Attachment17_CAHAFoundationStatement.pdf

NatioNal Park Service • U.S. DePartmeNt of the iNterior

September 2011

North Carolina

Foundation Statement

Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Attachment 17

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Foundation Statement

CONTENTS

Introduction

Core Elements of a Foundation Statement

Description of Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Park Purpose

Park Significance Statements

Primary Interpretative Themes

Fundamental Resources and Values

Other Important Resources and Values

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values

Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments

Servicewide Legal and Policy Requirements

Summary

Appendix A: Enabling Legislation – Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Appendix B: Related Federal Legislation, Regulations and Orders

Appendix C: Inventory of Past Planning Documents and Future Planning Needs

Appendix D: Inventory & Analysis of Special Mandates and Agreements

Wright Brothers National Memorial

Fort Raleigh National

Historic Site

Cape Lookout National Seashore

C A P E

H A

T T

E

R A

S

N

T I

O N

L

E A

S H

O R

USS Monitor National Marine

Sanctuary

A L

L

IG

A T

O

I V

A L B E M A R L E S O U N D

East Lake

Lake Mattamuskeet

P

A

M

L

I C

U

U

U

R R

I T U

K

O

A T

A N

S O

U

A N

O K

E S

O U

Hatteras Inlet

Ocracoke Inlet

Oregon Inlet

W im b le

S h o a ls

D I A M O N D S H O A L S

A T L A

N T

I

E

Refuge Visitor Center

Pea Island N atio n al W ild life R efu g e

ALLIGATOR RIVER

NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

Little Kinnakeet Historic U.S. Life Saving

Service Station

Chicamacomico Historic U.S. Life Saving Service Station

Haulover Day use area

Jockey’s Ridge State Park

Billy Mitchell airstrip

First Flight airstrip

Ocracoke Island airstrip

Dare County Regional

Airport

Bodie Island Visitor Center Bodie Island Lighthouse

Coquina Beach

Whalebone Junction Information Station

Marina

National Park Service Group Headquarters

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Hatteras Island Visitor Center Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

Pony Pens

Fishing pier

Ocracoke Island Visitor Center

Ocracoke Lighthouse

Cape Hatteras

Southern Shores

Kitty Hawk

Kill Devil Hills

Nags Head

Wanchese

Manteo

Manns Harbor

Rodanthe

Waves

Salvo

Stumpy Point

Frisco

Buxton

Avon

Hatteras

Ocracoke

Engelhard

R o a n o k e I s l a n d

B o d i e

I s l a

H a t t e r a s

I s l a

Ocracoke Is land

To Elizabeth City and Norfolk, Va

To Duck and Corolla

To Raleigh

To Swan Quarter

To Cedar Island via toll ferry (2.25 hours)

To Swan Quarter via toll ferry (2.5 hours)

Ferry Service: A free ferry runs daily year-round between Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.

More than 6 feet (over 2 meters)

0-6 feet (0 to 2 meters)

Water depths

5 1 Kilometer

51 Mile

North

Introduction Every unit of the national park system needs a formal statement of its core mission to provide basic guidance for all planning and management decisions: a foundation for planning and management. Increasing emphasis on government accountability and restrained federal spending make it imperative that all stakeholders understand the park’s purpose, significance, primary interpretive themes, fundamental resources and values, and special mandates, as well as the legal and policy requirements for administration and resource protection.

The primary advantage of developing and adopting a foundation statement is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning and decision making from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of preparing a foundation statement helps park managers, staff, and stakeholders develop or affirm an understanding of what is most important about the park and identify the additional information needed to plan for the future.

The foundation statement can be used in all aspects of park management to ensure that the most important management objectives are accomplished before addressing other items that are also important but not directly critical to achieving the park purpose and maintaining its significance. Thus, the development of a foundation statement for Cape Hatteras National Seashore is essential for effectively managing the park over the long term and protecting the parks resources and values that are integral to the park’s purpose and identity.

Core Elements of a Foundation Statement The foundation statement has the following elements:

The park purpose is the specific reason(s) for establishing a particular park.

A park purpose statement is grounded in a thorough analysis of the park’s legislation (or executive order) and legislative history, and may include information from studies that were generated prior to the park’s establishment.

The park purpose statement goes beyond a restatement of the law to document shared assumptions about what the law means in terms specific to the park.

