It’s no secret that there are people out there who think not only that the Bonner Bridge over Oregon Inlet should not be replaced but also that we should let Highway 12 through Pea Island fall into the ocean.
Southern Environmental Law Center and its clients, Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association, who are battling in court to stop the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the bridge feel that way.
So do many — if not most — coastal scientists.
And, for that matter, there are followers and admirers of these scientists and environmentalists who don’t want their tax money spent so that we who live here can have access by highway to our homes and businesses.
The most-often quoted of the scientists is geologist Stanley Riggs of East Carolina University who, with his associates, wrote a book on the topic, “The Battle for North Carolina’s Coast,” and coined the now familiar phrase “string of pearls” to refer to the barrier islands.
Riggs says that when sea-level rise is finished with Hatteras and Ocracoke, our islands will be like “pearls” of beauty in the ocean and we can all get from pearl to pearl by ferry.
Another is Michael Orbach, professor emeritus of marine policy at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort, N.C.
Orbach said this in a July 2010 article in Surfer magazine about the options for replacing the bridge, “But you know, the other major option that a lot people bring up, and this is actually my personal favorite as well, is actually going back to the old ferry system. Where you ferry people from somewhere on the north side of Oregon Inlet ? it could be Manteo ? down to Hatteras Island.”
He also said:
“If, in fact, you reconstructed our approach to living on the Outer Banks, such that we were going to truly move with the island and follow what our Coastal Resources Commission has established as a retreat policy as opposed to shoreline armoring, then, in fact, you?d not want to try to keep that bridge at Oregon Inlet at a place it doesn?t want to stay. The immediate impacts of that would probably be to reduce the tourist flow volume to Hatteras Island, and many of the economic interests on Hatteras Island would not be in favor of reducing the total flow of people.
“There would be some positive impacts too, though. You would assume that property values might rise because it would become more exclusive. The economy would change
and, in some cases, the particular businesses to get the tourist dollars might change.”
Our property values might rise because the islands would be more “exclusive?”
You’ve got love those scientists.
Anyway, I was reminded of this cavalier and paternalistic attitude toward our barrier-island lives last week when Beth Midgett, chairwoman of Dare County’s Citizens’ Committee to Replace the Bonner Bridge, shared an exchange of e-mail that she was a part of.
On the morning of Sept. 24, Harry Simmons, executive director of the North Carolina Beach, Inlet, and Waterways Association sent an e-mail to association members and others who are interested in such issues. The e-mail was as link to Gov. Pat McCrory’s 25-year transportation plan, which for the eastern part of the state includes such things as replacing bridges and keeping inlets dredged.
One of those who got the e-mail was Orbach, who is listed on the NCBIWA website as a member of the board of directors.
I am going to share a part of that exchange of e-mails with you. This is a little longer than my usual long blogs, but I promise it’s worth it to read to the end.
Orbach was among the first to respond to Simmons:
Folks,
I just hope we avoid building “bridges and roads to nowhere” (i.e. areas that will clearly be under — or surrounded by — water 50 years from now). What we really need is for DOT to be realistic about climate change and sea level rise in their very-forward-thinking planning!
More roads, bridges and concrete in places such as Hatteras Island (currently happening) would be the real tragedy. What a mess in 10-20 years!
Fight smart. Tradeoffs will have to (should, anyway) be made.
If we do not do as above, at some point people (politicians and the public) will realize that we have been selling them a ‘bill of goods’, and then it will really ‘hit the fan’!
MKO
Dare County Manager Bobby Outten then responded to Orbach:
I would beg to differ that planned roads and bridges to Hatteras Island are ?bridges to nowhere.? That statement certainly trivializes the people of Hatteras Island and the significant contribution that those who live on Hatteras have made to the fabric, heritage and, yes, the economy of both Dare County and the state. They are an important part of who and what we are. Yes, Hatteras Island is surrounded by water and will remain so, as will the need for reliable access to those who live and visit there. Kudos to DOT and others who are working hard to come up with practical solutions to our problems and to insure that reliable access remains available to those who live on and visit Hatteras Island, just as it to those who live and visit in other parts of our state.
Orbach responded to Outten:
I love Hatteras Island, and have spent many wonderful hours and days there in all parts of the year.
However, the “specialness” of Hatteras does not lie in more and more concrete; to my mind, it lies in the largely pre-Bonner Bridge history of the island, when the special culture of Hatteras actually developed (and is disappearing fast, if there is much left at all), and in the wonderful natural environment of the island, which will be nothing but further degraded by futile attempts to fight sea-level rise.
