National Park Service New Release Release June 16, 2015
The National Park Service has approved a plan to modify wildlife protection buffers at Cape Hatteras National Seashore (Seashore) as required by Section 3057 of the Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2015, Public Law 113-291.
The selected plan includes modified protection buffers and provides corridors around buffers for many species, including American oystercatchers, Wilson’s plovers, piping plovers, colonial nesting waterbirds, and sea turtles. The plan maintains protections for wildlife along the seashore by augmenting the seashore’s monitoring and on-the-ground management program. Additionally, the Seashore will be hosting workshops in the future to refine scientific monitoring and research towards improving adaptive management.
While it is expected that these changes will provide additional public access during wildlife nesting seasons, access to all areas of the Seashore at all times may not be possible, even with the decision to modify wildlife buffers; multiple species may nest in close proximity to each other and there are times where ORV corridors cannot be provided due to local geography. Parts of the selected alternative may be implemented during the summer of 2015, while the entire plan will be implemented in 2016, once additional staff are available to help intensively monitor and manage wildlife protection buffers and corridors.
The plan was approved by Stan Austin, the Director of the Southeast Region of the National Park Service, completing the National Environmental Policy Act and Environmental Assessment (EA) process which began earlier this year. The EA and FONSI were prepared in close coordination and consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and in consideration of public input that was received during the public review period.
Superintendent David Hallac stated, “Wildlife protection buffers described under the plan’s selected action will continue to protect wildlife species while providing additional flexibility to allow access to pedestrians and off road vehicles.”
Later this summer, the Seashore will commence a public process to consider modifications to the final rule on off road vehicle management (2012). Specifically, the Seashore will consider changes to the final rule related to: morning openings of beaches, the time periods open for use of seasonal off road vehicle routes, and the size and location of vehicle free areas.
Copies of the Environmental Assessment and a description of the selected plan can be found on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha
Additional information can be found here: http://www.nps.gov/caha/learn/management/2015ndaa
Two young people were attacked by sharks in separate incidents on Sunday (June 15) in the Oak Island waters in Brunswick County, south of Wilmington. Both are in stable condition.
In light of these unfortunate events, Wit Tutell, executive director of Visit NC, passed on some information about sharks and shark attacks provided by the University of Florida’s Program for Shark Research ― the foremost authority in the United States.
These facts reflect the relatively low risk of unprovoked shark attacks on the North Carolina coast.
The Ocracoke Observer has provided beach safety information for those on Ocracoke that one may read by clicking here and here.
Unprovoked shark attacks on humans are rare. According to George Burgess, director of the program for shark research at the University of Florida, “most attacks are probably cases of mistaken identity. They’re often perpetrated by small sharks in shallow waters. Shark attack is a potential danger that must be acknowledged by anyone that frequents marine waters, but it should be kept in perspective. Bees, wasps and snakes are responsible for far more fatalities each year. In the United States, deaths occur up to 30 more times from lighting strikes per year, than from shark attacks per year.”
Drowning is a much more serious risk as the United States averages about 10 fatalities a day. http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Sharks/Statistics/beachattacks.htm
No North Carolina beaches are closed due to sharks.
Experts suggest taking the following precautions to avoid shark-related injury:
Precautionary Measures to Reduce Risk:
For more tips, go to http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/education/questions/Attack.html
More from George Burgess, Director of the Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida:
“For most people, any shark-human interaction is likely to occur while swimming or surfing in nearshore waters. From a statistical standpoint the chances of dying in this area are markedly higher from many other causes (such as drowning and cardiac arrest) than from shark attack. Many more people are injured and killed on land while driving to and from the beach than by sharks in the water. Shark attack trauma is also less common than such beach-related injuries as spinal damage, dehydration, jellyfish and stingray stings and sunburn.”
For more info on shark encounters: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/ISAF/ISAF.htm
Editor’s note: The Island Free Press has a detailed article on this settlement that you may read by clicking here
To read the settlement, click here
RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have finalized a settlement agreement with Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge Association represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, allowing NCDOT to replace the aging Herbert C. Bonner Bridge over the Oregon Inlet with a new parallel bridge.
