks or the Rachel Carson Reserve, the natural environment for Carteret County’s wild horse herds.

Once visitors board the passenger ferries on the mainland that head to the undeveloped barrier islands, they are forsaking modern conveniences to observe the protected species as they graze in the marsh, feast on sea oats or, if the stars align, witness the extraordinary moment when a newborn foal attempts its first steps on wobbly legs.

Shackleford Banks is the 8-mile-long southernmost barrier island of Cape Lookout National Seashore, part of the National Park Service, that has a herd of more than 100 wild horses. The Rachel Carson Reserve, which is visible from the Beaufort waterfront, protects a herd of between 20 and 30.

The National Park Service co-manages its herd with the nonprofit Foundation for Shackleford Horses Inc. that was formed in 1996 since the Shackleford Banks Wild Horses Protection Act was signed in 1998. The Rachel Carson Reserve is one of 10 sites under the North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, part of N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management.

The organizations have rules and guidelines in place that allow visitors to make the most of their experience while also preventing the animal from becoming habituated, and losing its “wild lifestyle.”

In an effort to help protect the public and the herds, the two agencies and the foundation have partnered for the fourth year on the Pony Patrol program. The trained volunteers, identifiable by their bright yellow T-shirts or vests, commit to spending three or four hours a few times a month during peak season at either location to help manage wildlife and visitor interactions.

“As residential growth and tourism surge along the Crystal Coast, more people than ever are encountering the wild horses that define this place,” the reserve’s Stewardship Coordinator Paula Gillikin said. “Protecting the wildness and well‑being of these iconic animals — while also ensuring public safety and enjoyment — has never been more important. The Pony Patrol volunteer program offers a powerful way to safeguard the horses, educate visitors, and create safe, respectful experiences for everyone.”

Foundation President and Chairman Margaret Poindexter told Coastal Review last week that this year’s group 50 or so volunteers, referred to as the “Pony Patrollers,” is the biggest yet and “We’ve been blown away by their enthusiasm.”

All Pony Patrollers, both new and returning, went through training in April and began May 14 their three- and four-hour shifts, giving the organizations and volunteers time to smooth any wrinkles ahead of the notoriously busy Memorial Day weekend.

“The new folks have paired with veterans to get the benefit of their experience and insight. We’ve had coverage that exceeds what’s required, and we were well-staffed over the holiday weekend, which can be crazy sometimes,” Poindexter continued. “Going into June, signups for shifts outpaces the minimum commitment from the volunteers.”

Poindexter said that in conjunction with the foundation’s 30th anniversary celebration this year and to recognize the service of the Pony Patrol volunteers, the foundation is sponsoring a photography exhibit and competition to be on display at the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center’s gallery at 806 Arendell St. in Morehead City. Core Sound is a community-focused history museum and gathering place on Harkers Island. The gallery is part of its outreach programming.

The opening reception is from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 6, at Core Sound’s Morehead City gallery. The exhibit will be on display all summer.

Poindexter said the foundation wanted this exhibit to be different from others the organization has hosted in the past.

“We wanted to create an opportunity to recognize the service and dedication of our Pony Patrol volunteers, and we have some really gifted photographers among them,” Poindexer said.

“We thought an exhibit of photos, showcasing not only their talent, but more importantly, demonstrating their passion and love for the wild horses would help us show the public how fortunate we are to have this unique group of folks serving on Pony Patrol,” she continued. “As the Foundation turns 30, it’s gratifying to know that we have such a committed group of volunteers looking out for the wild horses going forward.”

Mark and Lynn Golitz, owners Bluesail Golitz Studios in downtown Morehead City, are judging the competition. Winners will be announced at the reception.

“Mark is a potter and Lynn is a painter, and together they are a creative force in our community. They are advocates for our local wild horses, they have wholeheartedly supported the work of the Foundation for years, and we are so grateful for their support,” Poindexter said.

There will also be a chance for folks to vote for People’s Choice while exhibit is up and the winner will be announced at the end of the show. 

Pony Patrol began as an idea in the late 2010s but didn’t take off until four years ago.

“We started meeting in 2019 about the program details, scheduled it for its first season in 2020, and then it was shelved because of the pandemic. We were able to get it back on track and launched it in 2023,” Poindexter explained.

The all-call for volunteers for the 2026 season went out early in the year and those selected were required to take part in a training session held April 15 in the N.C. Maritime Museum in Beaufort.

The volunteers learned the history and goals of the program, heard from representatives of the National Park Service, NCDEQ, local law enforcement, how to speak with visitors and what is needed to prepare for the shifts that require being able to trudge through sand while dealing with extreme sun, heat, humidity, wind, and bugs.

There were a lot of new faces at the training, including Kim Ridel, a resident of Morehead City.

She said in an interview that she volunteered for the program when a friend who’s been a Pony Patroller since it started shared information with her about its purpose.

“I have been coming to this area all of my life, and I’ve been fortunate enough to live here full-time for the last several years. The ponies have always been a part of my best Carteret County days, and I’m really excited to share what I’ve learned about them through Pony Patrol, with visitors and locals alike,” Ridel said. “I’m also very committed to educating people about how important it is to let these incredible animals continue to live their best natural lives, by watching from a safe distance, keeping pets on leashes and not interfering with them — which will hopefully allow us to continue to coexist in the best way.”

When Ridel first spoke to Coastal Review on May 15, she said she expected to be “flying solo” during her first shift May 21, but was paired with an experienced Pony Patroller. Ridel said in a follow up email asking about her first shift, that the afternoon “went great.”

“The weather was beautiful,” Ridel said Wednesday in a follow-up email. They spotted nine horses during the shift, “all of which seemed to be doing well. The people we talked to were curious and respectful and it was a great first time.”

Reprinted from Island Free Press

The long-planned effort to repair one of Buxton’s historic groins can now officially move forward after the final major federal permit required for the project was issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers this week.

According to Dare County Assistant County Manager Dustin Peele, county officials received the Army Corps permit Tuesday, clearing the final regulatory hurdle for the project after approvals had already been secured from other stakeholder agencies, including the National Park Service and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

“We had a pre-construction meeting Monday for the groin project,” Peele said in an update Wednesday. “Bids are due back later this month. We intend to have a low bidder ready for Board approval during the June 9 meeting.”

The permit approval marks a major milestone for a project that has been in development for years and was intentionally fast-tracked to align with the county’s upcoming 2026 beach nourishment project in Buxton.

Officials have previously noted that obtaining permits for shoreline stabilization work can often take two years or longer due to the extensive environmental reviews and coordination required among multiple agencies. In this case, the process was streamlined as much as possible to coincide with the scheduled beach nourishment effort, which is now expected to begin in mid-June.

The repair project focuses on the southernmost of Buxton’s three groins, which are located along the shoreline near the end of Old Lighthouse Road.

The structures were originally constructed by the U.S. Navy in 1969 and 1970 near the former Naval Facility Cape Hatteras in an effort to slow shoreline erosion and help protect nearby infrastructure. However, maintenance of the groins largely ceased after the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was relocated approximately 2,900 feet inland in 1999.

Over time, the groins deteriorated significantly under constant wave action and lack of maintenance.

Under current North Carolina coastal regulations, only the southernmost groin qualifies for repair. State officials determined that enough of the structure remained intact, at least 50%, for the project to be considered a repair rather than a reconstruction, allowing it to move forward under existing rules. The other two groins have deteriorated beyond that threshold and are not eligible for reconstruction under current regulations.

County officials and coastal engineers have emphasized that the repair project is not intended to stop erosion entirely, but rather to help retain sand placed during nourishment operations and slow the rate of shoreline loss in a small but vulnerable stretch of oceanfront.

Plans for the repair work include removing deteriorated materials, installing new steel sheet piles, and placing additional stone scour protection around the structure. The final repaired groin will follow the same footprint, extending 640 feet into the ocean.

The groin repairs are intended to work in conjunction with the 2026 Buxton beach nourishment project, which is now expected to place roughly 2 million cubic yards of sand along approximately 2.9 miles of shoreline extending from the Haulover Day Use Area to the groin area near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Dare County officials have repeatedly described the nourishment and groin repair efforts as complementary projects aimed at improving the resilience of Buxton’s shoreline and protecting N.C. Highway 12 from future erosion and storm impacts.

The Army Corps permit was issued through the agency’s Wilmington District under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, authorizing work within federally regulated waters and wetlands.

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.

Part of an ongoing series on North Carolina’s observance of America’s 250th.

More than 40 stops in eight southeastern North Carolina counties are being highlighted as part of the 250th commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The program, “The Roadmap to Freedom: Your NC First in Freedom Celebrations Guide,” is a passport booklet featuring historical, cultural and natural destinations, including the Wilmington Railroad Museum, Missiles and More Museum, N.C. Maritime Museum in Southport, Duplin County Veterans Museum and Flying Machine Brewing Co.

Moores Creek Battleground Association and the First in Freedom Festival have coordinated the program launched during the inaugural North Carolina First in Freedom Festival held the last week in February, which culminated with a commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge at Moores Creek National Battlefield in Pender County.

“The passport, which is valid through Dec. 31, offers day-trip adventures to the region’s hidden gems,” said Jim Buell, president of the Moores Creek Battleground Association in a statement. “Each destination highlights a piece of America’s 250th anniversary.”

Moores Creek Battleground Association formed in 1857 and was chartered in 1899 to preserve the significance of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge. The battle in the early hours of Feb. 27, 1776, was the first decisive victory by patriots in the American Revolution.

“The passport program launched during the First in Freedom Festival kickoff in February,” Buell said. “I have a First in Freedom Passport, and it has been an enjoyable experience to be a tourist in our own backyard.”

Related: Rainy remembrance marks Revolution’s first decisive win

The passport functions like a traditional travel passport, Buell explained.

At each location, visitors receive a stamp and signature verifying their visit. After visiting most or all sites, participants may return their passport to the battlefield to become eligible for prizes at the end of the year, which include America 250 items based on the number of sites visited, from a commemorative pin to a T-shirt.

Jason Collins, chief of interpretation, education and volunteers at Moores Creek National Battlefield, said they’ve had their first participants to complete passport program.

“This couple traveled to more than 40 sites in southeastern North Carolina and explored more than 250 years of American history represented at these locations,” he said.

The Roadmap to Freedom Passport is available at participating destinations, Moores Creek National Battlefield, the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, and members of the Wilmington Area Hospitality Association.

For more information, visit the webpage at ncfirstinfreedomfestival.com/passport. The effort is supported by America 250 NC, the state’s official commemoration of the United States’ 250th anniversary under the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Sites by County

Bladen

• Harmony Hall
• Lu Mil Vineyard
• Jones Lake State Park
• Singletary Lake
• Turnbull Creek
• Cape Fear Winery and Distillery
• Goldston’s Beach and Pier
• Bladenboro Historical Museum

Brunswick

• Bald Head Lighthouse
• Brunswicktown/Fort Anderson State Historic Site
• NC Maritime Museum at Southport
• Museum of Coastal Carolina
• Ingram Planetarium

Columbus

• NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Whiteville
• Lake Waccamaw State Park

Duplin

• Cowan Museum
• Liberty Hall
• Duplin County Veterans Museum

New Hanover

• Bellamy Mansion
• Battleship North Carolina
• Wilmington Railroad Museum
• Fort Fisher State Historic Site
• Burgwin-Wright House and Gardens
• Cameron Art Museum
• Latimer House
• Airlie Gardens
• Children’s Museum of Wilmington
• Flying Machine Brewery

Onslow

• Hammocks Beach State Park
• Onslow County Museum
• Onslow County Parks and Recreation
• Swansboro Historical Association
• Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center
• Jacksonville City Hall

Pender

• Missiles and More Museum
• Moores Creek National Battlefield
• Sara Beasley Turtle Center
• Pender County History Museum
• Poplar Grove Plantation

Sampson

• Sampson County History Museum
• Coharie Tribal Center

Currituck County’s America 250 NC Task Force has launched a yearlong challenge to visit 10 of North Carolina’s lighthouses as part of the country’s celebration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Called the NC Lighthouse Challenge, participants must visit the 10 sites and submit their photos with the lighthouse visible to nc.lighthouse.visit@gmail.com by the Dec. 31 deadline. Those who complete the challenge will be awarded a personalized certificate from Currituck County upon completion, and earn a free lighthouse climb.

Organizers noted that Hatteras, Lookout, Ocracoke, and Bodie are not offering the free lighthouse climb because of either long-term maintenance or National Park Service rules.

Register at https://www.eventcreate.com/e/nc-lighthouse-visit to receive the official set of rules.

“Long before modern navigation systems, lighthouse keepers and members of the U.S. Life-Saving Service stood watch along North Carolina’s treacherous coastline. Their dedication—often in isolation and through severe weather—helped guide ships safely and protect countless lives,” organizers said in a release.