The park significance statements express why the park’s resources and values are important enough to warrant national park designation. Statements of the park’s significance describe why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. Significance statements are directly linked to the purpose of the park and are substantiated by data or consensus that reflect the most current scientific or scholarly inquiry and cultural perceptions, which may have changed since the park’s establishment.

Primary interpretive themes connect park resources to relevant ideas, meanings, concepts, contexts, beliefs, and values. They support the desired interpretive outcome of increasing visitor understanding and appreciation of the significance of the park’s resources. In other words, they are the most important messages to be communicated to the public about the park. Primary interpretive themes are based on park purpose and significance.

Fundamental resources and values are features, systems, organisms, processes, visitor experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes of the park determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management because they are critical to achieving the park’s purpose and maintaining its significance.

Special mandates are legal requirements and administrative commitments that apply to a specific unit of the national park system. They are mandated by Congress or by signed agreements between the National Park Service and other entities. They are specific to the park, and are not an inventory of all the laws applicable to the national park system.

Description of Cape Hatteras National Seashore In 1937, Cape Hatteras became the first national seashore. It was designated to preserve dynamic barrier islands and its unique vegetation, wildlife and coastal processes, and to provide recreation and enjoyment for the public. Located within a day’s drive of several urban centers, Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a popular vacation destination that receives over two million visitors each year. Visitors can access the northern entrance via roadways and can reach the southern entrance by ferry or air travel. Stretching over 70 miles from north to south, Cape Hatteras National Seashore crosses three islands: Bodie, Hatteras, and Ocracoke. The islands are linked by North Carolina Highway 12 and by the Hatteras Inlet Ferry. Although not part of the park, the islands are also inhabited by eight villages predating the park that reflect the history of the Outer Banks region.

The area now known as Cape Hatteras National Seashore has a long and rich cultural heritage. The islands that make up the seashore have been home to Native Americans, farmers, watermen, slaves, lighthouse keepers, surfmen, and many others whose legacy continues to shape the culture of the area.

The people of the area have witnessed events that include hurricanes, the death of Blackbeard the pirate, Civil War battles, the construction of the now-famous lighthouses, the birth of the U.S. Coast Guard lifesaving stations, hundreds of shipwrecks, Billy Mitchell’s test bombings, Reginald Fessenden’s first radio broadcasts, the building of dunes by the Civilian Conservation Corps, scientific strides in weather forecasting, German U-boat attacks, and much more.

Though some of the documentation of history has been lost through time, the culture found in the people, places, and stories continues to persist and evolve.

Today, popular visitor activities include beachcombing, swimming, fishing, hiking, camping, and learning about the history and natural features of the islands. While exploring these unique barrier islands, many park visitors take particular interest in Coquina Beach, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and Ocracoke Island. Coquina Beach is home to the ruins of the Laura A.

Barnes, shipwrecked in 1921 due to high seas. The iconic Cape Hatteras Lighthouse protects one of the most hazardous sections of the Atlantic Coast, an area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic“ because of the thousands of shipwrecks that have occurred here over the past three centuries. Because Ocracoke Island cannot be reached via a bridge, its small harbor village has retained much off its early charm and character. Each island also has its own lighthouse, unique in design and history.

Located at the ocean’s edge, Cape Hatteras National Seashore is shaped by ever-changing barrier island processes. Barrier islands are narrow, low-lying, dynamic landforms that run parallel to ocean coasts and are constantly shifting and reshaping as a result of wind, waves, storms, ocean currents, and sea level changes. These processes continue to influence the islands today through the processes of erosion and accretion of the shoreline, overwash across the islands, and the formation, migration, and closure of the inlets.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore supports a vast array of animal life in its aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In addition to native mammals, the seashore’s reptiles, amphibians, and many types of marine invertebrates are significant components of the native biodiversity of the islands. Life also abounds in the air above the park; with 360 documented bird species using the seashore’s habitats for nesting, resting, or feeding.

The present vegetation and ecology on the islands are a result of both natural processes and human activity. The notable ecological alterations from human activities included: (1) coastal settlement and development, including the extraction of oak maritime forests for shipbuilding; (2) early efforts at mosquito control and waterfowl management, which involved excavation of drainage ditches and construction of water control structures; and (3) construction and vegetative stabilization of primary dunes along the length of the seashore.