Under the agreement, NCDOT will also consider options that would move vulnerable portions of N.C. Highway 12 out of the southern half of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and into Pamlico Sound.
The Bonner Bridge is in frequent need of repair and maintenance and the replacement is needed for the safety of drivers and the economic vitality of the Outer Banks.
“We appreciate the efforts of all parties to agree on a viable solution that best serves the people and interests of North Carolina,” said NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata. “The settlement agreement will allow NCDOT to provide a safe and reliable bridge for thousands of residents who rely on this lifeline to get to work, school, and healthcare and for millions of visitors who travel to the Outer Banks every year.”
“We are pleased that NCDOT and its partner agencies will consider additional options for N.C. 12 that will provide safe, reliable transportation by avoiding the areas where erosion and washouts shut down the road in its current location,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney with SELC, who represented the conservation groups. “This is a win-win for the refuge and everyone who relies on N.C. 12
Under the settlement agreement, after certain tasks are complete including ceasing work on a 2.4-mile bridge within the refuge, the conservation groups will dismiss both federal and State Bonner Bridge-related lawsuits.
NCDOT will move forward with construction of a new bridge parallel to the existing Bonner Bridge and will study options for Pamlico Sound structures to address the Mirlo Beach area and the Pea Island inlet created by Hurricane Irene.
NCDOT will complete this entire process collaboratively with the merger team composed of state and federal resource and regulatory agencies.
During the study period, NCDOT will implement interim measures on Pea Island to provide safe and reliable transportation through this area.
In September 2014, NCDOT suspended construction on a permanent Pea Island Bridge as part of the settlement process.
Rep. Paul Tine (D-Kitty Hawk) praised the work of Secretary Tony Tata, Governor Pat McCrory and their team.
“Bonner Bridge has long been a concern for the people of the Outer Banks who have endured years of litigation and delay,” he said in a press release. “I am very pleased that we have reached a compromise and are able to move forward with the replacement of Bonner Bridge. Secretary Tata, the governor, and their team have done great work, and I look forward to seeing construction begin.”
State Sen. Bill Cook (R-Beaufort) also weighed in.
“It’s a great day for the residents of the Outer Banks and the millions of visitors that travel to the area each year,” he said in a press release. “I’m extremely thankful and grateful that this agreement has been reached to replace the Bonner Bridge.
By Gael Hawkins
The first thing I remember learning about Chester Lynn is that he is immune to poison ivy. This, in itself, may not seem to be extraordinary, but in the late 1980s on Ocracoke if rambling around old gravesites was the order of business it was a very big asset.
Chester is a local expert on all of the marked and unmarked graves (about 89) on the island and led me on a tour to see these sites.
Poison ivy was everywhere, but Chester could grab a vine and uncover an old marble tombstone with his bare hands.
He also knew who was buried where and a bit of history about each family. All of this information was delivered in his Ocracoke “brogue,” an added bonus.
Later that night, I was having dinner at the old Island Inn. Out of the kitchen came Chester to greet some diners. It turned out that he was running the restaurant.
Fast forward to 2015. Chester now owns Annabelle’s Florist and Antiques on Back Road in the house in which he was raised.
Every room of the shop is full of treasures, both local and North Carolina related. He has a set of pewter plates that have been attributed to the style and date (1709) of the famous pirate, Blackbeard.
There are ship’s anchors, exquisite French porcelains, cast iron pots and skillets, crystal, oil lamps, wonderful old jewelry, Portsmouth Island memorabilia, and, of course, flowers and fig trees.
Chester has been sleuthing the history of figs on Ocracoke for years. He knows the varieties, the growing techniques, the attributes of each. He can guide you to the right tree for your environment and assist you in successfully reaping fruit.
Until her death, Chester and his mother, Audrey Carol O’Neal Lynn, shared the house following his father John Edgar Lynn’s death.
Chester’s grandfather, George O’Neal, was part owner of the mail boat Aleta and ran a dredge that pumped out the old creek in 1942 to make the Navy base that is now Silver Lake Harbor.