“These early services were eventually unified under the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939, continuing a legacy of vigilance and service that remains today. The NC Lighthouse Challenge honors that legacy, inviting participants to walk in the footsteps of those who helped ‘light the way’ for a growing nation,” they continued.

The 10 historic sites include the following:

• Old Baldy on Bald Head Island, built 1817.
• Ocracoke Lighthouse, 1823.
• Cape Lookout Lighthouse, 1859.
• Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, 1870.
• Bodie Island Lighthouse, 1872, on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
• Currituck Beach Lighthouse, 1875.
• Oak Island Lighthouse, 1958.
• Roanoke River Lighthouse, 1886, in Edenton.
• Roanoke River Lighthouse 1867 replica in Plymouth.
• Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse 1877 replica in Manteo.

Tony Cerri, a member of the county’s celebration task force, said that at its core, the challenge is about more than visiting beautiful places.

“It’s about recognizing the vital role North Carolina’s lighthouses — and the people who served in them — played in guiding commerce, protecting lives, and supporting the growth of our nation,” Cerri added in the release.

Currituck County’s America 250 NC Task Force is one of the county committees that plan and organize events, projects, and initiatives at the county level as part of America 250 NC. The state’s official commemoration of America’s 250th anniversary is a program of the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

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.

Guest Commentary

To stimulate discussion and debate, Coastal Review welcomes differing viewpoints on topical coastal issues. Opinions expressed by the authors are not necessarily those of Coastal Review or our publisher, the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

Early this February, the Outer Banks battled severe winter weather, a closed main highway due to overwash, and iced-over ferry terminals. But amidst the freeze, a more permanent disaster unfolded. On Feb. 1 and 2, the Atlantic Ocean claimed its latest prize: four homes in Buxton.

This brings the total number of properties lost to the ocean since 2020 to 31. While these collapses create a spectacle on social media and news outlets, for coastal managers, they are anticipated events and a reminder of our losing battle against an ever-encroaching sea.

The consequences from each collapse extend beyond the individual homeowners. Scattered debris creates hazardous conditions that close shorelines, deter tourists, and threaten the local tourism economy.

While homeowners are technically responsible for hiring contractors for debris removal, county and National Park Service crews from the neighboring Cape Hatteras National Seashore are often left to fill the gap. And until cleanup is complete, waves of nails, furniture, septic systems, and splintered wood create dangerous conditions for neighbors, tourists, and wildlife. Ultimately, we are trying to force static buildings onto dynamic barrier islands, and the islands are fighting back.

The sand subscription trap

Most of these threatened homes were built on these barrier islands between the 1970s and 1990s, originally standing hundreds of feet from the Atlantic Ocean. Today, homes in the Outer Banks cling to a shoreline eroding at rates of up to about 20 feet per year. This erosion is driven by rising sea levels, expected to increase locally by 15 to 22 inches by 2050, and intensified coastal storms.

Currently, our primary adaptation strategy is beach nourishment, the artificial pumping of sand onto existing beaches to resist erosion and protect inland structures. However, this strategy is proving unsustainable. The rate of erosion has simply outpaced our administrative capacity to fund, permit, and engineer new projects. The beach in front of the latest collapses in Buxton was nourished less than four years ago. In essence, we are signing up for a recurring subscription to sand, one that costs more every year while protecting homes for a shorter period.

The case for buyouts

What most reports on these collapses fail to highlight is that a financially viable solution exists. A 2023 Western Carolina University cost-benefit analysis of Rodanthe, a community on the Outer Banks that has seen 12 collapses since 2020, found that long-term beach nourishment would cost the municipality approximately $120 million over 15 years. In contrast, it would cost just over $40 million to proactively buy out and remove the 80 most at-risk homes.

While the recent collapses in Buxton are making headlines, Buxton and Rodanthe, as the two communities where homes have collapsed, face different realities. Buxton is largely a year-round community where erosion threatens the broader tourism-driven economy, though the collapsing oceanfront homes themselves are primarily second homes. Conversely, Rodanthe is largely composed of vacation homes with a relatively small tax base.

Further, the somewhat recently completed “Jug-Handle” Rodanthe Bridge bypassed Rodanthe’s erosion hot spot, which has mitigated need to protect that stretch of highway. The exorbitant costs of beach nourishment and limited funds make Rodanthe unlikely to afford nourishment, and make buyouts the most logical strategy.

Buyouts are a tool for managed retreat where local, state, or federal governments purchase hazard-prone homes to relocate residents and demolish the existing structures, creating open space that naturally buffers against coastal flooding.

While beach nourishment projects in this region are projected to last about five years, a buyout is a permanent removal of the risk. There is already a precedent for this in Rodanthe as well. In 2023, the National Park Service used funds from offshore oil and gas leasing earnings to buy and demolish two threatened homes before they collapsed.

Breaking the insurance cycle

Critics often point to the loss of local tax revenue as a barrier to buyouts. However, the WCU study found that property tax revenue lost from these 80 homes, valued between $7 to $10 million over 30 years, is still significantly less than the cost to maintain the beach through nourishment. Further, our current system under federal guidelines creates deep regional inequities. Reimbursement for beach nourishment projects is only available to communities that can first afford millions to construct an engineered beach.

Only when a disaster is declared does a beach become eligible to receive emergency funding for the volume of sand lost during a specific storm-related disaster. Because of the steep costs of nourishment, only affluent communities with wealthier tax bases can afford to protect their homes.

Where federal dollars don’t pay for sand, the inherent risk of living along an eroding shoreline is subsidized through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Local and federal agencies lack the authority to force homeowners to demolish their compromised properties and therefore proactive removal is entirely voluntary and costs homeowners over $25,000 out-of-pocket. Homeowners with mortgages in these flood zones are incentivized to wait for the inevitable to be eligible to receive up to $250,000 for the structure and $100,000 for contents from the NFIP only after their home has collapsed.

Congress is largely unresponsive to escalating climate risks associated with intensifying hazards and subsequent uninsurable flood risks. Even when there have been legislative reforms to the NFIP, there have been unintended consequences for homeowners who are unable to afford higher premiums and also unable to sell their properties, with disproportionate impacts on vulnerable communities. With Rodanthe consisting primarily of vacation rentals, there is a deep equity question about how to fairly allocate taxpayer funds when low- and middle-income households are disproportionately impacted by flooding nationwide.

There is bipartisan recognition that this system must change. In 2025, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C.-3, co-sponsored the Preventing Environmental Hazards Act (H.R.3161) to address this issue. The bill would authorize advance NFIP payouts of up to 40% of a home’s value up to $250,000 to proactively help homeowners demolish threatened homes before they collapse. To build on this, experts propose a “discounts for buyouts” reform to the NFIP, offering homeowners lower premiums in exchange for their agreement to sell their home and relocate once their home is substantially damaged by flooding. In addition, by prioritizing residences valued at under $250,000, the NFIP could equitably relocate vulnerable primary homes over wealthy second-home owners.

Proactive planning over reactive cleanup

Buyout programs are not a “silver bullet” to ongoing erosion and sea level rise. They come with emotional consequences, including homeowner displacement and impacts to community identity. Also, a large-scale buyout program would undoubtedly require significant local, state, and/or federal funds to remove these at-risk properties. However, voluntary programs that give homeowners autonomy over decisions on whether to participate in buyouts can mitigate these social costs.

One of the biggest hurdles is politics. Supporting government-funded buyouts can be seen as admitting defeat to the environment and is a political liability. Andrew Coburn, the associate director of the program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at WCU, noted that it is hard to imagine that a politician would ever tell their constituents, “Well, I guess it’s time we retreated.” Instead, we let the ocean decide when retreat from the shoreline happens, often at a much higher long-term cost.

The Outer Banks is an early warning sign for the rest of the U.S. coastline. While the only option appears to be expensive and temporary beach nourishment and insurance bailouts, there is a more holistic, science-based solution where long-term benefits outweigh the costs.

The logical solution is based on the values and needs of the broader Outer Banks community, U.S. taxpayers, the long-term health of the ecosystem, and equity. In the face of the 32nd collapse, we must shift from the cycle of federal subsidies and reactive cleanups toward insurance reforms and proactive retreat programs that offer homeowners a viable way out, before the Atlantic decides for them.

A beach nourishment project expected to begin this summer on Buxton’s ocean shoreline will be the topic of a public meeting scheduled for Feb. 11.

Officials with Dare County, which is hosting the meeting at 6 p.m. in Buxton, will be joined by several representatives from the National Park Service – Outer Banks Group to provide general information and answer questions from the community about the upcoming project.

The meeting will kick off with a brief discussion about the nourishment project, including its expected timeline and duration, after which time the public may ask questions.

The meeting will be held in person at the Fessenden Center, 46830 N.C. Highway 12 and will also be livestreamed on the Dare County YouTube channel.

Those who are unable to attend the meeting may submit comments or questions via email to DareCountyPR@DareNC.gov no later than Sunday.

Additional information about nourishment projects in the county is available at MoreBeachToLove.com.

The National Park Service has approved a project to stabilize about a mile of rapidly eroding shoreline at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

The 513-acre site located on the northern end of Roanoke Island in the Albemarle Sound was established in 1941 to preserve where Sir Walter Raleigh established colonial settlements between 1581 and 1591.

National Park Service leadership signed on Jan. 14 a finding of no significant impact to install a combination of rock revetment and rock berm to sections of the shoreline. A finding of no significant impact confirms that a proposed action won’t significantly affect the environment.

When the National Park Service announced the project’s approval Jan. 15, officials also released the mandatory floodplain statement of findings, which explains why the project must take place in a floodplain, along with any associated risk, and flood mitigation strategies.

The announcement opened up a two-week comment period that ends Friday on the findings. Instructions on how to comment are on National Park Service’s website.

The floodplain statement of findings concludes that the proposed rock revetment and berm to prevent ongoing and future shoreline erosion at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site “is necessary and consistent” with federal rules on activities in floodplains.

On the same day, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management announced and opened up a public comment period for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-requested federal consistency determination for the proposed rock berm and revetment combination project.

The determination is to “ensure compliance” with the Coastal Zone Management Act, a national policy for managing coastal resources.

“Specifically, the National Park Service proposes installing rock berms and rock revetments along approximately 1,100 linear feet of shoreline on the western end of Roanoke Island to reduce erosion, protect infrastructure, and enhance long-term shoreline stability,” per the state. “The State’s review of the submitted federal consistency determination request will determine if the proposed project in Dare County is consistent with the enforceable policies of North Carolina’s Coastal Management Program.”

To read the shoreline stabilization federal consistency determination request and comment, visit NCDEQ’s website.

Since becoming a national historic site, erosion along the property’s shoreline has been a management challenge. The shoreline is estimated to have eroded a quarter-mile or more since the late 16th century, according to the National Park Service.

Previous efforts have been made to slow shoreline loss but erosion has continued at an estimated 1 to 5 feet per year, impacting both cultural and natural resources at the site as well as the adjacent, privately owned Elizabethan Gardens, documents explain.

Michael Flynn is the physical scientist and certified floodplain manager for the Outer Banks Group of National Parks, which consists of Fort Raleigh, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Flynn told Coastal Review that wind, wave action and currents have eroded the shoreline over time and threaten facilities, infrastructure and cultural resources such as the Waterside Theater, where the “Lost Colony” out door drama is performed every summer, and a family cemetery on the property.

“This has caused loss of archeological resources and upland forested areas,” Flynn said. “In the 1980s, the park installed stabilization measures including rock berm and rock revetment. Erosion is especially prevalent at the edges of these stabilization measures in an effect known as flanking.”

In recent years, park staff have been developing the stabilization and erosion control plan approved earlier this month and the associated environmental assessment, which identifies any potential effects of the proposed project.

The plan and environmental assessment released in July 2025 detailed three possible projects: a rock revetment, a rock berm or a combination of the two. The environmental assessment that was out for public review July 21, 2025, to Aug. 20, 2025, identified as the preferred action the combination of the two.

“After evaluating the potential impacts of three action alternatives, NPS selected the preferred alternative: a combination of rock revetment and rock berm in areas of the shoreline that are the best fit due to existing topography, land use and constructability,” according to the press release.

Flynn said the combination was chosen because of the variable topography along the shoreline. The approach also offers flexibility for engineered designs for different environmental conditions.

For example, the rock revetment alternative will be placed in locations where existing steep and high embankments range from 5 to 15 feet or higher, he said.

“For areas with rock revetment, the application of appropriately sized rock will prevent the bluff from sloughing. The rock berm alternative will be placed in areas with no or minimal embankment heights. For areas with rock berm, the application of appropriately sized rock will protect the low-elevation sand beach areas from erosion caused by wave action,” he explained.

Flynn said that the environmental assessment for the proposed project was prepared in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, NEPA, and Department of Interior NEPA regulations.