Today, plant communities include beach and dunes vegetation, wetland vegetation, shrub thickets, and maritime forests.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore provides a special opportunity to protect a widely diverse natural community and a robust collection of cultural resources, while also providing a unique, unspoiled seashore experience for visitors.

The purpose of Cape Hatteras National Seashore is to permanently preserve the wild and primitive character of the ever-changing barrier islands, protect the diverse plant and animal communities sustained by the coastal island processes, and provide for recreational use and enjoyment that is compatible with preserving the distinctive natural and cultural resources of the nation’s first national seashore.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Foundation Statement

Park Purpose The park purpose identifies the specific reason for the creation of a particular park. Purpose statements are crafted through a careful analysis of the enabling legislation and the legislative history that molded the creation and development of the park. Cape Hatteras National Seashore was first created in August 1937, when the park’s initial enabling legislation was passed and signed into law (see Appendix A for enabling legislation and subsequent amendments). The purpose statement reinforces the foundation for future park management, administration, and use decisions. Based on the review of park legislation, previous park management documents, and discussions with park staff, the planning team generated the following park purpose statement for Cape Hatteras National Seashore:

Park Significance Statements Significance statements express why the park’s resources and values are important enough to warrant national park designation. Statements of significance describe why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and system-wide context. These statements are linked to the purpose of the park, and are substantiated by data, research, and consensus. They describe the park’s distinctive nature and help inform management decisions, focusing efforts on preserving and protecting the park’s most important resources and values.

The following significance statements have been identified for Cape Hatteras National Seashore:

Significance Statement 1:

It was the first national seashore established to preserve significant segments of remote and unspoiled barrier islands and the associated plants, wildlife and coastal processes, and to provide diverse opportunities for resource-compatible outdoor recreation.

Significance Statement 2:

Located at the near-shore confluence of the Gulf Stream and Labrador currents, the seashore is continually shaped by coastal geologic, hydrologic, and weather processes, which together contribute to the evolution of these barrier islands.

Significance Statement 3:

Its coastal location and dynamic conditions have inherent scientific value as a living laboratory for physiographic and ecological research, including the study of climate change and its effects on sea level and ecology. This knowledge base has local, national, and global value and provides a robust source of information for education and stewardship programs and experiential learning opportunities.

Significance Statement 4:

It is representative of a mid-Atlantic barrier island system that is characterized by a diversity of aquatic and terrestrial habitat including open beach, dune, tidal marsh, wetland, shrub thicket, and maritime forest—each of which support a wide variety of wildlife.

Significance Statement 5:

The seashore supports resident and seasonal populations of federally-listed and state-listed plants and animals including species such as the piping plover, American oystercatcher, gull-billed tern, green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, seabeach amaranth, and more.

Significance Statement 6:

Its artifacts, historic sites, and geographic setting provide tangible links to understanding humankind’s ability to adapt in a harsh and changing coastal environment in isolation from the mainland. These links, which are of deep symbolic significance to local villagers, include lighthouses, shipwrecks, Native American sites, and more.

Significance Statement 7:

Numerous historical events of national significance have occurred on or near its shores including four centuries of shipwrecks, the United States government’s response to protect maritime commerce during the Civil War and World War II, and the experimental development and use of new technology.

Primary Interpretative Themes The primary interpretive themes, which are based on the park purpose and significance, provide the foundation for interpretive and education programs at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The themes do not include everything that can be interpreted, but they do address the ideas that are critical to a visitor’s appreciation and understanding of the park’s significance. Effective interpretation is achieved when visitors are able to associate resources and values and consequently derive something meaningful from their experiences.

Interpretive themes link the tangible values identified by the significance statements and fundamental resources and values to intangible meanings and universal concepts that best convey the importance of the park to the broadest audience. Primary interpretive themes serve as the building blocks upon which interpretive services (e.g., exhibits, audiovisual, website, publications, interpretive programs, social media, etc.) and education programs are based.

The park’s long range interpretation plan is a strategic plan that details these themes, establishes visitor experience goals, and recommends ways to achieve these goals through interpretive services and education programs.