Annabelle Fulcher O’Neal was his grandmother and his shop bears her name as a tribute.
His link to Portsmouth Island comes through his granny’s genes. He can date his heritage from the 1700s through her back to the settling of Portsmouth.
Chester is a founding member of the Friends of Portsmouth Island who maintain the structural and cultural integrity of that island.
Although there are no longer inhabitants, Chester lauds the National Park Service which has kept the village structures in good repair. The Methodist Church that had been precariously tilting for years was shored up and righted, thanks to the Park Service.
Often, Anabelle’s smells heavenly with something cooking in the kitchen.
“People come by just to find out what he is fixing on the stove,” he said.
When he went to live with Mrs. Liz Styron (Down Point) at about age 12 his love for cooking began.
Mrs. Styron, who owned one of the first eating places on Ocracoke years earlier, taught Chester all of the basics. Her old kitchen was full of beautiful dishes and paintings the likes of which Chester had never seen.
After his chores were finished, she’d let him roam in that old room. That was the beginning of his love for things old and pretty.
About his florist beginning, he has story after story about his green thumb from a very early age.
Once he grafted a Rose of Sharon bush before he could read by looking at the pictures in a book.
There was nobody doing flowers on Ocracoke for special occasions back then. So Chester made some floral arrangements for an Ocracoke School alumni banquet and ever since, he has been a florist.
Catch Chester giving a Porch Talk on figs this summer at the Ocracoke Preservation Society.
You can also hear him speaking the local dialect on the CD, “Ocracoke Speaks the Distinct Sounds of the Hoi Toide” available at the OPS gift shop.
Chester is a story-teller, historian, fierce protector of the heritage of Ocracoke and Portsmouth Islands, naturalist, very good cook, creative florist, knowledgeable antiques dealer.
And he is still immune to poison ivy.
By Peter Vankevich
Ocracoke school student Deanna Seitz will attend the Governor’s School of North Carolina at Salem College along with 600 high school juniors from around the state.
This program, began in 1963 by Gov. Terry Sanford, is the oldest summer residential program for academically for intellectually gifted high school students in the nation. Students do not receive grades or course credit, and acceptance is highly competitive.
Seitz will mainly study English and will explore philosophy. Mary McKnight, Ocracoke School guidance counselor, was thrilled about Deanna’s acceptance.
“Deana is intellectually and academically gifted, but she also has a creative side that I’m excited for her to explore,” McKnight said.
Seitz is the only student from Hyde County who will attend. Other students from Ocracoke School who have attended are Joseph Chestnut, Madeline Schramel Hanbury, Nathan Schramel, Andrew Tillett and Samantha Vander Myde.
By Peter Vankevich
Getting around Ocracoke village and learning about the island’s fascinating history will be easy for people with smart phones and computer tablets now that Stefen Howard has developed Ocracoke Navigator.
Ocracoke Navigator is a free, interactive web application. Simply go to a search engine and type in Ocracoke Navigator.
“It’s like having an Ocracoke native in your pocket!” the promo states, and that’s not far from the truth.
Howard, a son of Philip Howard, is a ninth-generation Ocracoke native and a descendant of William Howard, the last colonial owner of Ocracoke Island. Stefen (pronounced as “Steven”) grew up on Ocracoke and graduated from the school in 1985. He earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Guilford College, Guilford County, and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
A professor of computer science at Mars Hill University, near Asheville, Howard came up with the Navigator idea a few years ago when he noticed visitors carrying around computer tablets.
“I thought it would be great if there was something that would allow folks with smart phones and tablets to learn about island history,” he said. “It could also give them directions to all the important locations as well as shops and other businesses.”
So he went to work.
Ocracoke Navigator provides more than 200 interactive maps, extensive historical information, vintage and contemporary photographs and other information about the island.
Among the historical yarns are the site of the first automobile accident; when Charles Lindbergh (with no fanfare) landed on Ocracoke; the history of the Coast Guard Station; historic homes and buildings, and even information on Old Quawk, the hermit that one of the island creeks is named after.