Sorry. Take the Bonner bridge down and make it an artificial reef, and go back to the old ferry system for whatever remaining time the villages on Hatteras have.
And, other locations in coastal North Carolina: Take heed, and watch the next 10 years on Hatteras carefully.
MKO
Outten responded briefly that he “respectfully” disagreed.
At this point, Outten copied Beth Midgett on the e-mail chain — in addition to all of those who were already being copied, and Midgett replied to Orbach:
Professor Orbach,
The ?specialness? of Hatteras Island lies in the pre-Bonner Bridge era of Hatteras Island and our culture has been lost? Perhaps you need to speak with those who struggled through the times here pre-Bonner and pre-road.
It was an era when infants and children often died because they could not be transported quickly for needed medical care. They died of medical complications that could have easily been taken care of with access to a hospital.
Families here might go days and even weeks on end without having access to fresh vegetables and fruit in the wintertime if the freight boats could not travel. Canned meats, salted fish, preserved produce all were the norm.
Consistent power to the island came with the bridge, before that it was generated, inconsistent power. Communication to the outside world also came with phone lines under the bridge.
It was a fairly harsh existence here and would not be as idealistic if you had to live through it. Nor is it a pleasurable idyllic experience when we have to go through the above experiences now, over a half a century later, when the bridge or Highway12 goes offline because basic protective measures are no longer allowed to be taken.
The ?wonderful natural environment of the island? that would be ruined by futile attempt to protect it? The one you have been enjoying for years? Not so natural. Many people here are familiar with just how much the beaches and land were manipulated pre-1970s by the islanders. Dredge material was used to reinforce breaches — garbage, building debris, old cars etc. filled in low lying areas and even breaches that formed after storms in the island itself. The list goes on and on. It is a fact that much of what is protected habitat today is filled beach and marsh area.
NCDOT does not make its decisions in a vacuum as you seem to be implying, far from it. They have convened a group of coastal scientists at several points in the process of planning the Bonner Bridge/Phased Plan, and I am sure they will continue to do so moving forward.
From the Bonner documents: “During the development of the FEIS, FHWA hosted a Peer Exchange workshop seeking to incorporate recent scientific research on global climate change effects and accelerated sea-level rise into the previous shoreline analysis for this project. The outcome of the Peer Exchange was to identify if any analytical gaps exist between the shoreline erosion forecast conducted for the project (see Section 3.6.3.1) compared to recent and relevant research on global climate change. The Peer Exchange included a panel of coastal engineering and geology experts with knowledge of the local area as well as experts with knowledge of recent research on global climate change. “
As islanders, we work hard to balance our past with our future. We respect our history and heritage but know that we have to also keep moving forward with technology and new economic initiatives for our next generation of island children.
Nothing remains the same except for the fact that change is inevitable when you live on an island. We will adapt, as we always have, as a strong and close-knit community to the challenges that lie ahead.
Sorry you are quitting on us. We are not.
Beth Midgett
Again, Orbach responded:
Beth,
Two points with respect to your first paragraph. First, do the folks on Ocracoke — or any of the other thousands of inhabited islands in the world served by modern ferry systems — have these kinds of medical issues today? Second, for the cost of the new bridge, every person on Hatteras with even the sniffles could be airlifted directly to the Duke Medical Center.
I certainly agree that the island has been altered by humans since humans began living there (including the Native Americans). However, all of those alterations have occurred in the recent (8,000 years) period of static sea level, not the future of 1-2 meters of sea level rise over the next century to which, by the way, the island would adapt naturally if it were (not) filled with human infrastructure.
As for the scientists (and I will throw in engineers), they are technical experts, not decision-makers, the latter of whose job it is to balance the tradeoffs necessary in setting policy. However, even if the scientists were the decision-makers, how many of those scientists have said, “Oh, living on Hatteras for the next century is going to be fine?”
Finally, far from “…quitting on (you)….”, I am trying to ensure a future that will, in fact, be true to both the natural and cultural history — and future — of the island. The way things are going politically right now, BOTH the natural and the cultural history of beautiful Hatteras Island will be lost.
There could be a FANTASTIC future for Hatteras Island — just not a copy of the recent past.
MKO
Beth Midgett replied:
Respectfully, we probably need to agree that we will not be able to agree on this.
To your first point, in emergencies, yes, now we are more fortunate than the past generations, in so far as we do have access to Med Flight and Coast Guard, weather dependent.