Following are the primary interpretive themes for Cape Hatteras National Seashore:

Topic: Barrier Island Processes Cape Hatteras National Seashore is part of a natural system, with geologic processes unique to/or associated with barrier islands, characterized by constant change and adaptation.

Potential interpretive applications: Interactive exhibit at the Hatteras Island Visitor Center on barrier island dynamics and migration, site bulletin on inlet change and formation, web-based pre-visit material for school groups on dune formation.

Topic: Habitat and Species Dynamic barrier island processes shape the ever-changing and interdependent habitats that support vibrant communities of diverse wildlife—avian, terrestrial, and marine.

Potential interpretive applications: Twitter tweets on unique wildlife observations, nature trail exhibits on maritime forests, interpretive program on the value of the park for migratory birds along the Atlantic flyway.

Topic: History and Heritage Within this dynamic and once isolated barrier island system, unique cultures have evolved which serve as a testament to humankind’s relationship with the boundary of land and sea.

Potential interpretive applications: Movie about the move of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Ocracoke Village Walking Tour interpretive program, education partnership with the Cape Hatteras School to develop podcasts on island heritage/Sea Chest articles.

Topic: Relax/Renewal The remoteness of these islands and the vastness of the surrounding waters made these islands ideal for resource-based scientific study, education, recreation, and inspiration.

Potential interpretive applications: Fish with a Ranger interpretive program, an “In The Park” article on beachcombing, partnership with the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society to open the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse for one weekend in December for a Holiday Climb.

Topic: Stewardship and Preservation Stewardship of the national seashore and preservation of its history provides future opportunities for people to access, experience, and learn about coastal dynamics/cultural change.

Potential interpretive applications: Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Program, development of a park handbook (Eastern National sales item), recruitment of volunteers, use of the Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) to hire local students for summer interpretive seasonal positions.

Fundamental Resources and Values Fundamental resources and values are those features, systems, processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other attributes determined to warrant primary consideration during planning and management because they are critical to achieving the park’s purpose and maintaining its significance.

The preeminent responsibility of park managers is to ensure the conservation and public enjoyment of those qualities that are critical (fundamental) to achieving the park’s purpose and maintaining its significance. These qualities are called the park’s fundamental resources and values (FRVs).

Fundamental resources and values are closely related to legislative purpose, and are more specific than significance statements. FRVs help focus planning and management on what is truly important about the park. If FRVs are allowed to deteriorate, the park purpose and/or significance could be jeopardized.

The identification of fundamental and other important resources and values should not be interpreted as meaning that some park resources are not important. This exercise is primarily done to separate those resources or values that are covered by National Park Service mandates and policies from those that have important considerations to be addressed in the general management planning process.

Following are the fundamental resources and values identified for Cape Hatteras National Seashore:

• Large expanses of undeveloped shoreline that offer opportunities for solitude and isolation in nature and provide for various types of recreational use that are compatible with the preservation of the distinctive barrier island plants, wildlife, and coastal processes

• Natural sounds of the seashore and ocean

• Expansive, unhindered daytime and nighttime views of the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, and natural night lighting along the seashore and offshore

• Barrier island features (lands and submerged elements)

• Continuously changing coastal geologic processes: inlet dynamics, overwash dynamics, dune dynamics, waves and nearshore current dynamics (sediment/sand transport)

• Knowledge base generated from past, present, and future research and information on the island and adjacent waters

• Living laboratory of a barrier island environment that offers research opportunities for natural systems and allows direct comparisons between natural and human-altered elements of a barrier island

• Terrestrial habitats: dunes, open beach, shrub thicket and maritime forest

• Aquatic habitats: wetlands, tidal marshes, freshwater ponds, and seagrass beds

• Important sites for coastal bird migration, breeding, and wintering along the Atlantic flyway

• Natural processes that continue to influence the seashore habitats and allow for the movement or dispersion of native flora and fauna

• All current and future federal and state listed species and other species of special management concern

• Historic structures, archaeological sites, and cultural landscapes:

light stations, lifesaving stations, shipwrecks, Native American sites, and Civil War sites

• Artifacts and archival materials that are significant and relate to people and places of the area

• Stories of the evolution of land, species, and human survival on these islands, the role of maritime commerce in the area’s culture, the settlement of these islands and creation of the first national seashore, wartime events, and the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”

Other Important Resources and Values Cape Hatteras National Seashore has other resources and values that are not fundamental to the park’s purpose and significance but are, nevertheless, very important to consider in park management and planning decisions. These are referred to as other important resources and values.

