Attachment18_CAHALongRangeInterpretivePlan.pdf

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Cape Hatteras National Seashore North Carolina

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Long-Range Interpretive Plan

Attachment 18

Cover Photo: Bodie Island Lighthouse is one of three lighthouses preserved within the 30,320 acres of

Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore Long-Range Interpretive Plan

Prepared by the Department of Interpretive Planning Harpers Ferry Center and Cape Hatteras National Seashore

September 2007

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Contents

Introduction 1

Executive Summary 2

Foundation for Planning 4 Legislative Background 4 Purpose 4 Significance 6 Interpretive Themes 7 Management Goals 12 Visitor Experience Goals 13 Visitor Profiles 15 Issues and Influences 22

Existing Conditions 33 Interpretive Facilities owned by NPS and Partners 34 Media Conditions 36 Interpretive Programs 44

Recommendations 49 Personal Services 49 Non-Personal Services 51 Partnerships 58 Collection and Archive Needs 59 Research Needs 60 Staffing Needs 62

Implementation Plan 65

Appendices 73 Appendix A: Planning Team 73 Appendix B: Enabling Legislation 74 Appendix C: Media Accessibility Guidelines 75

CAPE HATTERAS

NATIONAL SEASHORE

Within the planning hierarchy of the National Park Service (NPS), a park’s General Management Plan (GMP) guides park management decisions over a 20-year period. A new GMP for Cape Hatteras National Seashore is scheduled for 2010 or 2011. A park’s Long-Range Interpretive Plan (LRIP) is one of a handful of park strategic plans under the GMP. The LRIP is the keystone of the Comprehensive Interpretive Planning (CIP) process.

Once approved, the park staff will continue the CIP process by imple-menting the LRIP through Annual Implementation Plans (AIPs).

Throughout the CIP process, the park will also compile and maintain the park’s Interpretive Database

(ID).

This LRIP will guide the interpre-tive staff at Cape Hatteras National Seashore over the next five to seven years in their efforts to orient visi-tors to the Seashore’s recreational opportunities and interpret its natural history and human history stories. This LRIP was created in 2006 with input from many of the park’s partners. It describes visitor experience goals and recommends ways to achieve those goals through interpretive media and personal services. Achievement of the LRIP’s recommendations depends on funding as well as cooperation from the park’s partners. This LRIP will help guide park management in reaching their “ideal future vision” for the interpretive services and media for park visitors. Managers will need to adapt this ideal future vision based on current and projected fiscal and political realities.

Please note that throughout this

LRIP, Cape Hatteras National

Seashore may be referred to as Cape

Hatteras NS, the Seashore, or the park.

INTRODUCTION

Cape Hatteras National Seashore, located on the Outer Banks of east-ern North Carolina, is administered by the National Park Service Outer Banks Group. The Group also includes Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial. This Long- Range Interpretive Plan (LRIP) was written specifically for Cape Hatteras NS.

Authorized by Congress in 1937 as our nation’s first national seashore, Cape Hatteras NS contains 30,320 acres stretching along 74 miles of three barrier islands — Bodie Island, Hatteras Island, and Ocracoke Island.

This LRIP provides a vision for the future of interpretation at the Seashore. The LRIP was created through a goal-driven process that describes desired visitor experi-ences and recommends appropriate means to achieve them while protecting and preserving the park’s natural and cultural resources. The LRIP’s first section confirms the foundations of the park: its pur-pose, significance, interpretive themes, visitor profiles, visitor experience goals, issues and influ-ences, and existing conditions. The LRIP’s second section recommends actions to be taken over the next five to seven years to improve the park’s personal services program and interpretive media, and pro-vides an achievable implementation strategy.

The following short sections and bulleted phrases on these two pages summarize this LRIP’s Future Interpretive Program:

Personal Services

• Increase communication between the Seashore and its partners

• Offer a balanced interpretive pro-gram schedule for park visitors

• Coordinate education programs for schools and other groups

• Collaborate in recruiting and training seasonal employees and volunteers for the Seashore and its partners

Visitor Facilities

• Open the Hatteras U.S.Weather

Bureau Station as a visitor infor-mation facility

• Restore the Little Kinnakeet Life Saving Station and open part of it as a visitor information facility

• Upgrade the Whalebone Junction visitor information area with new visitor facilities

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Non-Personal Services (Interpretive Media)

Audiovisual Programs

• Edit the “Move of the Century” audiovisual program into different lengths for use at other park ven-ues

• Produce a new movie on the “Weather of the Outer Banks” Exhibits

• Develop a master plan for all indoor exhibits at the Seashore that will include an overall approach to developing all the interpretive themes

• Redesign and replace exhibits at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse complex

• Develop a temporary exhibit for the Ocracoke Keepers Quarters

• Develop exhibits for the Bodie Island Visitor Center and Lighthouse

• Develop exhibits for the 1901 U.S.