Because the National Park Service issuing earlier this month the finding of no significant impact, often referred to as a FONSI, officials determined that the preferred alternative identified in the environmental assessment, or EA, will not have a significant effect on the human environment. If the environmental assessment does not support a finding of no significant impact, then the park service must prepare an environmental impact statement and issue a Record of Decision before taking action on the proposed activity.

“In short, Fort Raleigh may now proceed with implementing the preferred alternative described within the EA. The park will stabilize the shoreline for erosion control once NPS officials finalize the accompanying Floodplain Statement of Findings,” Flynn said.

The floodplain statement of findings is necessary because of two executive orders that require the National Park Service to evaluate the likely impacts of actions in floodplains.

It is park service policy to preserve floodplain functions and values, minimize potentially hazardous conditions associated with flooding, including threats to human health and safety, risks to National Park Service capital investment, and impacts on natural and beneficial floodplain values, he said.

That means a floodplain statement of findings “is prepared when a proposed action is found to be in, or affecting a floodplain, and relocating the action to a non-floodplain site is considered not to be a viable alternative. This is the case with implementing shoreline stabilization measures for erosion control,” Flynn continued.

Flynn noted that the floodplain findings factor in climate change effects. When data are available, the climate-informed science approach detailed in one of the executive orders is the preferred way to develop the floodplain statement of findings.

The climate-informed science approach incorporates the use of best-available data on water movement and methods that integrate current and future changes in flooding due to the increasing severity and frequency of precipitation, sea level rise, tidal cycles, land use change, yielding the most accurate elevation and flood hazard area, Flynn said.

Once the public review and comment period closes Friday, park staff are to revise the document accordingly and send it to the National Park Service’s Water Resources Division for review and signature. After that, the plan goes to the regional office for review, signature and approval to move forward, he explained.

A portrait of the late Darrell McNary Collins, a beloved historian at the Wright Brothers National Memorial for over 40 years and president emeritus of the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum, was delivered Wednesday to the museum as a gift to Collins’ widow, Tonya Collins, who continues to serve as a board member and treasurer with the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc.

“It is heartwarming to receive such a special gift and refreshing to have someone honor Darrell since his passing,” Tonya Collins said in a statement from the nonprofit that operates the museum. “He would be humbled but appreciative and delighted to continue to play a pivotal role in raising funds to share and promote the remarkable history of the Outer Banks, a place and people he truly loved! “

The presentation of the portrait entitled “A Legacy of Greatness” and painted by Outer Banks artist James Melvin happened on “Honorable Darrell Collins Day,” as proclaimed by Manteo town officials in 2023.

Looking back: Darrell Collins remembered for giving life to Wrights’ story

The portrait is to be on temporary display at the Cookhouse Museum and the artist was to be on hand from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. Wednesday. A public viewing and program for a larger audience are planned and will be announced early next year.

Darrell Collins, who died on Christmas Eve last year, is remembered for his knowledge and storytelling associated with the Wright brothers and their famous first flight. In addition to working as a historian at the Wright Brothers National Memorial for over 40 years, he was considered among the top aviation historians, according to the news release.

“He was known especially for his ease in blending science and history and for his incredible storytelling technique about the history of flight using an engaging and interactive style that brought smiles and interest to creative people of all ages,” said Pea Island Preservation Society Director of Outreach and Education Joan L. Collins in the release.

In addition to his work with the Pea Island Preservation Society Inc., Collins served as a Manteo town commissioner for 18 years and as mayor pro tem. He also served on the town planning board for 10 years. He entered local government after the sudden death in 2006 of his mother Dellerva Collins, who had been a Manteo commissioner for over 21 years.

Collins’ storytelling earned numerous national and international awards, including the Order of the Long Life Pine, North Carolina’s highest civilian honor for exemplary community service.

He also spoke with authority about Keeper Richard Etheridge and the Pea Island Lifesavers, and he helped create and present a live program to fourth grade students at all Dare County schools for several years and an annual essay contest.

Collins was also a youth basketball coach and player for Dare County Parks and Recreation for more than 25 years.

“The new portrait is also intended to reflect the special connection Darrell had with youth,” Joan Collins said. “He especially enjoyed the smiles and questions he received as he brought to life stories that were considered complicated or especially difficult to hear and to understand.”

Collins’ family history is also connected to the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, and the Native American history of the area.

This family history, museum officials said, also includes 400 years of combined service in the U.S. Life-Saving Service and its successor, the U.S. Coast Guard.

The museum on Roanoke Island honors the life-savers at the Pea Island from 1880 until 1947. It is located in the former Pea Island station cookhouse where the crew prepared and ate their meals.

A limited number of high-quality prints made on museum-grade paper and numbered and signed by the artist, will be offered for sale to businesses, organizations, and others as part of the museum’s fundraising efforts.

The museum would like to partner with area businesses and organizations interested in displaying the print for public viewing. 

And those interested in purchasing a limited-edition print are requested to contact the Pea Island Preservation Society by email at friends@peaislandpreservationsociety.com. A board member will then contact you to discuss preferred print size options and next steps.

The Preservation Society intends to make the prints available for shipment or pickup at the Pea Island Cookhouse Museum on Roanoke Island as soon as possible after the new year, so order right away. 

Moores Creek National Battlefield in Pender County is commemorating Feb. 26-28 the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Moores Creek Bridge and is looking for food vendors to join the celebration.

The Battle at Moores Creek was the first decisive patriot victory in the American Revolution and led to North Carolina to be the first colony to authorize its delegates to the 2nd Continental Congress to vote for independence, according to America 250th NC, the state-organized commemoration of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

“As part of this historic celebration, we are inviting local food trucks to be part of the festivities and serve between 5,000 and 7,500 visitors over the two days,” organizers said in the press release.

Organizers are looking for food trucks that meet the following criteria:

• Be within 25 miles of the battlefield in Pender County.
• Offer breakfast items such as coffee, donuts, pastries, and other morning fare.
• Offer menu items such as seafood, international flavors and creative alternatives.
• Follow federal, state, and local health codes, which the park will specify.
• Have a ServSafe Certification.
• Be able to commit to both days.
• Submit a menu with pricing upon submission.
• Have liability insurance.

“This is a unique opportunity to be part of a major milestone in American history while showcasing your culinary offerings to a diverse and enthusiastic crowd,” officials said.

Interested vendors should contact the battlefield office at 910-283-7213, no later than Jan. 10 to express interest and receive additional details.

The national memorial on the Outer Banks that honors the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright is celebrating Dec. 17 the 122nd anniversary of the brothers’ first heavier-than-air, controlled, powered flight.

Starting at 8:30 a.m. at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, the National Park Service will be joined for the celebration by Dare County Schools, and the nonprofit organizations, the First Flight Society and Outer Banks Forever. The First Flight Society promotes awareness of the history and future of flight. Outer Banks Forever is the official nonprofit partner of the Wright Brothers site, as well as the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

Park entrance fees are waived for the day.

As part of this year’s program, the First Flight Society will induct at 9 a.m. William P. Lear (1902-1978) into its Paul E. Garber Shrine, a portrait gallery located inside the memorial’s visitor center that honors those who have achieved significant firsts in aviation. Lear was an American inventor and businessman, best known for founding Lear Jet Industries. His portrait will be installed inside the gallery at 11 a.m.

The First Flight Society established the shrine in 1966 and named it after the curator and historian at the Smithsonian Institution who played a key role in the 1946 National Air Museum.

An introduction Wright Flight Academy is at 9:10 a.m. The two-year program began in 2023 as part of Dare County School’s Aviation Program, which offers juniors and seniors an opportunity to learn about aviation, science, and engineering while building a workable airplane on the memorial’s grounds.

At 10 a.m. as part of the celebration, students plan to unveil their completed airplane built during the academy. The build is the second airplane ever constructed on the historic site, “following in the footsteps of the Wright brothers’ and carrying their legacy into a modern classroom,” organizers said.

“The project underscores how Career and Technical Education, strengthened by community partnerships, can inspire the next generation of aviators and engineers. In a true full-circle moment, students are carrying forward the same spirit of innovation that launched the world’s first flight on the very ground where aviation history began,” organizers continued.

Throughout the day there will be demonstrations with the replica 1903 Wright Flyer, and the Wright Brothers Monument will be open for visitors to view the lower atrium, weather dependent. Ranger-led educational programs outside of the visitor center are scheduled for 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

The First Flight Society‘s annual luncheon that commemorates the flight anniversary will be from 12:30 to 3 p.m. that afternoon at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head. The organization invited to speak from the Lear world, Bill Lear’s daughter, Shanda Lear-Baylor, and Jeff Coggins, chief pilot and assistant director of operations for the Phoenix Air Group. Lunch will be served and there will be a silent auction. Tickets are $60 each before Dec. 10 or $75 after, and available on the website.

Moores Creek National Battlefield will return to the 18th century for the day as part of its “Christmas Comes to Currie” celebration set for 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13.

Park staff, volunteers and historians will provide a variety of programs focused on celebrating Christmas in the 18th century. Demonstrations will include Christmas cooking, playing 18th century toys and games, candlemaking, colonial music and more.

Santa Claus will visit the historic site 1-3 p.m.

The battlefield is the site of the first decisive Patriot Victory of the American Revolution. Moores Creek Bridge was crossed by Loyalist forces, many of whom were recently emigrated Scots Highlanders, on the morning of Feb. 27, 1776. The Loyalists made several attempts to take a fortified Patriot position on the opposite side of the bridge and were defeated.

For a full listing of details for the free event, visit www.facebook.com/moorescreeknps or www.nps.gov/mocr.

Guest Commentary

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

“They swam all the way to Ocracoke?”

I suppose I should not have been so incredulous upon learning that National Park Service employees were having to track down rogue coyotes on Ocracoke Island. During my time conducting surveys of colonial waterbirds across the North Carolina coast, the impacts of coyote predation on young chicks was impossible to not take seriously. Their presence posed a constant challenge for federal, state, and municipal authorities. It’s not only birds that are affected; coyotes, with their acute sense of smell, pose a serious threat to sea turtle nests as well.

Invasive species often pose a serious challenge for ecosystems that have not evolved alongside them, and the havoc they wreak often vastly outstrips the pace at which the environment can adapt to their presence. While we have come to think of coyotes as a part of our everyday lives here in the eastern U.S., they are actually only native to the Southwest.

As wolves were killed en masse and driven out of the eastern U.S., coyotes migrated eastward to fill in the ecological role that was left wide open. As they did so, they picked up genes from the retreating wolves along their way. Now native red wolves are restricted to the Albemarle peninsula of North Carolina, a remnant of a once-dominant population that would have kept the coyotes from ever reaching the barrier islands simply by virtue of their presence.

While red wolves and coyotes are somewhat similar in appearance, coyotes are solitary mesopredators (mid-level carnivores that are still threatened by apex predators) that are characteristically opportunistic when it comes to food sources such as sea turtle eggs. Red wolves on the other hand are cooperative pack hunters that go for much larger game than coyotes, and will drive coyotes away or attack them under normal ecological conditions.

I bring the expansion of coyotes up as one example of how North Carolina’s barrier islands have changed since the onset of European colonization in the 16th century. The changes have been numerous, catastrophic, profound, and formative all at the same time.

One of these changes are the wild horses that roam these dunes, in locations ranging from Corolla to Beaufort. I have enjoyed many meals from childhood to present dining on the Beaufort waterfront, looking across the narrow intracoastal waterway to find horses grazing on the Rachel Carson Reserve. For locals, they are a sight as ubiquitous as spotting dolphins in the waterway. Entire businesses and marketing promotions of the area have fixated on these horses as a unique part of the area’s culture and appeal.

I am presently a researcher with North Carolina State University studying the crystal skipper. The crystal skipper is a butterfly species only found on a 30-mile stretch of the North Carolina Crystal Coast from Bear Island to the Rachel Carson Reserve.

The Rachel Carson Reserve just so happens to be a location with resident horses, making it the only place where horse and skipper populations interact.

People frequently come to the Rachel Carson Reserve to hike or relax on the beach, whether they come by way of ferry or their own watercraft. As my coworkers and I work in our highlighter-yellow vests, visitors are frequently drawn to us with inquiries about where they can spot the horses. Their assumptions aren’t wrong, I have been coming here for years at this point and I can direct them where to go to have a good chance of seeing them. They are often surprised, however, to find us unenthusiastic about the horses when we are directly asked about them.

We usually address the visitors on the Rachel Carson Reserve surrounded by centipede grass, the only grass that remains after the horses have eaten their fill. Seaside little bluestem, the sole grass species the crystal skipper lays their eggs on and eats as a caterpillar, is nowhere to be found in the areas the horses frequent. It’s heart-wrenching to watch the horses stride into the one small section of the Rachel Carson Reserve that still contains a viable crystal skipper population, consuming who knows how many eggs and caterpillars as they satiate their hunger on seaside little bluestem. In a sharp contrast to the horses, the crystal skipper is not only from here, it is only found here.

Who are these horses for? For tourists?