“All my life on Ocracoke, I worked in the tourism industry including The Slushy Stand, Village Craftsmen and Over the Moon,” Howard said. “One of the most common questions locals get asked is, ‘How do I get to …’”
It may be a small island, but people still need to find their way, he noted.
“I also thought it would be a great way for visitors to access historical photographs, especially if they could find their way to a particular location and look at old photos and compare the old pictures to what it looks like now,” he said.
Development of this website was very much a family affair, with many of the stories narrated by Philip, Lou Ann Homan, and others in the Howard cohort.
Ocracoke Navigator includes two audio walking/biking/golf cart tours, “Around Creek” and “Down Point,” plus a kayak tour.
By Peter Vankevich
Elizabeth Dyer, Ocracoke’s the new, in-home care nurse with the Hyde County Health Department, is happy to join a tradition of state-sponsored nursing care on Ocracoke.
“There is a long tradition of nurses and midwives on Ocracoke and their stories are in many accounts of life on the island,” Dyer said. “At the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum there is some gear used by island nurses and a photo of one nurse who was also a midwife. In that picture she sits surrounded by children she helped into the world.”
Dyer, who began her duties in May, will provide skilled nursing care for people on the island needing help with wound care, help with medication and patient teaching. It also includes whatever they can’t do while recovering at home, such as household chores.
All of her home health patients are referred to Hyde County by healthcare providers or hospitals.
“There are many programs that are part of public health and I will have a chance to participate in other areas as I get trained,” she explained.
Hailing from Hillsborough, and a graduate of Duke University School of Nursing, Dyer most recently worked with the UNC-Chapel Hill student health services.
Prior to working in Chapel Hill, she worked in several other places.
“When we lived in New Zealand for six years I had a chance to work at the Whangarei Hospital,” she said. “That was a lot of fun.”
Dyer decided on her profession in high school, when she worked as an aide at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.
“The nurses there were so capable and helped so many people get well that I was inspired to go to nursing school,” she said.
She said she and her husband, Art Mines, a retired audiologist, have wanted to live full time on Ocracoke for a long time and she was happy to get a part-time position with Hyde County. Dyer also works part-time at Ocracoke Child Care.
“We are settling in to our wonderful little house and doing lots of projects around our shed and in the yard,” she said.
Those interested in services are asked to contact Hydeland Home Health at 252-926-4386, or Hyde Public Health at 252-926-4399.
Since the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry System switched to its full summer schedule of 36 daily round-trip departures between Hatteras and Ocracoke, it is calling on summer day trippers to strongly consider going as early in the day as possible to avoid wait times in the peak season.
“We’ve always suggested visitors try to avoid the peak times of the day when traveling between Hatteras and Ocracoke,” said Ferry Division Communications Officer Tim Hass. “This year, we’re coming right out and saying it: The best way to get out of ferry lines is to travel early, travel late, or travel between Friday and Monday. We have years of data to back that up.”
That data shows that, in general, there are no waits at Hatteras before 9 a.m., with lines starting to form around 10 a.m. Peak travel time is 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with lines generally dissipating by 4 p.m.
On the Ocracoke side, there is usually no waiting before 2 p.m. Cars begin to stack up by 3 p.m. and lines are the longest between 6 to 7 p.m. By 9 p.m., those lines are usually gone.
“By adjusting their schedule just a little, travelers can spend less time in a ferry line and more time on Ocracoke, and that’s what vacation should be about,” said Ferry Division Director Ed Goodwin about traveling to Ocracoke.
The Ferry System has created a web page here with more information, and will be encouraging off-peak travel all summer via advertising and social media.
Six seniors will graduate on Sunday (June 14).
The ceremony, at 5 p.m. in the school gym, is open to the public and will include former school principal George Ortman as the featured speaker. Scholarships and other honors will be announced.
Graduates this year are Hunter Raleigh Belch, Wilton Hunter Collins, Abigail Grace Morris, Kathryn Grace O’Neal, Lucy Louise O’Neal and Samantha Leigh Styron.
The graduates will be honored tonight at 5 p.m. a party at the Berkley Manor. All are invited.