Following are other important resources and values for Cape Hatteras National Seashore:

• The story of the establishment of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which initiated federal seashore and lakeshore designation efforts in the United States and has become a key component of the park’s identity

• Basic and applied research, with applied research contributing to the management of the park

• Groundwater

• Civilian Conservation Corps structures (cabins, dune)

• Stories of:

° the movement and preservation of the Cape Hatteras Light Station

° history of transportation to the islands (incl. ferries, NC 12 development, shipping)

° weather stations

° U-Boats

° Civil War battles

° pirates

° British cemeteries

° Fesseden and Mitchell

Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values The analysis of fundamental resources and values articulates the importance of each fundamental resource and value, its current condition, its potential threats, and the related issues or data that warrant consideration and additional analysis for planning and management decisions. Included in the analysis is the identification of relevant laws and NPS policies related to the management of the resources as well as the recognition of stakeholder interests in these resources.

This section of the foundation statement will require periodic reviews and updates as monitoring, data collection, and research improve our understanding of each fundamental resource and value.

Fundamental Resource or Value

Large expanses of undeveloped shoreline that offer opportunities for solitude and isolation in nature and provide for various types of recreational use that are compatible with the preservation of the distinctive barrier island plants, wildlife, and coastal processes (Related to Significance Statement #1)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• Opportunities for recreation compatible with the preservation of the Seashore’s unique vegetation and wildlife, such as swimming, beach combing, boating, walking, and wildlife viewing

• Lack of development and managed levels of access to remote portions of the Seashore provide opportunities to experience a sense of solitude and isolation consistent with the concept of “primitive wilderness”

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• Level of development in the Seashore villages provides for a high level of overnight occupancy resulting in seasonal traffic congestion and crowding at popular park sites

• High level of dependence on use of POVs for transportation and access to park sites and beaches

• Lack of beach access parking in villages and on Seashore property have contributed to dependence on beach driving for access and related resource impacts

• High levels of visitor use of beaches that serve as important shorebird habitat have resulted in conflicts between the Seashore’s preservation and recreation mandates

• Implementation of ORV management plan and special regulation will cause change in use patterns

• Increasing community interest in shoreline protection as erosion impacts areas of development

• New or increasingly popular uses, such as kite boarding, are creating localized visitor use conflicts and diminishing the sense of remoteness and solitude in some locations

• Conflicts/lawsuits related to use and park development can consume park staff time and resources limiting the park’s ability to engage in and manage other complex issues

• Community and NCDOT responses to climate change can interfere with natural process, alter landscape and habitats, and exacerbate climate change impacts on adjacent park land

• Constant community interest in increasing development of park lands to provide community-related facilities

Fundamental Resource or Value

Large expanses of undeveloped shoreline that offer opportunities for solitude and isolation in nature and provide for various types of recreational use that are compatible with the preservation of the distinctive barrier island plants, wildlife, and coastal processes (Related to Significance Statement #1)

Data and Analysis Needs

• Visitor use analysis (carrying capacity), including indicators and standards to use as a basis for adaptive management

• Visitor services study to periodically to provide data on kinds of recreational activities visitors participate in and levels of use

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (protecting habitat and species, and meeting legal requirements)

• State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Resources’ Division of Coastal Management, Division of Water Quality and Division of Marine Fisheries and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission and NC Natural Heritage Program (protecting state resource values and objectives including species and habitats, and meeting legal requirements)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood)

• Pedestrian interests (providing vehicle-free areas for pedestrian use)

• Local civic and business associations, such as the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, and the Watersport Industry Association (protecting access to coastal fishing areas and enhancing tourism to the Outer Banks)

• Off-road vehicle interests such as the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, American Sport Fishing Association, North Carolina Fisheries Association, Outer Banks Preservation Association, United Four Wheel Drive Associations, and North Carolina Beach Buggy Associations (protecting access to coastal fishing areas)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act - 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act - 1969

• Executive Order 11644: Use of off-road vehicles on the public lands

• Executive Order 11989: Off-road vehicles on public lands

• NPS Director’s Orders – Order 12: Conservation Planning, Environmental Impact Analysis, and Decision Making & Handbook

• Cape Hatteras National Seashore Enabling Legislation -1937 continued from previous page . . .

