Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Barclay Trimble had his second media roundtable meeting with local reporters this week.
The first meeting with the media after his arrival just before Hurricane Sandy last October was in February. The goal is to have one meeting each quarter.
This week?s two-plus hour meeting was chock full of interesting news and tidbits about the seashore.
Trimble seemed much more relaxed at this meeting than he had in February. Since there are only three of us who regularly attend, he?s probably figured out that we really aren?t all that daunting.
We just ask a lot of questions, many of which are submitted ahead of time, so Trimble can prepare answers and bring appropriate staff members with him. Of course, we are not prohibited from raising other issues at the meeting, and there are always many follow-up questions to Trimble?s answers.
This week Trimble brought along regulars Darrell Echols, deputy superintendent; Paul Stevens, chief law enforcement ranger, and Cyndy Holda, public affairs specialist. Also with them was Dean Mark, administrative officer, who has been with the Outer Banks Group about a year.
I am going to quickly highlight what I found to be the most interesting news from the seashore, and I and other Island Free Press writers will be following up in more depth on some of these issues in the next few weeks.
PERSONNEL CHANGES IN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Britta Muiznieks has moved from Hatteras, where she was the lead wildlife biologist, to Manteo, where she will be coordinating natural resources research.
The day-to-day, go-to person now for questions about resources is Jeffrey Swilling, natural resource program manager.
Trimble said this change is ?taking the next step forward toward the five-year review of the off-road vehicle management plan,? which became effective in 2012.
Among other things, she will work with Ted Simons, researcher at North Carolina State University, on oystercatcher population dynamics. She will also be looking at disturbances to nesting birds and turtles and buffer distances, for birds, especially the threatened piping plover.
She will also work with Eric Kaplan of Hatteras Island, founder of the Hatteras Island Ocean Center, on some ideas he has on electronic monitoring and how that can help both resource managers and public access.
For instance, if the technology could be developed to drop an electronic monitoring device into turtle nests when they are first discovered, it is possible that seashore biologists could more accurately pinpoint the hatch date of the nest. That could reduce the amount of time that the nest is ?expanded? prior to hatching, which often affects public access to the beaches.
The seashore is also starting to monitor vegetation management, especially at Cape Point, to see if the increased vegetation has an effect on shorebird nesting habits and predators.
Many think the fact that the seashore managers have allowed the vegetation to grow up around the ponds at Cape Point is pushing the birds to nest farther down on the beach toward the ocean and providing cover for predators.
Equipment and supplies for the vegetation monitoring were purchased with last year?s ORV permit revenues.
INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Park officials have received a rough draft from the contractor for Environmental Assessment of the infrastructure improvement plan.
The plan looks at the various changes that are called for in the new ORV plan, including ramps, parking areas, boardwalks, and interdunal roads.
The Environment Assessment of the improvements has been continually pushed back by storms and other management issues.
In February, Trimble expected it to be released in March and finalized in June.
Park staff members are now working on editing and changes to the document, and he said he hopes it will be released for public comment toward the end of June.
Trimble says the public will have two weeks to look it over before public meetings on the document.
Then he says he intends to move forward as quickly as possible to implement the improvements.
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Trimble says he has emphasized to law enforcement rangers that they are ambassadors who ?need to look at each individual stopped as an education opportunity.?
Some signage, he said, will be changed to make it friendlier to visitors. For example, signs about the newly required ORV permit at each ramp will be changed from ?Warning? to ?Reminder.?
?We are ambassadors, and we like to educate,? said chief enforcement ranger Stevens.
?People don?t read signs. We know that,? he added, noting that when an ORV driver does not have a permit, he is told about the permitting system and instructed to get one. If he or she is stopped again and still doesn’t have the permit, a citation may be issued.
He also said that the enforcement staff is conscious of the change of visitors each week, and the fact that many may show up on the beach without a permit because they don?t know they need it.
During a one-week period earlier this month, Stevens said, enforcement rangers issued no citations, 12 written warnings, and 21 verbal warnings.
Beach violations for all reasons ? including speeding, open containers, and drunk driving — continue to drop, he said.
From Jan. 1 through May of last year, there were 400 violations for all reasons, but only about 200 for the same period this year.
In fact, he said, citations for drunk driving on the beach were reduced by half between 2011 and 2012 when the permit system went into effect.
ORV use on the beach during the past Memorial Day weekend was generally down over past years.