That being said, everyday access is what NCDOT is working on. A series of roads and bridges — roads in more stable areas, bridges in less — allowing for some of the natural regeneration on the backside of the island to occur (sorry, not the correct technical term I am sure, my layman?s term) is the plan.
For daily access, ask Ocracoke residents how well their ferry system is working for them right now? Ridership is down 25 percent this summer season due to shoaling of the channel and having to take the longer route. Last winter, for many, many weeks, their northern ferries did not run at all. Around 80 percent of their traffic utilizes Highway 12 from the north to access their ferry system. The southern ferries only carry roughly 20 percent of the traffic to the island.
It does amuse me somewhat when Ocracoke is held forth as an example of a thriving coastal community that survives solely on being ferry accessible, yet the fact that their main ferry must have Highway 12 to access it is ignored.
I don?t think NCDOT is trying to copy the past. I think they are trying to take the scientific input, meld it with the reality of what is possible, given the fact that there is not all the money in the world to address the issues, and try to reach a reasonable balance, given what lies ahead.
The plan is a compromise of sorts that will allow for some overflow on the island, which hopefully will allow for regeneration. Time will certainly tell. It will also have to be combined with nourishment in some areas, which will not be NCDOT?s responsibility.
We are looking forward, as we have been for years now, just perhaps not with the same plans others would make for us — which is part of the problem. The plans for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, America?s first national seashore, do not include sitting idly by and letting it wash away. There may be other areas designated as ?retreat? areas, this will not be one of them.
As an aside, you say you love our culture, our history, and our specialness, but I hope you understand, when you use a term like ?bridge to nowhere? how absolutely disrespectful and denigrating it is to those whose history and roots are so firmly and deeply planted in ?nowhere.? I would ask that you refrain from that, please, and perhaps advocate for the same among your peers. It does little to facilitate robust exchange of ideas.
Peace, Beth
And Orbach responded once more:
Beth,
I am afraid that in cases such as this, “compromise” is like being a “little bit pregnant.” The compromise plan will clearly lead to more concrete, “hardening” generally, and a diminution of the natural resources of the island in the face of the rising sea level and probable increasing hurricane intensity. And let’s be clear: The primary reason for the new bridge/road is not safety, but a vain attempt to keep the current economic engine of tourism running at a level that will just as clearly not be possible (or desirable) in the future.
As for my use of “nowhere,” that is a reference to the building of major infrastructure to locations that cannot handle the traffic the infrastructure is designed to implement or sustain, made famous by the bridge outside of Anchorage, Alaska, lobbied for by the late Sen. Ted Stevens.
I am actually trying to preserve the “somewhere” of Hatteras Island from unwise infrastructure planning. I think my feelings for Hatteras Island are clear: I am simply making a different set of tradeoffs between the wonderful natural and cultural resources of the island and the “cost,” both financial and in terms of the nature of human habitation and use of Hatteras, from some others.
MKO
Midgett gave up on the debate at that point.
However, Spencer Rogers, coastal engineering and erosion specialist for N.C. Sea Grant and a member of the research staff of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s Center for Marine Science, sent her a part of the e-mail chain that she missed.
This is what Rogers posted in the e-mail chain about the “road to nowhere”:
With no respect to anyone, I thought I-40 West was the road to nowhere. The West Coast is prone to earthquakes, wildfires and tsunamis. The place is falling apart. It is a dangerous place to visit briefly, much less live there. Suggest avoiding at all cost.
This was Orbach’s reply:
Spencer,
Amusing! As you know, I am headed for Santa Cruz, California, where, when I lived there the last time in a little mountain town called Boulder Creek, we were 7 miles from the epicenter of the famous Loma Prieta earthquake (no damage to our place)!
Every place on earth has its issues and pratfalls. The most (or least) we can to is to plan as carefully as we can — based on the best information we have and with the resources at hand — to protect and preserve those things that are most important to us. That does not always mean business as usual.
MKO
Yes, Dr. Orbach. That’s what Beth Midgett and many of the rest of us have been saying.
Every place has its pitfalls. We plan as best we can, based on the best information we have and with the best resources at hand, to protect those things that are most important to us.
That is what DOT did. That’s what the rest of us who choose to live here are doing.
And, you are certainly correct that doesn’t always mean business as usual.
And we will let Spencer Rogers — with his final response to Orbach — have the last word on this blog.
“Life sometimes lets us choose our own risks,” he wrote.