Fundamental Resource or Value

Natural sounds of the seashore and ocean (Related to Significance Statement #1)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• Natural sounds produced by physical processes, such as wind, waves, and weather, and by wildlife that would occur in the absence of human dominance over the landscape contribute to the visitors’ experience of the natural environment

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• Natural sounds prevail, except for occasional temporary intrusion of human-caused sounds in developed and high use areas

• Changes in use patterns or modes of transportation, or increased development or use, could introduce or increase artificial sound levels in areas of the Seashore that are presently dominated by natural sounds

Data and Analysis Needs

• Continued and expanded sound monitoring efforts in the park (e.g., increased number of locations)

• Identification of point sources of noise

• Analysis of noise impacts on visitor experiences, and natural and cultural resources

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (offshore energy development projects)

• State agencies such as North Carolina Department of Commerce (offshore energy development projects)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act - 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

• Executive Order 11514: Protection & enhancement of environmental quality

• NPS Director’s Order 77: Natural Resource protection

Resource or Value

Expansive, unhindered daytime and nighttime views of the Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, and natural night lighting along the seashore and offshore (Related to Significance Statement #1)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• Expansive, unobstructed views of and from undeveloped shoreline contribute to the primitive character of the landscape and to the visitor experience

• Nov 2007 assessment by NPS Night Sky Team identified CAHA as one of only a handful of sites in the eastern U.S. with a nearly natural regimen of light and dark, where lighting patterns are largely governed by celestial sources

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• Expansive views of and from shoreline are occasionally diminished by human activity during peak use periods

• Vertical structures (power poles, cell and radio towers, etc.)

dominate the skyline along NC 12 corridor and within villages

• Activities that take place outside park boundaries that are not managed by NPS can profoundly affect the NPS’s ability to protect visual resources inside the park

• No light management plan or program exists in any of eight villages within the Seashore

• Proposed future development, such as off-shore wind farms, could introduce new impacts to viewshed and night skies

Data and Analysis Needs

• Continued periodic assessment by NPS Night Sky Team

• Analysis of potential impacts to viewshed and visitor experience from proposed development within, adjacent, or offshore of the seashore

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement (offshore energy development projects)

• State agencies such as North Carolina Department of Commerce (offshore energy development projects)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act – 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

• Executive order 11514: Protection & enhancement of environmental quality

Fundamental Resource or Value

Barrier island features (lands and submerged elements) (Related to Significance Statement #2)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• The barrier island is the primary resource of the park unit

• Seashore established due to the uniqueness of the physiographic setting

• Barrier island features and processes create and sustain the habitats that support the Seashore’s distinctive plant and wildlife species (which are also FRVs)

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• Eroding barrier islands are progressing toward narrower islands

• Human development on NPS land, as well as in the villages not under NPS jurisdiction

• Change in biota

• Armoring of the shorelines, oceans and sounds

• Filling and draining of wetlands

• Removal of overwashed sand in developed areas

• Dredging

• NC-12, maintenance corridor; dune building, relocation of the road;

filling Isabel inlet; removal of overwash sand; utility corridors;

preventing overwash from reaching the sound and building island width and height; increased erosion of both the ocean and sound side due to the road way; modifies the natural biota communities

• CCC dunes

• Climate change

• Sea level rise

• Climate change responses across other jurisdictions vary (inconsistent approaches)

• Lack of designated ORV routes and high levels of beach driving has resulted in localized impacts in some areas of concentrated use

• Pedestrian impacts (e.g., social trails)

• Energy development, wind and fossil fuels

• Beach nourishment

• Bonner bridge replacement

• Ferry terminals/access

• Weather events

• Recreational use on the soundside and ocean

Data and Analysis Needs

• Analysis of past island landform change and shoreline migration to gain better understanding of inlet dynamics and the erosion and stabilization potential in areas; and to provide insight into projecting future geomorphic changes

• Analysis of effects from human-caused changes to landforms (e.g., from dredging, jetties, etc.)

