North Carolina Coastal Reserve
PURPOSE | SITES | RESERVE STAFF | PROGRAM SUPPORT
Although the primary focus of the North Carolina
Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is regulation of coastal development, land use planning and beach access according to the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA), this agency also includes a Coastal Reserve Program devoted to the protection of significant natural areas within the 20 CAMA counties.
The Coastal Reserve presently encompasses nine components or sites with a total land/water area in excess of 30,000 acres.
Each site is managed expressly for research, education, and compatible recreational uses. Reserve offices for administration and research are located at the CMS, while other functions are performed through offices in Beaufort (education) and Kitty Hawk (northern sites management).
The North Carolina Coastal Reserve was formally established by the General Assembly in 1989 (NCGS 113A-129.1 et seq.), but the program actually began in 1982 when the State received its first acquisition award from the U.S. Department of Commerce to initiate the federal/state partnership known as North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve (NCNERR). Four sites--Zeke's Island, Rachel Carson, Currituck Banks and Masonboro Island--were acquired in subsequent years using various federal and state funds to establish the NCNERR. In 1987 DCM decided that other coastal natural areas, particularly maritime forests, should be protected in addition to the estuarine sites. The term "Coastal Reserve" was created to encompass all present and future sites managed by DCM. Over the next 12 years Permuda Island, Buxton Woods, Kitty Hawk Woods, Bald Head Woods and Buckridge (Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge site) were acquired with federal and state funds as additions to the Coastal Reserve Program.
Aside from being part of the Coastal Reserve, these sites have received additional recognition and protection.
Several sites (i.e., Currituck Banks, Buckridge, Buxton Woods, Kitty Hawk Woods, Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island, Zeke's Island and Bald Head Woods) have been dedicated as State Nature Preserves.
Also, a portion of the Masonboro Island sound area is classified as an Outstanding Resource Water by the Division of Water Quality.
Both federal and state regulations pertain to the program. Departmental rules (NCAC T15:7O) for all sites were established in 1986 with subsequent amendments. The four NCNERR sites are managed according to U.S. Department of Commerce guidelines (15 CFR Part 921). Management plans have been developed for all sites except Buckridge.
The following are brief descriptions of the nine sites that make up the Coastal Reserve (maps and additional information are available at: www.ncnerr.org.
Currituck Banks (960 acres in Currituck County):
A mosaic of dunes, swales, marshes and maritime forest along part of Currituck Sound near Corolla.
The low salinity of this estuary creates freshwater habitats that provide for a diversity of plants and animals not found at the other Reserve sites.
Buckridge (18,648 acres in Tyrrell County):
Extensive area of swamp forest and low salinity marsh communities located along the Alligator River.
The site includes some 5,000 acres of regenerating Atlantic white cedar and several endangered/threatened species including red wolves.
Kitty Hawk Woods (1,350 acres in Dare County):
Northern Outer Banks maritime forest complex distinguished by its mixture of evergreen and deciduous trees on dune ridges in association with wetland sloughs, some dominated by bald cypress (unusual on the Outer Banks).
The site also encompasses soundside marshes and islands.
Buxton Woods (825 acres in Dare County):
An undeveloped portion of
the largest maritime forest in the state.
The natural area includes various barrier island habitats that support the greatest concentration of rare plants on the Outer Banks and the highest diversity of mammals of any barrier island in North Carolina, South Carolina or Virginia.
Rachel Carson (2,625 acres in Carteret County): Complex of marshes, tidal flats, eel grass beds, sand flats and dredge material islands located near Beaufort.
The site is named in honor of Rachel Carson, who conducted her research here in the 1940s.
Her writings educated people of the importance of coastal ecosystems.
Permuda Island (83 acres in Onslow County):
Located near Surf City on Topsail Island, this 50-acre island is important for its archaeological remains (dating back to 300 B.C.) and surrounding shellfish waters of Stump Sound.
Masonboro Island (5,100 acres in New Hanover County):
The largest remaining undisturbed barrier island along the state’s southeast coast, Masonboro is located between Wrightsville and Carolina beaches.
At low tide several thousand acres of pristine salt marshes and mud flats are exposed to view.
Sea turtles and colonial waterbirds use the island for nesting.
Zeke's Island (1,165 acres in New Hanover/Brunswick counties):
This estuarine complex south of Ft. Fisher includes an example of man=s influence.
The western boundary of the Reserve is a rock jetty constructed just after the Civil War to prevent shoaling of the Cape Fear River by inlet sediments. Habitats present include a barrier spit and estuarine islands with beaches, dunes, shrub thickets and salt marshes.
Bald Head Woods (186 acres in Brunswick County): Undeveloped maritime forest and associated wetlands located in the middle of Bald Head Island. The maritime forest is distinguished from others in the state by the presence of cabbage palmetto trees.
Rebecca Ellin (Morehead City), Program Director
|
rebecca.ellin@ncmail.net
Dr. John Fear (Morehead
City), Research Coordinator |
john.fear@ncmail.net
Amy Sauls (Beaufort),
(Acting) Education Director |
amy.sauls@ncmail.net
Michele Droszcz (Kitty Hawk),
Northern Sites Mgr.|
michele.droszcz@ncmail.net
Dr. Anthony Snider (CMS),
Southern Sites Manager |
snidera@uncw.edu
Woody Webster (Columbia),
Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Manager
|
woody.webster@ncmail.net
Amy Sauls (Beaufort), Coastal Education Specialist | amy.sauls@ncmail.net
Lori Davis (Beaufort), Community Outreach Coordinator | lori.c.davis@ncmail.net
Whitney Jenkins (Beaufort), Coastal Training Program Coordinator | whitney.jenkins@ncmail.net
Jacquie Ott (CMS), GIS Coordinator | ottj@uncw.edu
Paula Murray (CMS), Research Biologist | murrayp@uncw.edu
Heather Wells (CMS), Research Biologist | wellsh@uncw.edu
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Estuarine Reserves
Division
North Carolina Department
of Environmental and Natural Resources/ Division of Coastal Management
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