I doubt the desire to see the horses would increase as people grow in their knowledge about the horses’ condition. When I am asked about how healthy the horses are here, I feel as though I am lying by omission if I don’t tell the truth as I see it.

For tourism boards?

North Carolina’s coast is replete with breathtaking sites and awe-inspiring nature, I doubt horses in particular are needed to promote the area.

For a rare and imperiled butterfly species found nowhere else on Earth?

Certainly not for them.

One could easily ask who the crystal skipper is for, to which I would reply that it is for the very island ecosystems that created it in the first place, whose selective pressures picked the genes that gave rise to its very body plan. Secondarily, the crystal skipper is for the people who live and visit here who are able to appreciate its beauty and intrinsic link to the land.

For all the problems I have highlighted here, I do believe that there is a solution to this problem that addresses the concerns of all involved. To anchor this solution in how I began the article, I once again want to return to the subject of Ocracoke.

Horses remain on the island but have been corralled into a pony pen, easily accessible to anybody visiting the island. These horses are given a proper diet, bereft of the hardy and sandy grasses that stitch the island together against the advances of the wind and waves. This keeps the island’s ecology and structure intact, enables visitors and residents alike to see this part of Ocracoke’s history, and keeps the horses protected from careless visitors.

It would be impertinent and wrong of me to dismiss the cultural and tourist value that the horses provide simply because I am approaching the topic as a conservationist. That said, if you are able to get a close look, the horses’ taught skin stretched over their hips and ribs represents a sharp contrast to the horses that folks are generally used to seeing.

If folks are going to come to see the Crystal Coast, I want them to see the best of the Crystal Coast, where we steward our ecological resources well and care for the animals in our charge.

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

Updated 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.

Five unoccupied beachfront houses in Buxton collapsed within hours Tuesday, resulting in layers of lumber, siding, section of decks and other building materials to be spread along Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches.

The first house collapsed at 10:45 a.m. at 46002 Ocean Drive, then the unoccupied structure at 46223 Tower Circle Road fell about 15 minutes later. At 12:45 p.m. the house at 46003 Ocean Drive fell, followed at 1 p.m. by 46016 Cottage Avenue, states the National Park Service’s Threatened Oceanfront Structures webpage.

The fifth home at 46213 Tower Circle Road, collapsed around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Island Free Press reported.

Including the five houses from Tuesday, 15 houses in Buxton and Rodanthe have fallen since mid-September, making the total 27 structures to collapse since May 29, 2020.

National Weather Service’s Morehead City office meteorologists expect the strong winds, large waves, coastal flooding, ocean overwash and other hazards that began Monday to continue through Wednesday.

Officials warn that the ongoing combination of strong surf, elevated tides, and shoreline instability could lead to further damage or additional home collapses in the coming days.

The ocean overwash has already resulted in North Carolina Department of Transportation officials closing Tuesday sections of N.C. 12.

The state agency around lunchtime Tuesday posted on its social media that the roadway was closed between the Basnight Bridge and Rodanthe, on the north end of Ocracoke between the park service’s Pony Pens and the ferry terminal, and at the Buxton turn, from just north of Buxton to Old Lighthouse Road.

“But even where open, there are spots with sand and standing water on the road. It’s an ideal day to stay home, but if you must drive the open sections of NC12, slow down and drive with EXTREME caution,” the agency wrote.

The 18.8 million visitors to North Carolina’s nine National Park Service sites in 2024 injected $2.3 billion into the state’s economy, second only to California’s $3.7 billion, finds a recent report.

Of that $2.3 billion statewide, around 4.7 million visitors spent $732.2 million in the communities around the coast’s five National Park Service sites, according to “2024 National Park Visitor Spending Effects: Economic Contributions to Local Communities, States, and the Nation” made available to the public Sept. 25.

Park service officials release the annual report detailing what visitors paid the previous year on lodging, camping fees, restaurants, groceries, gas, local transportation, recreation industries and retail in gateway regions, which are the communities or areas that surround a site. An easy-to-use interactive online tool breaking down the report is on the website.

With the ongoing government shutdown that began Oct. 1, and ongoing at the time of this publication, next year’s numbers will likely show a different story.

Visit NC Executive Director Wit Tuttell told Coastal Review that the report “makes it clear that national parks, seashores, historic sites and trails enrich our state and local economies.” Visit NC is the state’s official destination marketing organization.

The study looked at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Cape Hatteras National Seashore, all on the Outer Banks, Cape Lookout National Seashore in Carteret County, and Moores Creek National Battlefield in Pender County, and, in the western part of the state, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site.

“Beyond the monetary impact, there’s endless value in preserving our scenic wonders and the experience of what humans as well as nature have achieved,” Tuttell continued. “Travelers come here to channel the Wright Brothers, camp on the beach at Cape Lookout, and view the foliage along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Knowing there’s an economic boost to go along with these priceless experiences makes us doubly appreciative.”

Nationwide, more than 85 million acres make up the 433 federally managed sites found in every state, Washington, D.C., American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The report states that across the country in 2024 a record 332 million park visitors spent an estimated $29 billion in gateway regions at the 404 sites that counted the number of visitors. The previous record was set in 2016 with 330.9 million visits.

Total visitor spending estimates increased by almost 10% in 2024 compared to 2023, which the report authors credit to a 2% park visitation increase of around 6.36 million. Data also shows that more than 55% of parks had an above-average off-season in February-June and October-December. 

Using this report, the National Park Conservation Association estimates that the National Park Service is losing $1 million a day nationwide from fee revenue for each day the government is shutdown.

“Based on the Park Service’s shutdown plan, almost 9,300 people (nearly two-thirds of Park Service staff) are now being put in the scary position of not knowing when their next paycheck will arrive. Additionally, park concessioners and partners now face the prospect of lost revenue and further economic hardship — local economies could lose as much as $80 million in visitor spending every day parks are closed in October,” the association stated on its website.

National Park Service on the coast

On the Outer Banks, Wright Brothers National Memorial saw 407,000 visitors who spent around $28.6 million. The site in Kill Devil Hills “encompasses the spot where Wilbur and Orville made their world-changing first flights, the historic sand dune where they did most of their gliding, and the location they lived while they were experimenting in the Outer Banks,” the park service states.

Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is on Roanoke Island and its 275,000 visitors brough in an estimated $19.3 million to the local economy. The site “preserves and interprets the site of the first English Colony in the New World, is the site of the theatrical production, The Lost Colony, and interprets the historical events of the Native Americans, European Americans, and African Americans who lived on Roanoke Island, North Carolina,” according to the park service.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore saw 2.8 million park visitors in 2024 spend an estimated $650 million. This national seashore is roughly 70 miles from north to south and is made up of Bodie, Hatteras and Ocracoke islands. The nation’s first national seashore, Cape Hatteras was established in 1937 “to preserve significant segments of unspoiled barrier islands along North Carolina’s stretch of the Atlantic Coast,” the National Park Service said.

Bryan Burhans is the director of Outer Banks Forever, the official nonprofit partner of three parks, and a branch of Eastern National, a nonprofit that promotes America’s national parks and other public trust partners.

“The National Parks are a money generator. They generate a lot of tourism dollars for the Outer Banks,” he said, but more importantly, these sites are “such an integral part of the fabric that makes up the Outer Banks, which he called “a unique and special place.”

Outer Banks Forever is the official philanthropic partner and does not receive any federal funding. Its work is funded by local businesses, donors, state and county partners, and through various grants. “And our goal is simple. It is to preserve and enhance the visitor experience of our national parks here on the Outer Banks,” Burhans said.

One of the group’s recent projects is the pathway at Cape Hatteras connecting the lighthouse to the beach. It’s in the second phase of the project and is under contract with a company to build a restroom facility with outdoor showers with hot water. “The restroom facility alone is about a $380,000 investment by Outer Banks Forever.”

Cape Lookout National Seashore in Carteret County brought in 552,786 visitors that spent $28.9 million. The site protects a 56-mile stretch of barrier islands where sea turtles and shorebirds nest, a herd of wild horses roam free, and Cape Lookout Lighthouse and two historic villages are a snapshot into the past.

“People come to Cape Lookout National Seashore to recreate at the beach and end up supporting the U.S. and local economies along the way,” said Katherine Cushinberry, the acting superintendent, in a release. “We’re proud that Cape Lookout generates $32 million in revenue to communities near the park.”

Moores Creek National Battlefield is an 88-acre site in Pender County that welcomed 691,000 visitors who spent about $5.4 million. The battlefield preserves the site of a Feb. 27, 1776, Revolutionary War battle. “Loyalist forces charged across a partially dismantled Moores Creek Bridge. Beyond the bridge, nearly 1,000 North Carolina Patriots waited quietly with cannons and muskets poised to fire. This battle marked the last broadsword charge by Scottish Highlanders and the first significant victory for the Patriots in the American Revolution, according to the website.

“The two leading drivers of tourism are natural resources and history. Moores Creek National Battlefield is rich in both,” Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Executive Director Tammy Proctor said in an interview.

“This national park is a treasure that attracts thousands of visitors each year, not only from the Pender County beaches but from the Wilmington area and Brunswick Isles,” she said, adding that the park and its history “had a significant impact on the Revolutionary War. Those fighting for independence from England experienced their first decisive victory at Moores Creek Bridge.”

Moores Creek is a tributary flowing to the Black River and a perfect kayaking location, with a kayak launch at the park. “The creek is pristine and leads to one of the nation’s most pristine rivers. The trails in Moores Creek provide visitors with an experience of the great outdoors and a walk among historical events,” Proctor continued.

“Regarding Moores Creek National Park staff, I can’t say enough about the educational opportunities, programs, and events this staff orchestrates in collaboration with the Friends of Moores Creek Battlefield Association, the nation’s oldest National Park friends organization,” she said.

National Park Service and the shutdown

As of Wednesday, the United States Government had been shut down for three weeks because, according to Oct. 10 post by the National Conference of State Legislatures, on Oct. 1, “lawmakers failed to resolve a budget deadlock, halting some federal operations and putting approximately 750,000 employees on unpaid leave. Triggered by partisan clashes over funding beyond Sept. 30, the shutdown has created uncertainty for many federal programs.”

The National Conference of State Legislatures was created in 1975 by state legislators and legislative staff to provide research, technical assistance and opportunities for policymakers, according to its website.

During a government shutdown, the organization continues, “the administration retains limited spending flexibility by prioritizing funding for programs that the president deems essential for public safety or national security, such as military operations or emergency services.”

As a result, national parks have remained partially open to the public. Many of the sites advise that some services may be limited on their official Facebook page by way of a reshare from the National Park Service dated Oct. 1, with a link to the Department of the Interior’s “Operations in the Absence of Appropriations” that includes the park service’s contingency plan dated September 2025.

Lincoln Larson, an associate professor of parks, recreation and tourism management at North Carolina State University, explained to Coastal Review that during a government shutdown, much of the park staff is furloughed, “meaning they don’t work and aren’t paid but retain their job and benefits when the shutdown ends. Overall, a shutdown presents enormous challenges for park management, members of the public who want to visit parks, and for the park employees themselves.”

In most cases, the decision to close depends on the park itself, but many park managers want to keep their sites as open and accessible to the public as possible. However, that is difficult to do with limited staffing, he continued.

While basic services such as roads and restrooms are usually open, they are not monitored or maintained at the same level as during regular operations, and other services, including visitor centers, entrance kiosks, campgrounds, websites, programming and permitting systems, might not be available at all.

Most National Park Service staff view stewardship of natural and cultural resources as a major part of their job, but when they’re not available to protect and conserve these valuable assets, many threats arise, including the effects of overtourism.

Threats like littering, graffiti, human waste, and off-trail behavior often increases under these conditions, causing irreparable damage to fragile park resources. “We saw this happen during the COVID-19 pandemic, when excessive visitation and limited staffing created unprecedented challenges for parks,” Larson said.

Limited staffing also creates safety issues, particularly if law enforcement or search and rescue operations are negatively impacted, which led to many parks closing during the pandemic because of concerns about degradation in the absence of enforcement. A government shutdown poses similar problems.

Larson said it’s difficult to quantify the broader economic impacts of park closures or service reductions.

“Although a shutdown clearly impacts operations within a park itself, the negative effects outside of parks can take an even greater and longer-lasting toll on nearby communities,” Larson explained. Adding, in many parts of rural America, including eastern North Carolina, national parks are major economic engines that, through outdoor recreation and tourism, power local economies.

“These gateway communities depend on park visitation to survive and thrive. Many park workers also live in communities near the parks, and their salaries breathe life into these towns. When parks shut down, many of these economic benefits are lost, making life much tougher for people living nearby. If shutdowns happen during peak tourism seasons, the economic impacts can be even more devastating and leave a lasting effect on the social and cultural landscape of an area,” Larson said.

The National Park Conservation Association urged in a Sept. 29 letter that the National Park Service close all parks during the shutdown to avoid the damage to infrastructure, vandalism and sanitation issues, like human waste and trash, many of the federally managed parks experienced during the last shutdown that lasted 35 days in December 2018 to January 2019.