It was way down on Saturday, he said, because of the cool, windy weather. During a flyover on Sunday, there were 1,000 vehicles on the beach from the South Point of Ocracoke through Bodie Island. Before the permit, he said, there might be 1,200 vehicles just on the Oregon Inlet beach.
Stevens said that he started the year with a full complement of 22 rangers, but has since lost one on Bodie Island and one on Hatteras to transfers.
The first request to replace them despite the restraints of sequestration on hiring was denied, but he says he will keep trying.
ORV PERMITS
Trimble said the seashore hopes that ORV permits will be offered online by Dec. 1 when the 2104 permits will become available.
?It?s looking very promising,? the superintendent said.
The park is still working on whether all will be able to purchase permits online or if they will be available only for renewals.
And park officials are not just interested in renewing annual permits online, but would like to see the seven-day permits move to an online system in which visitors could purchase the permit and get it mailed to them before they arrive on the seashore.
OLD LIGHTHOUSE SITE
The circle of stones engraved with the names of lighthouse keepers that marks the former site of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse has been covered by sand since Hurricane Sandy and several northeasters affected the area over the fall and winter.
The large stones were made from the marble cut from the foundation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse when it was moved in 1999.
Cutting and engraving the stones was paid for by the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society.
The stones were arranged in a big circle and were a popular tourist attraction and gathering spot for locals.
Until recently, Park Service maintenance staff members, cleared the sand away, but park officials say they are no longer able to continue maintaining the site.
?Five years ago, it was not as big a deal,? said deputy seashore superintendent Echols. But, he said, with the hurricanes and northeasters in recent years, the dunes are marching westward.
Eventually, he said, the site will be underwater.
The park, Trimble said, is no longer in a position to continue the maintenance and intends to let the natural processes to take their course.
The Lighthouse Society, Trimble and Echols said, has been contacted about what should be done with the marble engraved stones, but no decision has been made.
FRISCO PIER
Trimble said the park is still talking to the owners of the Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier in Frisco, which has been badly damaged by storms and has been closed for several years.
The owners are Tod and Angie Gaskill of Top Dollar Construction, who purchased the pier and did a lot of work on it after Hurricane Isabel in 2003.
?There will be some kind of conclusion soon,? Trimble said, perhaps within weeks.
In its current condition, the pier is becoming ? or has become ? a public safety issue.
In fact, the Park Service will be erecting signage at the site soon that will warn those on the beach and in the water to steer clear of the structure.
Others are worried about damage to nearby structures if the pier totally collapses in a future storm.
The owners, seashore officials say, are liable for the damage, not the Park Service.
A concession contract between the Park Service and the pier owners expired last year.
BODIE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE
The renovated Bodie Island Lighthouse was opened for tours last month.
Trimble said visitors to the lighthouse have been ?in line with what we were anticipating.?
The going was slow for climbers in April and early May. The tours can accommodate 350 visitors a day. There was an average of about 230-250 visitors until Memorial Day weekend when the number increased to 326 on Saturday of the holiday.
Trimble said few visitors are taking advantage of the reservation system.
Visitors to Bodie Island Lighthouse can reserve a time to tour, which is not the case with climbing at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.
For information on both lighthouses, go to http://islandfreepress.org/2013Archives/04.11.2013-BodieIslandAndHatterasLighthousesOpenForClimbingOnApril19.html.
The number to call for reservations for the Bodie lighthouse tour is 252-474-9417.
OLD COAST GUARD STATION IN BUXTON
Even though the buildings were razed last year at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Buxton that was abandoned several years ago, there is still more work that needs to be done before the land can revert to the National Park Service.
Echols said there is still above-ground infrastructure to remove, such as utility lines, but the bigger problem is that there is an issue with underground areas that have been heavily contaminated with such pollutants as heavy metals.
Most of that happened while the site was a U.S. Navy base, but it is still the Coast Guard?s responsibility to clean it up.
?We are not going to release them from the agreement until it?s cleaned up,? Echols said.
The Park Service is interested in using the area for parking and beach access, and Dare County is interested in being a partner in future development of the site.
AND MORE
There were other topics discussed at the media roundtable that we will mention in later articles.
But these are the ones I think are of most interest to you.
We?ll do a more in-depth look at many of those that have been listed here.
If you have any questions or comments, I know you will send them along!