Resource or Value

Barrier island features (lands and submerged elements) (Related to Significance Statement #2)

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (protecting habitat and species, and meeting legal requirements)

• State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Division of Coastal Management, Division of Water Quality, and Division of Marine Fisheries; and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (protecting state resource values and objectives including species and habitats, and meeting legal requirements)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act – 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

• NPS Director’s Orders – Order 77: Natural Resource Protection

• General Agreement between NOAA & NPS

Fundamental resource or value

Continuously changing coastal geologic processes: inlet dynamics, overwash dynamics, dune dynamics, waves and nearshore current dynamics (sediment/sand transport) (Related to Significance Statement #2)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• These processes created the barrier island system of the park and sustain the habitats that support the park’s distinctive plants and wildlife

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• These processes are heavily impacted by human development attempting to stabilize a naturally dynamic environment

• Inlets that naturally opened in 1962 and 2003 were closed in order to maintain NC-12

• Overwash is occurring; however, many of the sand deposits are removed and do not wash across the island to the soundside

• Construction of CCC dunes prevented most overwash along the entire length of the park

• Formation of natural dunes are inhibited by mans activities (removal of sand from roadways, walkways, etc)

• Sand transport has been altered by dredging, shoreline hardening and beach nourishment

• Change in biota

• Armoring of the shorelines, oceans and sounds

• Filling and draining of wetlands

• Removal of overwashed sand

• Dredging

• NC-12, maintenance corridor; dune building, relocation of the road;

filling Isabel inlet; removal of overwash sand; utility corridors;

preventing overwash from reaching the sound and building island width and height; increased erosion of both the ocean and sound side due to the road way; modifies the natural biota communities

• Climate change

• Sea level rise

• Climate change responses across other jurisdictions vary (inconsistent approaches)

• Beach driving impacts

• Pedestrian impacts

• Energy development, wind and fossil fuels

• Beach nourishment

• Bonner bridge replacement

• Ferry terminals/access

• Weather events

• Recreational use on the soundside and ocean

• Village development adjacent to parkland alters processes

Data and Analysis Needs

• Analysis of past island landform change and shoreline migration to gain better understanding of inlet dynamics and the erosion and stabilization potential in areas; and to provide insight into projecting future geomorphic changes

• Analysis of effects from human-caused changes to landforms (e.g., from dredging, jetties, etc.)

resource or value

Continuously changing coastal geologic processes: inlet dynamics, overwash dynamics, dune dynamics, waves and nearshore current dynamics (sediment/sand transport) (Related to Significance Statement #2)

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers (protecting habitat and species, and meeting legal requirements)

• State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Resources’ Division of Coastal Management, Division of Water Quality, and Division of Marine Fisheries, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (protecting state resource values and objectives including species and habitats, and meeting legal requirements); and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (protecting road infrastructure (NC 12) along the Outer Banks)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood, such as dredging, jetty placement, etc.

• Local civic and business associations such as the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, and Watersport Industry Association (protecting access to coastal fishing areas and enhancing tourism to the Outer Banks)

• Off-road vehicle interests such as the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, American Sport Fishing Association, North Carolina Fisheries Association, Outer Banks Preservation Association, United Four Wheel Drive Associations, and North Carolina Beach Buggy Associations (protecting access to coastal fishing areas)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act – 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

• NPS Director’s Orders – Order 77: Natural Resource Protection

Fundamental Resource or Value

Knowledge base generated from past, present, and future research and information on the island and adjacent waters (Related to Significance Statement #3)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• Provides for information for management decisions

• Information obtained can be used at other similar barrier island locations

• Provides material for education programs

• Dynamic barrier islands are critical study areas for climate changes and its associated effects

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• Need improvement in park records management

• Appropriate use and management of research permits

• The park needs to put more emphasis on partnerships for research

• Follow-up on completed research reports is needed

• Information sharing of past, current, and completed research is needed within the parks and others

• Lack of funding for needed projects

• Identify and prioritize needed research to clarify needs of partnerships

• Focus is on resource operations with limited capacity for research

• Future research funding is likely to be more limited and mandates for science based decision-making are increasing

• Proposal process for funding is very competitive within the agency

Data and Analysis Needs

Not applicable

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association – Fisheries (understanding coastal resources and values)

• State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Resources’ Division of Coastal Management, Division of Water Quality, and Division of Marine Fisheries, and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (understanding coastal resources and values)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood)