“NPCA will not stand by and watch history repeat itself… We know what happened last time park staff were forced to leave parks open and unprotected, and the impacts were disastrous … If the federal government shuts down, unfortunately our parks should too,” NCPA President Theresa Pierno said in a release.

Another unoccupied oceanfront house collapsed in Buxton over the weekend, bringing the total to 11 to fall on the Outer Banks since Sept. 16, according to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The house that fell into the Atlantic Saturday night was at 46006 Cottage Ave., according to the seashore’s “Threatened Oceanfront Structures” webpage. The seashore, under the National Park Service, manages the beaches.

On Sunday afternoon, the house owner’s contractor demolished the remainder of the structure, which had remained mostly intact except for some debris and pilings that scattered along the beach, according to an Island Free Press report published Sunday.

About 20 National Park Service staff were to begin on Monday clearing a 2.5-mile section of shoreline from Cape Point to the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site at the end of Old Lighthouse Road.

The house that collapsed Saturday is the fourth on the same street to fall since last month. The first three collapsed within 45 minutes of each other, along with two on Tower Circle Road, starting at 2 p.m. Sep. 30. Tower Circle Road had two more houses give way, one on Oct. 1 and another Oct. 2, and then a house collapsed in Rodanthe Oct. 3.

The National Park Service has continued to update the Threatened Oceanfront Structures webpage as houses fall since the government shutdown went into effect Oct. 1. The lapse in federal appropriations resulted in most National Park Service sites only partially opening and being operated by those who are considered essential, while the rest have been furloughed.

Precariously perched as a narrow strand protruding into the stormy Atlantic Ocean, Ocracoke Island and its vulnerable highway have been a longtime headache for coastal scientists and road engineers.

Worsening erosion, flooding and storm damage exacerbated by climate change have heightened the urgency for the year-round community: What can be done to save their beloved island?

Researchers met with islanders Sept. 10 at the Ocracoke Community Center to present a study that modeled what the island’s future may hold under different scenarios, from the status quo to new efforts at beach nourishment and bridging.

The bottom line is that the very road itself, along with ongoing attempts to block the ocean’s advance with dunes and stabilize the roadbed with sandbags, has instead resulted in the narrow, low landscape that is currently so under threat by natural forces.

“The heart of the challenge is that the storm events we need to protect roads and buildings from would actually otherwise provide a lifeline for barrier islands in the face of rising sea levels,” Laura Moore, professor and associate chair of research with University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, said in an interview before the meeting. “It’s an extremely difficult reality, but unfortunately, the more successful we are in preventing storm impacts, the more quickly we’re managing the barrier islands out from under us.”

Accessible only by ferries, private boats and small planes, Ocracoke Island, most of which is part of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, depends on a single, highly vulnerable highway stretching about 13 miles from the ferry dock on the north end of the island to the village.

The road, N.C. Highway 12,  has been protected by oceanside sandbags for years along one section about 5 miles from the northern ferry terminal known as the South Dock because of the link to Hatteras Island. But not only are the sand barriers unable to withstand the overwash during storms — the road was impassible and closed for several days after Hurricane Erin in August — the stacking lanes by the ferry dock have also suffered severe erosion.

“It’s very threatened,” Moore told Coastal Review. “I mean, we spend so much time thinking about the road, and yet (potential loss) at that terminal is a storm away, maybe two.”

The multiyear study, led by the UNC Chapel Hill researchers as part of a team that also included scientists from N.C. State University, Duke University and East Carolina University, as well as representatives from the N.C. Department of Transportation, the National Park Service, Hyde County and Tideland Electric Member Corp., is intended to provide information based on scientific modeling, and does not make recommendations or propose solutions.

“What we were charged with was to consider how different management strategies might influence the future landscape,” Moore said. “So, we have looked at different management strategies under different sea level rise scenarios, and we are able to say something about how the different strategies will likely influence Island width and island elevation and the persistence of the island in the future.”

In other words, as Moore explained, the study did not set out to design and test strategies; it instead modeled, which is essentially, “if you do ‘X’, this is what is likely to happen.”

“We’re really looking at relative differences between the management strategies in terms of their effects on the island,” she said.

Moore said that researchers studied current coastal conditions and processes and worked off data and prior research provided in the N.C. 12 Task Force report and NCDOT feasibility studies for guidance as the team developed the strategies to be reviewed: the status quo, i.e., dune road and/or sandbag rebuilding and maintenance; beach nourishment, i.e., widen or nourish the eroding shoreline with sand pumped from stored dredged material or offshore deposits; or road alternatives, i.e., relocate the ferry dock(s), which would eliminate the need to maintain hot spots on N.C. 12,  or build a bridge or causeway to Hatteras Island.

What the modeling revealed is that under the status quo, the island would continue to narrow until, within years or decades, it would become impossible to maintain the transportation corridor. With use of beach nourishment, there would be short-term improvement for 10 to 20 years. But elevating or bridging the road would help to rebuild the landscape.

It’s the first time that the coastal scientists have been able to customize a barrier island model that includes all these processes for a particular location, Moore said, as well as conduct hindcast to calibrate that model.

“Not only are we supporting the local community and the stakeholders … we’re also supporting the scientific community and barrier island communities more broadly because what we’re learning also advances the science so that we can do even better next time,” she said.” It’s really been a beautiful next step to both be coproducing the science in a way that contributes to the local conversation and also contributes to the scientific advancements so that other communities throughout the world on barrier islands can also learn from one another.”

The Ocracoke erosion and road problem has been the target of much study by several iterations of an N.C. Task Force, a multiagency panel of coastal scientists and engineers and government officials that focused on seven vulnerable areas — the “hot spots” — all but one on Hatteras Island. The most recent group was established by the Dare County Board of Commissioners in 2021, with a report released in 2023.

Back in 1972, renowned University of Virginia coastal scientist Robert Dolan, who died in 2016 at age 87, warned in a study published in the journal Science about the consequences of development on the Outer Banks.

“Barrier dune development has been encouraged by man along the Outer Banks of North Carolina to stabilize the barrier islands,” according to the study abstract. “This modification of a delicately balanced natural system is leading to severe adjustments in both geological and ecological processes.”

Dolan, who was credited with being the first scientist to determine that the Outer Banks, rather than being anchored to coral reefs, was instead a 30-foot-deep shifting “ribbon of sand,” later elaborated, saying that the islands’ dune system “may be detrimental to the long-range stability of the barriers and may become more difficult and costly to manage than the original natural system.”

While other coastal scientists have built on Dolan’s research, including Moore, it is undeniable that the complex tension between natural forces and humanity’s need to control them where they live is becoming more difficult in places like Ocracoke.

“And so, the only reason the barrier islands exist in the first place is because of these processes that move sand from the front to the island interior,” Moore said. “That’s what formed these islands, right? And so now that things are changing more rapidly, we’re just really getting pinched in a way that we haven’t seen before.”

In simple terms, barrier islands are built higher and broader by overwash and wind carrying sand over the land. Where the ocean is battering away at the shoreline, the swath of land from the ocean to the sound side collects the sand, unless it’s blocked.

“We are understandably wanting to protect road and roads and infrastructure,” she said. “It makes perfect sense from that perspective, to build a dune to protect the road.”

As sea levels are getting higher, and storms intensify, the battering is more powerful. “And if we don’t allow the island elevation to build up, it will eventually become fragmented and drown in these areas,” Moore said. “So we’re kind of fighting a losing battle, unfortunately.”

Sea levels have been rising ever since the islands formed, she added. But it’s now rising much faster. Between the year 2000 and 2050, seas have been expected to rise 12 inches, a rate Moore called “very significant.”

“It’s so unfortunate, but if we can’t quickly slow the rate of sea level rise, we’re definitely going to have to find different ways to live at the coast,” she said. “In the case of barrier islands, if we want them to persist, we need to find a way to allow them to shift underneath us or accept that we may lose the ability to live on them at all.”

Still, with adjustments, there is hope, Moore said. Citing the 2.4-mile Rodanthe “jug handle” Bridge” and, farther north, the 2,350-foot-long Richard Etheridge Bridge as examples, she said sand will rebuild the island and the shoreline when the natural processes are allowed to happen.

The main goal of the research is to provide the scientific models of several scenarios so the community can work with partners in planning their island’s future.

“It’s really an opportunity to be an incredible example and posterchild leading the way for coastal communities broadly, because they are at the forefront,” Moore said.

Naturally, islanders can see that conditions are changing, and something has to be done, said Randal Mathews, chair of the Hyde County Board of Commissioners and an Ocracoke resident. For the time being, he said, the consensus seems to be to do beach nourishment.

“Well, it’s going to buy some time, because there’s no long-term plan, and there’s no real good short-term plan.”

What could be a reasonable solution, he said, is to “harden” the area with a jetty by the South Dock Ferry Terminal.

What the island folks don’t want to do is move the ferry terminal toward the Pony Pens in the middle of the island, as has been proposed in the recent past.

“They did a survey, and it was 90% of the people don’t want to move south and don’t want to lose access from Hatteras, because they know, like after Dorian, that’s what it was like here, logistically,” he said. “We were dying.”

Mathews said he is truly grateful for Moore’s and her research team’s work, and islanders are listening. But meanwhile, Ocracoke can’t withstand repeated hits to its economy, and the ferry system and road access are major concerns. And he knows that they need political support and funding.

“You know, in the big picture, there’s a lot of moving parts that we have to address, we have to come up with these short-term solutions,” he said. “And we’ve got to  go to Raleigh, and we’ve got to go begging, you know, and that that’s how it works.”

Update 4:30 p.m. Tuesday:

Gov. Josh Stein declared a State of Emergency Tuesday ahead of the anticipated impacts from Hurricane Erin, which was about 650 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and moving at 10 mph at around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“Hurricane Erin will bring threats of coastal flooding, beach erosion, and dangerous surf conditions,” Stein said in a statement. “North Carolinians along the coast should get prepared now, ensure their emergency kit is ready, and listen to local emergency guidelines and alerts in the event they need to evacuate.” 

Original post 6 p.m. Monday:

Eastern North Carolina should expect to see impacts from Hurricane Erin, including coastal flooding, starting Tuesday.

The center of the storm was predicted to remain off the coast by a couple hundred miles, but “We still expect impacts across eastern North Carolina, specifically coastal areas,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Erik Heden said during a webinar briefing at lunchtime Monday.

Effects will likely include dangerous surf and rip currents, storm surge, damaging beach erosion, major coastal flooding and overwash.

The storm was about 820 miles south-southeast of Buxton, or 810 miles south-southeast of Morehead City, according to the National Weather Service’s 5 p.m. Monday update. The Category 4 storm was moving northwest at 10 mph.

A storm surge watch and tropical storm watch were issued for eastern Carteret County, Hatteras Island, the northern Outer Banks and Ocracoke Island.

From Duck to Cape Lookout, water levels could reach up to 4 feet above ground, and 1 to 3 feet north of Duck and south of Cape Lookout.

“Elevated water levels will likely be accompanied by large and destructive waves,” forecasters said, adding peak storm surge forecast is generally provided within 48 hours of storm surge occurring in the area.

Heden, who is with the National Weather Service’s Morehead City/Newport office, said Monday that meteorologists began watching the storm Friday, and the storm is expected to increase in size in the coming days.

Updates throughout the weekend showed that as of midday Saturday, the storm was a Category 5, which has winds at 157 mph or faster on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. The major storm weakened to a Category 4, then to a Category 3, with winds from 111 to 129 mph, by Sunday evening.

The storm restrengthened overnight Sunday to a Category 4, with 140 mph winds, Heden said. Sustained wind speeds for Category 4 storms range from 130 to 156 miles per hour.

Forecasters said Monday that tropical storm force wind gusts were possible for the coast, with the highest probability for the Outer Banks, but stronger gusts were possible in any passing outer rainbands associated with Erin.

“The earliest reasonable time of arrival of tropical storm force winds for the immediate coastline is sometime Wednesday morning,” forecasters said. “However, the most likely time this area could see tropical storm force winds will be during the evening on Wednesday.”

The main concern with the winds will be the potential for soundside flooding on a north to northeast wind for Down East Carteret County, Ocracoke and Hatteras Island on Thursday.

Coastal flooding could begin as soon as Tuesday, more than 24 hours before any tropical storm force winds arrive, peaking Wednesday into Thursday and slowly easing up later in the week, according to the National Weather Service.

Forecasters also advise that extensive beach erosion could occur because of strong, long periods of wave energy with waves as high as 15 to more than 20 feet in the surf zone. These waves will also make the surf extremely dangerous Wednesday into Thursday, as well as the life-threatening rip currents expected the majority of this week.

Hyde, Dare counties

Hyde and Dare counties have issued states of emergency and were evacuating Ocracoke and parts of Hatteras Island ahead of the storm’s arrival Monday.

