Cape Hatteras National Seashore launches the first-ever Adopt-a-Beach program
The new program supplements the National Park Service’s continual efforts to ensure 75 miles of beaches are clean, safe, and enjoyable for the public.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) welcomes organized groups of individuals to adopt sections of Seashore beaches to remove trash and help keep the beaches clean, safe, and pristine.
For this first year of the program, the Seashore is adopting out 18 sections of beach, focusing on the year-round off-road vehicle routes north of Oregon Inlet and on Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands. Each section is roughly two miles long.
Opportunities may expand to other sections of the beach in the coming years.
To adopt a section of Seashore beach, a group must commit to completing four cleanups each year and meet all reporting requirements. Upon completion of their first cleanup, each group will be acknowledged via signage at the entry point to their adopted area for the remainder of their commitment.
More information, including requirements, how to sign up and maps of adoptable areas are available at go.nps.gov/adoptabeach. Interested groups may also contact the Seashore at caha_adopt_a_beach@nps.gov to learn more about the program. Training and cleanup supplies will be provided to group leaders following signup.
“So many local families and businesses already provide exceptional support to the Seashore by helping to steward our beaches,” said National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent David Hallac. “Through this program, the Seashore will be able to better support and recognize individuals and organizations that want to help maintain beautiful beaches.”
The Seashore’s Adopt-a-Beach program has been developed with support and partnership from the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA), the first organization to adopt a Seashore beach. NCBBA provided valuable insight from their decades-long Operation Beach Respect program
NCBBA’s next Adopt-a-Beach cleanup event will be held this Saturday, June 8, at 9:00 a.m. at the off-road vehicle ramp 38 parking lot, just south of Avon.
The National Park Service would also like to thank all the individuals who have spent countless hours picking up litter along Seashore beaches.