• Researchers (scientific study and value)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act – 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

Resource or Value

Living laboratory of a barrier island environment that offers research opportunities for natural systems and allows direct comparisons between natural and human-altered elements of a barrier island (Related to Significance Statement #3)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• The unique barrier island resources are available for research and study

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

• Development is increasing along with density

• Area marketing of tourism is increasing

• Potential for marketing the park’s barrier island resources for research purposes

• Limited funding

• Increased needs for partnership development

• Political pressure (e.g., inconsistencies across jurisdictions on research needs, possible political manipulation of research efforts)

• Increased need for applied research for real world applications

• Increased accessibility for electronic research information

• Climate change effects

Data and Analysis Needs

Not applicable

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association – Fisheries (understanding habitat and species)

• State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Resources’ Division of Coastal Management, Division of Water Quality, and Division of Marine Fisheries; and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (understanding coastal resources and values)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood)

• Researchers (scientific study and value)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act – 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

Fundamental Resource or Value

Terrestrial habitats: dunes, open beach, shrub thicket, and maritime forest (Related to Significance Statement #4)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• Supports flora and fauna

• Provides opportunities for resource-compatible recreation

Current Conditions, Trends, and Threats

Condition

• Erosion and accretion

• Altered environments from human activities (man-made dunes, planted trees, roads, villages, invasive species, long-term ORV use, dredging)

• Successional stages of vegetation are natural in some areas and influenced by humans in others

Threats

• Man-made dunes and other human actions that interfere with natural barrier island processes

• Maintenance/development of infrastructure

• Invasive species

• Poor water quality

• Ditching

• Roads

• Village developments

• Planted trees

• Utility corridors

• ORV use

• Dredging

• Jetties

• Dikes

• Erosion and accretion

• Sand fencing

• Climate change

• Sea level rise

• Light pollution (habitat disturbance)

• Noise pollution (habitat disturbance)

• Human-subsidized native and nonnative predators

Data and Analysis Needs

• Inventory and monitoring of terrestrial species and composition of terrestrial habitat

• Assessment of habitat functionality and use

• Analysis of how habitats are changing over time due to effects from geologic/coastal changes and human-caused changes

• Inventory and study of nonnative, invasive plants and animals

Resource or Value

Terrestrial habitats: dunes, open beach, shrub thicket, and maritime forest (Related to Significance Statement #4)

Stakeholder Interests • Federal agencies such as United States Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association – Fisheries (protecting habitat and species, and meeting legal requirements)

• State agencies such as the North Carolina Department of Environment and Resources’ Division of Coastal Management, Division of Water Quality, and Division of Marine Fisheries; and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and North Carolina Natural Heritage Program (protecting state resource values and objectives including species and habitats, and meeting legal requirements)

• Non-governmental environmental organizations such as National Parks Conservation Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, Defenders of Wildlife, The Wilderness Society, The Nature Conservancy, North Carolina Coastal Federation, and North Carolina Audubon (protecting coastal species and habitats, and meeting the NPS mission of preserving and protecting park resources and values)

• Local government agencies such as Dare and Hyde Counties (meeting county land use objectives)

• Local residents (concerns if proposed actions affect infrastructure or pose a risk to life, property, or livelihood, such as fire management, dune protection, etc.)

• Local civic and business associations such as the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, and Watersport Industry Association (protecting access to coastal fishing areas and enhancing tourism to the Outer Banks)

• Off-road Vehicle Interests such as the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, American Sport Fishing Association, North Carolina Fisheries Association, Outer Banks Preservation Association, United Four Wheel Drive Associations, and North Carolina Beach Buggy Associations (protecting access to coastal fishing areas and management of predator species)

• Utility companies (managing and protecting utility systems)

Law and Policy Guidance

• Coastal Zone Management Act – 1966

• National Environmental Policy Act – 1969

• Endangered Species Act – 1973

• Migratory Bird Treaty Act - 1918

• NPS Director’s Orders – Order 77: Natural Resource Protection

• Memorandum of Understanding between NPS and USFWS

Fundamental Resource or Value

Aquatic habitats: wetlands, tidal marshes, freshwater ponds, and seagrass beds (Related to Significance Statement #4)

Importance of the Resource or Value

• Supports flora and fauna

• Provides…