States of emergency went into effect for Dare County at 6 p.m. Sunday, and for Hyde County’s Ocracoke Island at 8 p.m. Sunday.

Dare County officials announced Sunday afternoon a mandatory evacuation had been issued for Hatteras Island Zone A, which includes all of Hatteras Island, including the unincorporated villages of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco, and Hatteras.

Visitors were to evacuate by 10 a.m. Monday and residents must begin evacuating beginning at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

The mandatory evacuation order for Ocracoke visitors began at 8 p.m. Sunday and for residents starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

“It is extremely likely that Hyde County EMS services will not be available in Ocracoke due to Highway 12 being inaccessible. Please take this warning seriously, especially if you have medical issues or are likely to need special care,” Hyde officials said in a release, adding plans to continue monitoring the forecast and issue advisories as appropriate.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s ferry division announced Monday that only residents, homeowners or vendors with an Ocracoke re-entry sticker on their vehicles will be allowed on ferries inbound to Ocracoke, in coordination with the mandatory evacuation order.

“While we don’t expect Hurricane Erin to make landfall on the Outer Banks, there will likely be large waves, ocean overwash and major coastal flooding that impact Highway 12,” said Ferry Division Director Jed Dixon. “We hope everyone will heed the evacuation orders for their own safety.”

No visitors will be allowed access to Ocracoke Island until the evacuation order is lifted.

Priority boarding will be suspended for all vessels leaving Ocracoke, and tolls have been waived for ferries heading from Ocracoke to Cedar Island or Swan Quarter.

The Ocracoke-Hatteras, Ocracoke-Cedar Island and Ocracoke-Swan Quarter routes will run the published schedules until the evacuation is complete.

Service on the Ocracoke Express passenger ferry, which runs between the village of Ocracoke and Hatteras Island, is suspended until further notice.

For real-time travel information, please check NCDOT’s DriveNC.gov and the agency’s social media accounts. People can also receive text or email notifications on ferry schedules and changes through the Ferry Information Notification System, or FINS.  

National Park Service

To be consistent with Dare and Hyde counties, Cape Hatteras National Seashore will be closing beach accesses and facilities, the National Park Service said.

“The Coastal Flood Watch indicates that extreme beach erosion and coastal damage is likely along the oceanside, resulting in a significant threat to life and property. Large, dangerous waves will likely inundate and destroy protective dune structures,” according to the press release. “Severe flooding will likely extend inland where there is vulnerable or no protective dune structure, flooding homes and businesses with some structural damage possible. Roads will likely be impassable under several feet of water and vehicles will likely be submerged.”

Museum of the Sea at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Discovery Center on Ocracoke Island will close by 5 p.m. Monday. 

Cape Point, Frisco, and Ocracoke campgrounds were to close by 3 p.m. Monday and Oregon Inlet Campground will close at noon Tuesday. Bodie Island Lighthouse will close Wednesday and Thursday.

Off-road vehicle ramps were to close by 9 p.m. Monday. To view the status of beach access ramps, visit http://go.nps.gov/beachaccess.

Due to the presence of threatened oceanfront structures, the Seashore will close beach access in Rodanthe from the terminus of Old Highway 12 to the end of the Ocean Drive and in front of the village of Buxton southward to Ramp 43.   

Visitors should stay off the beaches completely and discontinue use of all beach trails and boardwalks beginning Tuesday morning.

Hurricane Erin is forecast to be a potential threat to Cape Lookout National
Seashore, with North and South Core Banks expected to experience the most significant impacts, Lookout officials said, adding that coastal flooding will likely be a long duration issue with impacts lasting late into the week.

Cape Lookout National Seashore officials plan to close facilities starting at noon Tuesday, including the Light Station Visitor Center and the Keepers Quarters Museum, through at least Friday.    

Island Express Ferry Service will cease operations out of Beaufort and Harkers Island beginning Wednesday through Friday.   

Great Island and Long Point Cabin Camps reservations have been canceled for Tuesday through Friday. The closure could extend beyond Friday, depending on the impact on the seashore. 

“I hope Erin will remain off the coast and head out sea, but hope is not a good way forward.  I really hate to impact people’s plans, and we aim to reopen as soon as possible afterwards,” acting Superintendent Katherine Cushinberry said Monday in a statement.

The National Park Service staff will be monitoring ongoing developments with Hurricane Erin and will post updates as needed on the park website at go.nps.gov/stormwatch.

A chance to climb to the top of the Cape Lookout Lighthouse and look over the expanse of uninhabited barrier islands, sounds and the Atlantic Ocean might be in the foreseeable future now that a much-anticipated, multiyear, projected $15 million renovation project is expected to begin this month.

National Park Service officials announced Friday that Stone and Lime Historic Restoration Inc. received the contract and the work that should start soon could take up to three years to complete.

“The Cape Lookout Lighthouse has long stood as a sentinel for mariners navigating the treacherous waters of the Southern Outer Banks. Time and elements have taken their toll on the structure, prompting the National Park Service to initiate a full preservation effort aimed at safeguarding the lighthouse for future generations,” officials said.

The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is a double-walled, 163-foot-tall tower with a spiral cast iron staircase winding through the interior. First lit on Nov. 1, 1859, the structure, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, replaced the 1812 lighthouse that previously stood on the island. The National Park Service established in March 1966 the Cape Lookout National Seashore, which is made up of 56 miles of undeveloped barrier islands in Carteret County.

“This renovation marks a pivotal step in preserving one of North Carolina’s most iconic landmarks,” Acting Superintendent Katherine Cushinberry said in a statement. “The lighthouse is not only a critical aid to navigation but also a symbol of our coastal heritage.”

Cushinberry is in the temporary role following the retirement this summer of the seashore’s previous superintendent, Jeff West.

Chief of Interpretation and Public Information Officer BG Horvat told Coastal Review that the restoration project includes the repair or replacement of the 200-plus metal stairs, handrails, landings, glass panes, windows and doors, plus new paint for the black-and-white exterior, which will allow the original bricks to “breathe,” or allow air to flow throughout the tower, as it was designed.

Stone & Lime has overseen several lighthouse projects for the National Park Service, including the multi-year restoration of Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which is suffering from similar structural and cosmetic concerns, the company said.

The Massachusetts-based restoration company in a June 6 press release announced that it had been selected to manage the Cape Lookout Lighthouse project and will “oversee a variety of historically sensitive repairs that ensure the public will be able to have access to the Lighthouse in the future while fortifying it against the impacts of the ocean environment, especially as hurricanes and other meteorological events growth in strength and frequency.”

Horvat told Coastal Review that the restoration company won the contract because “their bid was the most successful based on the needs of the project, their experience in historic preservation work, and what the park’s needs were to get the work done with high quality and historic preservation in mind.”

Safety issues for the structure are numerous, which is why the public climbing season stopped after an annual inspection of the tower in 2021, prompting discussions about a renovation, Horvat said.

The concerns were first noted during a preseason safety inspection early that year. That’s when staff pinpointed compromised structural components such as stairs and handrails. Engineers were then brought in for more in-depth inspections, resulting in a list of things to consider repairing.

“The lighthouse was built in 1859. The iron components of the tower are all original. In many areas it is corroded away, or deteriorating. For example, some of the landings are bowing. The metal doorway to the gallery at the top has a small hole in it. The handrails and stairs are rusty in several places,” he said. “The list is pretty big considering the age of all this metal that acts like the ‘bones’ of the whole structure.”

While the tower is undergoing repairs, “the biggest thing” visitors may notice is the refurbishing the ironwork of the watch, lantern and dome levels at the uppermost section of the lighthouse, Horvat said.

“The whole top of the lighthouse will come off, and a temporary cap will be placed atop of the lighthouse tower until the refurbishment is complete. Then, the top of the lighthouse will be placed back where it belongs, new and improved, adhering to historic preservation standards,” he explained.

Visitors will also notice that the lighthouse exterior will be stripped to bare red brick — the first time since 1873 — and then repainted with a breathable paint to help stabilize the moisture content of the bricks. 

Although the lighthouse was completed on Nov. 1, 1859, with its original red brick tower, back in those days, the Lighthouse Board “decided that each coastal light would have its own day-mark pattern, allowing mariners a way to note their location during daytime, as each lighthouse displays a distinct flash pattern at night,” he said.

The Bureau of Lighthouses, established in 1852, replaced the Lighthouse Board in 1910. The U.S. Coast Guard absorbed the bureau in 1939, caring for the lighthouse until 2003, when ownership was transferred to the National Park Service.

“In 1873, Cape Lookout Lighthouse was painted with its distinctive black-and-white diagonal checkers, or diamond pattern,” Horvat said. “Since then, there have been numerous paint jobs to brighten up the day-mark pattern on the lighthouse,” and for some of those layers, oil-based paint was used, which doesn’t allow the exterior to breathe and damages the masonry.

The more breathable types, such as water-based paints, “work with the original red brick masonry to allow moisture built up in the bricks to move freely, or evaporate rather than create pockets of condensation within the tower. Trapped moisture accelerates the deterioration of the bricks and lends to the corrosive problems on the interior metals as well,” he said.

Also, there have been various types of cements used inappropriately for patchwork over the years.

“Of course, materials like paint and cement have all changed over the last 166 years,” Horvat said.

Money for the restoration comes from a combination of sources, including National Park Service line-item construction funds, Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act revenues and cyclic maintenance funds.

“These resources enable us to enhance and maintain our facilities for the benefit of the public,” Horvat said.

While the lighthouse and the immediate area are closed to the public during the renovations over the next few years, visitors are encouraged to explore the rest of the park, like the scenic beaches, and the cultural historic sites. Interpretive programs and updates on the restoration progress will be available through the seashore’s website and social media.

The National Park Service is accepting public comment through Aug. 20 on the proposed next steps in the effort to protect an erosion-threatened mile of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site’s shoreline.

The 355-acre site at the north end of Roanoke Island was established in 1941 to safeguard the known portions of England’s first settlements in the Americas from 1584 to 1590. It is also home to the Waterside Theatre, where a dramatic retelling of the “The Lost Colony,” based on the group of 117 English settlers that disappeared in 1587 from Roanoke Island, is performed every summer.

Erosion “poses a serious threat to potential archeologically significant sites and park facilities. Without action, the erosion will most likely continue, potentially jeopardizing the Waterside Theatre’s costume shop and parking lot, park roadways, and park housing along Pear Pad Road,” park officials said.

As part of the shoreline stabilization plan, the draft environmental assessment and start of the comment period was announced Monday.

“Public participation is an important element of the planning process, and Fort Raleigh welcomes comments on the EA through August 20, 2025,” park officials said, adding comments received during a Feb. 12 meeting and 30-day comment period helped inform the environmental assessment.

The federally required assessment analyzes the likely impacts of the three proposed alternatives to protect the shoreline: a rock revetment, a rock berm, or s combination of the two, with the combination being the preferred alternative, officials said.

Officials said a rock revetment would mitigate erosion by lining the existing shoreline contours with rock material, similar to an existing rock revetment at the site.

A rock berm would mitigate erosion by placing sand, and then a raised berm made of rock along the widened shoreline to mesh with the existing rock berm in front of the Waterside Theatre.

The preferred alternative would “maximize shoreline protection based on topography, land use, and constructability,” officials said.

Comments may be submitted electronically, which park officials said is the preferred method, or mailed to: Superintendent, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954.

Celebrate National Trails Day Saturday by taking a hike in one of the many publicly accessible lands in North Carolina.

Related: Jockey’s Ridge State Park celebrates 50 years

“Aptly named the ‘Great Trails State,'” the national event observed the first Saturday in June “highlights the tremendous benefits that our state, federal and local trails provide, from recreational opportunities to fostering a deeper connection with nature,” according to the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Officials are encouraging the public to mark the day by attending a trail event, going on a hike at one of the many parks and wildlife refuges in the state, or volunteering to help with upkeep.

To find a hiking trail or outdoor activity near you, visit websites for The Great Trails State, the North Carolina State Parks, the National Park Service, the Mountains-to-Sea Trail and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Beachgoers to Hyde or Dare counties during the busy season can sign up for ocean and beach condition text alerts from Outer Banks lifeguards, ocean rescue agencies and the National Weather Service.

To receive Dare County Emergency Management’s rip current forecast alerts, text OBXBeachConditions to 77295.

“Swimming in the ocean is not the same as swimming in a pool or lake. Wind, waves, the change of the tide, the slope of the beach and other factors can cause strong currents to be present in the water even on the calmest days,” according to Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials.

Rip Currents are “fast flowing channels of water that extend from close to the shoreline through the surf and past the breaking waves,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The easiest way to spot rip currents is from an elevated position overlooking the beach. Look for darker, muddy, or choppier waters than surrounding areas and where waves are not breaking, NOAA continues.

Seashore officials warn that the ocean presents additional hazards, such as lightning, high surf and shore break, and urgers beachgoers to avoid swimming in dangerous situations such as in rough seas and inlets, around fishing piers and surfers, at night or during extreme weather.

To learn more about safely visiting the ocean, beachgoers can check out Dare County’s Love the Beach, Respect the Ocean website, where information on the rip current risk for the day, beach conditions, and more can be found.

Seashore officials recommend swimming at one of its five beaches staffed with lifeguards from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day.

Lifeguards are at the following locations:

• Coquina Beach Access is across from the Bodie Island Lighthouse site.
• Rodanthe Beach Access, provided by Dare County, is at 23732 N.C. 12.
• Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Beach Access is adjacent to the old Cape Hatteras Lighthouse site.
• Frisco Beach Access is just south of Frisco Village.
• Ocracoke Beach Access is 1.5 miles south of the seashore’s campground or half-mile north of Ocracoke Village.

Visitors to the Bodie Island Lighthouse will soon get the option to climb its more than 200 steps to experience breathtaking views of the Pamlico Sound and Atlantic Ocean.

The National Park Service recently announced that the lighthouse will be open daily for climbing between April 18 to Oct. 13.

A total of 214 steps spiral to the observation deck of the 156-foot-tall lighthouse.

Tickets for this experience may be purchased only on the day the visitor intends to climb. Tickets go on sale at 7 a.m. and are available for purchase at  www.recreation.gov/ticket/252034/ticket/10087143.

Visitors are encourage to create their own recreation.gov account before purchasing tickets. For additional information about climbing lighthouses, you may visit www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/lighthouseclimbs.htm.

Ongoing restoration efforts of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will shutter climbing opportunities this year.

The National Park Service is asking the public to provide input for a study to determine the feasibility and suitability of designating a future national heritage area that includes the Great Dismal Swamp and other areas in North Carolina and Virginia.

A 60-day comment period for the Great Dismal Swamp National Heritage Area Feasibility Study began last week and continues through May 19. More information about the study and survey questions are available online.

To inform the public about the study and solicit comments, the park service has scheduled virtual meetings for 4 p.m. Tuesday, noon Wednesday and 6 p.m. Wednesday. Links to the meetings will be posted beforehand on the project website.

Officials said public input “is both necessary and critical to this study. The study team seeks to learn more about the region from the people who know it best.”

Feedback will help inform the work of assessing the Great Dismal Swamp study area as a potential national heritage area, officials continued.

The study was authorized in 2023 in a measure that identified Camden, Currituck, Gates, and Pasquotank counties in North Carolina and the Virginia cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Suffolk and Isle of Wight County.

The study is to assess the evidence of community support, including businesses, residents, nonprofit organizations and government agencies.

“The study will gather and assess the region’s unique and important American stories, how they can be experienced by the public and how a coordinating entity could organize a potential National Heritage Area if Congress were to designate one,” officials said.

The study is expected to run through 2026. The study’s assessment, along with any recommendations from the Interior secretary, will be reported to Congress.

Comments may be submitted by visiting the project website, clicking “Links” on the left, and then “Open for Comment;” or by mail to National Park Service, Denver Service Center, Attn: Great Dismal Swamp NHA / Julie Bell, 1 Federal Center, Building 50, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225.

From the editor: Kip Tabb, who resides on the Outer Banks and writes for Coastal Review and other regional publications, documented his recent walk along the Freedom Trail at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

The Freedom Trail on the north end of Roanoke Island is a beautiful walk through history. A history that is both uplifting and troubling.

Beginning at the visitor center of Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, the trail is an easy 2.5-mile out and back hike through a verdant maritime forest that ends at Freedmen’s Point on Croatan Sound.

Depicting the story of the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, interpretive signs along the path give details of what life was like there. Metal silhouette statues stand behind the signs in silent testimony to the tale that is told.

The Freedmen’s Colony is the story of the enslaved people who came to Roanoke Island desperate for freedom and hope.

It is a story that is interwoven with the men and women who came from the North to help an illiterate population learn to live in a free society.

After Union forces seized Roanoke Island in February 1862, enslaved people came by the hundreds and even thousands to the island, seeking refuge and freedom.

At first, the men and women who had escape bondage were called “contraband.” Because the South was in rebellion against the North, any property seized was considered contraband of war.

In the South, enslaved people were considered property and based on that premise, they were not returned.

Even before President Abraham Lincoln’s Jan. 1, 1863, Emancipation Proclamation, enslaved people behind Union lines were considered free people.

In 1863 the Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony was officially established. It was the first in North Carolina and one of the first in the nation. At its peak, according to an 1864 census, it had a population of 3,901.

In 1867 it was disbanded.

About the trail

Along the trail are eight interpretive signs and nine silhouettes that represent individuals who lived and worked at the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island, according to the National Park Service.

The trail was unveiled June 1, 2024, during a ceremony organized by the National Park Service and the Dare County Trails Commission.

The sign, “Roanoke Island Before 1862,” with silhouettes representing Annice Jackson and her daughters, Marie and Alice in the background, highlights Marie Ferribee Watkins, who “was born enslaved in North Carolina. Through the strong will of her mother Annice Ferribee, she was able to become part of the Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony. After beginning formal education at the colony, she went to present-day Hampton University, becoming a college graduate and eventually an educator,” the National Park Service website states.

The nine silhouettes represent different people who were part of the history of the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island.

When war came to Roanoke Island, Thomas Robinson who grew up enslaved on Hatteras Island, helped Union forces navigate the local waters.

He never officially was part of the Freedmen’s Colony, but stayed with Gen. Ambrose Burnside throughout the war. Afterwards, records show he moved to Rhode Island.

The thirst for literacy was intense among the residents of the Freedmen’s Colony. During its time on Roanoke Island, 10 schools were established.

“Arriving on Roanoke Island as an illiterate fourteen-year-old boy and leaving three years later as an accomplished scholar and educator, Reverend London L. Ferebee exemplifies how many Freed people used the Roanoke Island Freedmen’s Colony as a springboard into emancipated life,” according to the park service.

As the colony became established, missionaries from the north came to teach in schools and spread the Gospel. Of particular note was Horace James.

“Horace James was an evangelical minister from Massachusetts who served as a Union Army chaplain and director of the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island. A graduate of Yale University, James enlisted as Army chaplain of the Twenty-Fifth Massachusetts Volunteers on October 29, 1861. In April, 1863, Major General John G. Foster appointed James “Superintendent of All the Blacks” in the Department of North Carolina. Based in New Bern, James was put in charge of the colony,” according to the park service.

In May 1863 the US Colored Troops was formed and many of the men of the Freedmen’s Colony enlisted, among them were Richard Etheridge, who went on to be the Pea Island Lifesaving Station Keeper and Spencer Gallop.

“Spencer Gallop worked on Roanoke Island cutting down trees for the Union forces after the Battle of Roanoke Island. When the Army began recruiting on the island, Spencer enlisted and served in the 36th U.S.C.T. becoming one of the first official Black soldiers in the U.S. Army,” according to the park service.

Religion was a central part of the Freedmen’s Colony experience. The enslaved people were educated by missionary women from northern churches and African American pastors from the AME and AME Zion churches.

Sarah Freeman stayed on Roanoke Island after the Civil War ended to help the formerly enslaved people navigate a life of freedoms. She left in 1866.

“Despite being one of the oldest teachers at age 51, Sarah Freeman’s remarkable dedication during her time as a teacher at the Freedmen’s Colony of Roanoke Island distinguished her as a resilient and industrious woman. Even when she was stricken with malarial fever and confined to her bed for a period, Freeman persisted in her unwavering efforts, alongside her daughter, to tirelessly distribute food and clothing to the formerly enslaved individuals on the island,” the park service says on the website.

The federal government broke their promises to the people who had come to all Freedmen’s Colonies.

“This colony, similar to others established by the Union army, gave African Americans their first tastes of independence and freedom. However, like other sites, it was short-lived and soon faded from the pages of history,” states the park service website.

Although the government had promised land and farming equipment to the residents of the Freedmen’s Colony, with Andrew Johnson as president, those promises were withdrawn and support for all Freedmen’s Colonies severely curtailed. By 1867 the Roanoke Colony was disbanded.

HARKERS ISLAND – About a quarter-mile along the Soundside Loop Trail behind Cape Lookout National Seashore’s visitor center is a two-board wooden fence, indicating that hikers need to make a sharp left turn to stay on the path.

In addition to guiding foot traffic on the 0.8-mile-long trail through maritime forest, the fence at the bend is where a new public science project called “Chronolog” was recently installed. The online tool helps track changes in the environment. In this case, the ghost forest on that side of the island.

When hikers walk by, they can place their smartphone in the gray bracket attached to the top of the fence post to align their photo, take the shot, then email it to Chronolog. Once received, the photo will be added to that location’s time-lapse almost immediately.

Chronolog houses crowd-sourced time-lapses of parks, nature centers, wildlife organizations, schools and museums. Currently, there are more than 500 Chronolog stations in 45 states. The Cape Lookout station is the 18^th on the coast and there have been 10 submissions so far in the month since it was installed.

On a breezy morning in late June at the visitor center, Nate Toering, Cape Lookout’s chief of interpretation and education, explained that the Chronolog allows them to make informed decisions for managing that area of the park and provides “a better understanding of what’s going on in the environment around us.”

This Chronolog is part of a bigger project with the National Park Service, North Carolina State University and Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center. Four NC State undergraduate students worked with three mentors at the university on a ghost forest communication strategy for a senior-level course. The students wrote and designed a brochure as well as a “glideshow” that’s similar to a slideshow, called “Ghost Forests: The Dead Trees Down East.” Down East is a group of more than a dozen rural communities east of Beaufort. 

Ghost forests occur when healthy coastal forests are repeatedly exposed to saltwater through high winds, tides or storms, making the plants, or trees, with low salt tolerance die off, eventually being replaced by salt marsh habitat.

From the Chronolog photo station down the trail, Toering pointed out the gradual transition of the dead trees that are rotting and breaking, but farther inland, there are super healthy trees.

He said that they’re finding at the National Seashore more salt-tolerant species in areas that didn’t have salt-tolerant species before, and are interested in observing the growth of the ghost forest and potential erosion in that area.

Jutting past the ghost forest, several yards away from the existing station, are the jagged remnants of a walkway across a salt marsh that had been destroyed by Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Toering said there are plans to rebuild the walkway, hopefully by the end of the year. When that build is complete, there will be a second Chronolog installed looking toward the ghost forest in the direction of the existing Chronolog, to provide a panoramic view.

Long term, especially after the second Chronolog is installed, there will be a more site-specific assessment of the growth of the ghost forest, such as how fast an area that used to be a forest is transitioning into salt marsh, he explained.

Toering said that as a ranger, he provides frontline messaging on ghost forests and encourages visitors to participate in this public science project. Adding, he’s trying to get people engaged, more knowledgeable about their environment and more caring about what’s going on around them. “Because one way or another, it impacts all of us.”

Part of that frontline messaging is providing to visitors the brochure, “Ghost Forests: What are they and how can you spot one?” that the NC State students designed for their senior course, called a capstone project.

Dr. Erin Seekamp, distinguished professor of resilience and sustainability and director of the Coastal Resilience and Sustainability Initiative at NC State, coordinated the project.

Seekamp has been working with the Down East community since 2015 on adaptation planning for Cape Lookout’s historic districts, and had discussed with Core Sound Museum and Heritage Center Executive Director Karen Willis Amspacher that ghost forests are a good indicator of the vulnerabilities in these communities. 

When Seekamp was approached by a colleague to design a capstone project for the interdisciplinary degree, environmental sciences, she said she immediately connected the two. 

Serving as community liaison, Seekamp brought in as a ghost forest expert for the project Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources associate professor Dr. Marcelo Ardón, who has been behind installing Chronologs on the coast, and science communicator Michelle Jewell with the Department of Applied Ecology and president of the Science Communicators of North Carolina.

Seekamp said that this project helps students recognize how applied science is important, and integrating that with community engagement. Engaging students in the process of observation opens the door to being more aware of your environment and watching change, as well as using science to understand the changes that are occurring.

The idea is to grow the project in future semesters. “We really want to embed the next phases to include integration of schools and that intergenerational learning component,” with parents and grade-school students, and have further conversations about the future and adaptation, Seekamp said.

Amspacher said Core Sound is dedicated to learning and sharing more about the changing environment along the coast and especially Down East.  

“Partnering with NC State and other universities has opened doors for us to be involved with the important research taking place around us. We are very thankful to bring the community into this conversation. We look forward to working with local students to use this Chronolog project as a way to increase their — and their families’ — understanding of how saltwater is already impacting our landscape.”

Students on the project were Rachel DeChicio, Andrew Barfield, Jordan Strickland and Arden Lumpkin, who each graduated this year with a bachelor’s in environmental sciences.

DeChicio told Coastal Review that one of her biggest takeaways from this project is how important it is to focus on a community’s culture and values when communicating about climate change topics such as saltwater intrusion and ghost forests. 

“Harkers Island has an amazing community that loves their home and has deep ties to the land, so it is important to create educational materials on climate change that inspire curiosity and not fear,” DeChicio said. “I hope people who visit the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum and Heritage Center are able to learn a little bit about saltwater intrusion and ghost forests from our products, and are then able to identify why their coastal forests are dying. I hope seeing the formation of ghost forests on Harkers Island and having the knowledge to name that occurrence empowers people to learn more about combating climate change.”

Barfield added that he learned through this project how ghost forests are a very visible aspect of our changing climate. 

“It is my hope that ghost forests can be used as a tool to further educate the public on the many ways that our world around us is changing. The more involvement that we get from local communities, then the better chance we have of adapting to these changes moving forward,” Barfield said.

Strickland said in an email that the two main things he learned while working on this project are the technicalities of designing and developing science communication products and ghost forests in general. 

“One of the main reasons why I chose this project as my top pick when we were deciding teams, was because I never heard of the term ‘ghost forests’ before,” he said. “Of course, I knew they were not referring to an actual haunted forest, so it intrigued me.”

After learning what ghost forests are, and how they have begun to spread on the coast of Harkers Island, he said he wanted to help provide the community with information about what ghost forests indicate.

“I knew if me, as an environmental science major, didn’t know much about ghost forests, then that means most of the general public doesn’t as well. Ghost forests are not only an indication of climate change and sea level rise, but also foreshadow how our coastal forests could end up as these two factors continue to impact the NC coast in the coming years,” Strickland added.

Lumpkin said the project taught her the importance of properly communicating climate science through the lens of who it impacts. The ghost forests that are popping up and growing quickly along the coast of these Down East communities are a tangible example of the effects of sea level rise and saltwater intrusion. Viewing this issue through the eyes of a community member gives you a wider perspective on the best way to communicate it. 

“The Down East community has a rich, generational history and connection with their land and have persevered in the face of many challenges,” she said. “My biggest hope with our project is that it will spark curiosity and conversation about climate change among the community. The Core Sound Waterfowl Museum is such an important place visited frequently by residents and I hope that our project can, at the least, be the start of a conversation about climate change impacts.”

Jewell explained to Coastal Review that this type of class project works all the way around: “The community’s needs are heard and answered, the students receive training and experience in co-creation and science communication, and the researchers will get more data from this changing landscape. Truly encapsulating the N.C. State mission of research, teaching, and extension.”

Science communication is an iterative process, and the hope is that this piece is the first of many touchpoints, Jewell said. “Our aim is to create a space for community members to engage with the changes happening around them. And that engagement can come in many forms,” from submitting photos at the Chronolog site, to being able to identify and understand ghost forests. 

The Chronolog station on Harkers Island is one of the nearly 20 that Ardón with NC State has either installed or helped coordinate the installation along the coast.

He said in an interview that the idea to have the public help monitor ghost forests dates back a few years and was asking the public to submit photos through an online platform before discovering Chronolog while on vacation on Bald Head Island.

Chronolog’s process appealed to Ardón. Rather than photos being submitted from all over, have the public take photos of the same location to make tracking the changes easier to observe.

He explained that these forests and marshes change on the scales of decades to centuries, but they’re probably changing a lot faster, on the scales of years to decades, “but that’s still pretty slow for us to see on a regular basis. I think the idea was if we have these photographs, then maybe it’ll become a little bit easier to see the change of these ecosystems.”

Ardón said in addition to looking at change over time, he wants to use the photos to study how the seasons change the landscape. 

With a grant through the National Science Foundation, Ardon began in 2021 installing Chronolog stations at Goose Creek State Park, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, E. Merle Waterfowl Impoundment, and Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge.  

After installing the first round, he said N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources officials liked the project and decided to fund 11 more stations. He worked with the site managers to determine the best location for each Chronolog, depending on what they wanted to document, such as a marsh or a living shoreline.

“For the ghost forests, I’m really interested in looking at how long the snags, the standing dead trees, actually last, because there’s been some studies of those snags but there’s not a lot of good fine-scaled information of: How often do they fall over? Is it just after big storms? Is it small storms? Is it just after time that eventually they fall over? So those are the kinds of questions that I want to answer with these stations,” he said. 

President Trump on Tuesday signed into law a bipartisan bill that will tap energy revenues to address a $12 billion backlog of maintenance projects on federal lands, including more than $459 million in national parks in North Carolina.

Introduced in 2019 by the late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the Great American Outdoors Act also makes funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund permanent. Earlier this year, the Trump administration had proposed significant cuts to the fund.

Republican 3^rd District Congressman Greg Murphy voted for the bill, which the House passed July 22.

Murphy’s office noted in a press release in July that Cape Hatteras National Seashore will receive $49,834,106, and Cape Lookout National Seashore will receive $27,718,515 as a result of the legislation.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund supports national forests, refuges and parks, including the Croatan National Forest, Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge, Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Cape Lookout National Seashore, the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

The bill establishes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund to support deferred maintenance projects on federal lands. For the next five years, an amount equal to half of energy development revenues from oil, gas, coal and alternative or renewable energy development on federal lands and waters is to be deposited into the fund, up to $1.9 billion for any year.

The fund must be used for priority deferred maintenance projects in specified systems that are administered by the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Education.

Interior Secretary David L. Bernhardt announced Tuesday that entrance fees paid by those visiting lands managed by the department would be waived Wednesday. Bernhardt also announced that Aug. 4 will be designated “Great American Outdoors Day,” a fee-free day each year to commemorate the signing of the act. Fees such as camping and cabin rentals and others will remain in effect.

The National Park Service has approved a plan to issue a special use permit to Dare County to use a privately owned hopper dredge to perform maintenance dredging within Oregon Inlet.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, the park service adopted an environmental assessment drafted by the Army Corps of Engineers for their Section 404 permitting of the Clean Water Act, which the park service was a cooperating agency, according to a news release Thursday from the park service.

“This plan is important to support safe navigation for commercial fishermen, charter boats, the Coast Guard, and recreational boaters that use the inlet on a daily basis,” said Superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina David Hallac. “It will allow Dare County to assist the Army Corps of Engineers in the maintenance of the federally authorized channel.”

The entire project corridor is about 2,300 acres, including the ocean bar and Pamlico Sound channels and the nearshore disposal area at the north end of Pea Island, according to the park service.

A 15-day public review and comment period for a draft Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI, for the adopted assessment was in May and the FONSI was finalized June 11.

Oregon Inlet is within Cape Hatteras National Seashore boundaries. The Corps’ regulatory control over the project includes the dredging and discharge of dredged material in the Oregon Inlet corridor and disposal areas as a federally authorized navigation channel.

Dare County needs the special use permit to use the privately owned dredge under the same conditions as the Corps for maintenance dredging of small or isolated regularly occurring shoals in Oregon Inlet.

The public has 15 days from Monday to review and comment on the draft of the Finding of No Significant Impact, or FONSI, for dredging of Oregon Inlet with a Dare County dredge.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore announced Monday that public comments will be accepted until May 25 electronically through the website or mailed to Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, N.C. 27954.

Dare County is seeking a Special Use Permit from the seashore to use a privately owned hopper dredge in the same manner and under the same conditions as what is currently authorized for the Army Corps of Engineers to perform maintenance dredging of small and isolated, regularly occurring shoals within Oregon Inlet, which is within seashore boundaries, according to the National Park Service.

The Corps’ regulatory control over the project includes the dredging and discharge of dredged material within the the Oregon Inlet corridor and the disposal areas as a federally authorized navigation channel.

In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, the National Park Service is adopting the environmental assessment the Corps drafted for the Clean Water Act Section 404 permitting in which the National Park Service was a cooperating agency.

An environmental assessment, or EA, is a document that provides sufficient information to determine if a federal action has the potential to cause significant environmental effects. Section 404 of the Clean Water Act establishes a program to regulate the discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States, including wetlands, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Corps and National Park Service reviewed Dare County’s January 2019 draft environmental assessment, which examined alternatives and environmental effects of the proposed project.

The statements and conclusions reached in this draft FONSI are based on documentation and analysis provided in the Corps’ environmental assessment with supplemental analysis provided in the Dare County environmental assessment to support the National Park Service decision. To the extent necessary, relevant sections of the Corps’ environmental assessment are incorporated in the FONSI.

The National Park Service is looking for public input on developing an environmental impact statement, or EIS, for sediment management activities at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The project is to develop a streamlined framework for permitting sediment management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, including the method, location and frequency for sediment management actions that may be permitted over the next 20 years.

The Notice of Intent was published Friday in the Federal Register, initiating the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, process and began a 30-day public scoping period that ends at 11:59 p.m. mountain time May 10.

Comments may be submitted online or by mail or hand-delivered to Cape Hatteras Sediment Management EIS, Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, N.C. 27954. For additional information visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHASediment.

The park service will hold four virtual meetings this month as part of the public scoping process. Viewers will be able to learn about the project scope, issues and alternatives, ask NPS representatives questions and provide comments during the following:

• Virtual Meeting 1: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. April 20; Webinar Id: 449-480-987
• Virtual Meeting 2: 7-8 p.m .April 21; Webinar Id: 788-190-091
• Virtual Meeting 3: 6-7 p.m. April 22; Webinar Id: 627-583-883
• Virtual Meeting 4: 5:30-6:30 p.m. April 23; Webinar Id: 546-626-443

Park officials said they had received various requests and anticipate future requests to issue special use permits for protecting roads, bridges, electrical transmission facilities and other public transportation facilities; repairing island damages, including breaches that also affect transportation; and restoring habitat through the placement of dredged materials along eroded sections of barrier islands.

A sediment management framework is needed to assist the park officials in addressing the requests, while avoiding and minimizing impacts that may be associated with such actions. The framework is needed to provide timely response for localized beach nourishment requests in the face of increased storm events and projected sea level rise, and for opportunities to restore coastal habitats.

DARE COUNTY — Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC, and the National Park Service have signed a 20-year lease agreement for the company to operate Oregon Inlet Marina, Cape Hatteras National Seashore announced Tuesday.

The lease is effective Dec. 31. Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC, managed by Russell C. King, will provide for the maintenance and continued operation of Oregon Inlet Marina, also known as Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, for use as a charter boat marina.

Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC was selected to negotiate a lease for Oregon Inlet Marina in accordance with the request for proposals, or RFP, issued June 7 and closed Sept. 5.  The National Park Service received multiple proposals in response to the RFP, selecting Oregon Inlet Marinas, LLC as the best responsive proposal in accordance with the selection criteria published in the RFP.

According to the press release, the lessee will be authorized the use of the marina premises for the following purposes:

• Marina slip rentals only for charter fishing boats, or for-hire fishing vessels; headboats; tour boats;  dive boats, collectively such boats and watercraft are referred to as “Commercial Watercraft”; and large commercial or governmental vessels such as dredges.
• The rental of non-motorized watercraft such as kayaks, canoes and sailboats, excluding personal watercraft.
• The sale by Lessee to the public of opportunities for activities on lessee-owned commercial watercraft.
• The sale of fishing and boating goods and services including: ice, bait, tackle, fishing and boating apparel, camping supplies, fish cleaning services, photography supplies and services, and fuel.
• Booking services for users of Commercial Watercraft.
• The sale of food and both non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
• The sale of other retail items not included above provided that the sale of such items is consistent with Park Area purposes.
• Special events associated with the use of the marina for charter fishing boats, such as fishing tournaments.
• Provision of a small children’s play area.

As Oregon Inlet Marina comes under new management, the National Park Service extended its gratitude to Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, LLC for its many years of providing charter fishing services on the Outer Banks.

“The Oregon Inlet Fishing Center and the talented captains docking at the marina have put Oregon Inlet on the map as one of the best offshore fishing destinations in the world,” said David Hallac, superintendent National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, in a statement.

NAGS HEAD — The National Park Service is requesting proposals now through Sept. 5 from parties interested in a long-term lease of Oregon Inlet Marina at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Nags Head.

The proposals may be submitted from June 7 to Sept. 5.

Currently operated as Oregon Inlet Fishing Center, the Oregon Inlet Marina is at 98 N.C. 12, Nags Head, just north of the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge.

The property includes a 60-slip marina; seven buildings totaling 7,369 square feet; 7.4 acres of associated land area; a 220-spot parking lot; and six vessel fuel pumps, one vehicle fuel pump and associated fuel system and storage.

The park service seeks to do the following:

• Enable continued use of the property for marina slip rentals and associated services for charter fishing boats or for-hire fishing vessels, headboats, and tour boats.
• Provide regular maintenance and upkeep of the marina and associated facilities.
• Undertake improvements necessary to ensure that a safe, sustainable, environmentally sound and resilient marina bulkhead or equivalent shoreline stabilization project is implemented to allow for marina operations throughout the term of the lease.

Learn More

• Request For Proposals