Weather Bureau Station in Hatteras Village

• Develop exhibits for the Little Kinnakeet Life Saving Station

• Develop exhibits for the Ocracoke Island Visitor Center

Furnishings

• Furnish the Little Kinnakeet Life

Saving Station

Publications

• Write, design, and produce a handbook that is smaller in scope than a traditional NPS handbook through a Harpers Ferry Center (HFC)-recommended contractor

Wayside Exhibits

• Prepare a park-wide Wayside

Exhibit Proposal to guide wayside development of a complete, high-quality, unified system of waysides

• Plan, design, fabricate, and install a series of 3-sided, roofed kiosks

• Plan, design, fabricate, and install interpretive, low profile waysides to interpret the park’s cultural landmarks and natural landscape features

• Plan, design, fabricate, and install upright trailhead wayside exhibits and trailside interpretive wayside exhibits

Achievement of the above-listed recommendations (and others listed in detail within this LRIP’s second section) is based on the receipt of funding and the park’s coordination with willing partners.

Executive Summary

LEGISLATIVE

BACKGROUND

In 1934 the National Park Service (NPS) launched a preliminary sur-vey study of some twenty areas along the Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Great Lakes shores in an effort to preserve the remaining unspoiled coastlines for public recreation areas. Little had been done to reserve shore areas for public use, and the rush for seashore summer home sites and the land and real estate booms of the prosperous 1920s had taken its toll. The NPS felt that it was appropriate to include seashores and lakeshores in the overall land-use conservation and recreational planning programs made possible through the New Deal relief efforts.

Employing the technical expertise of the Coast Guard and other gov-ernment agencies, the NPS contin-ued its seashore and lakeshore stud-ies in 1936 and 1937. The study resulted in the recommendation that twelve major stretches of unspoiled Atlantic and Gulf Coast shoreline, comprising some 437 miles of beach, be preserved as national seashores in the national park system.

One of the shorelines, Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, attract-ed considerable attention, and local Representative Lindsay Warren suc-ceeded in getting legislation through Congress on August 17, 1937, authorizing the establishment of our nation’s first national seashore.

A copy of this Act of Congress is in this document in Appendix B.

PURPOSE

Purpose statements describe why an area was set aside as a unit of the national park system, and the pur-pose of the area today.

Congressional testimony, enabling legislation, and other events in the park’s legislative and administrative history often provide the basis for purpose statements.

The Seashore’s purpose statement as written in the park’s 2005-2008 Strategic Plan, states; “The purpose of Cape Hatteras National Seashore is to preserve and protect significant segments of barrier island coastline for the benefit and enjoyment of the people and to provide for recreation-al visitor use consistent with that purpose. Cultural resources reflecting and revealing the national maritime experience, cultural expressions and man’s inherent relationships with the land are also protected and preserved.”

Park managers who participated in a LRIP workshop at the Seashore in January 2005 drafted the revised purpose statements below (and the significance statements on the next page) in anticipation that these new statements would be a starting point for park’s upcoming General Management Plan revision.

The purpose of the Seashore is to:

•Preserve and protect significant segments of dynamic barrier islands that are shaped by ongoing natural processes;

•Preserve, protect, and interpret the park’s natural and cultural resources; and

• Provide for recreational use and enjoyment compatible with the preservation and protection of the park’s resources.

FOUNDATION FOR PLANNING

SIGNIFICANCE

Statements of significance clearly define the importance or distinc-tiveness of the park’s resources.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is significant because:

•The Seashore was authorized in 1937 and established in 1953 as our nation’s first national seashore and preserves publicly accessible barrier islands where audiences should be able to experience unim-paired Seashore values such as clean ocean water and beaches, undeveloped island and water resources, natural sounds, solitude, seashore viewsheds, and night skies.

•The Seashore is part of a natural system with a geologic process unique to barrier islands-charac-terized by constant change both seasonally and daily, subtle and dramatic.

•The Seashore is characteristic of the ecological habitats normally associated with barrier island sys-tems including beach, dunes, mar-itime forest, inlets, freshwater wet-lands, salt marshes, and tidal flats.

•The Seashore is a permanent and temporary home to a great variety of terrestrial and aquatic life – including several threatened and endangered species, and other pro-tected species – which depend on the fragile and special island habi-tats that results from the transition between the northern and south-ern habitat zones and the dynamic nature of these barrier islands.

•The Seashore, a Globally Important Bird Area, is a critical natural landform along the Atlantic Flyway serving as major resting and feeding grounds for migratory birds.

•The Seashore contains archeologi-cal and historical resources that provide clues to livelihood and activities of Native American life, self-sufficient and isolated island communities, waterfowl hunting camps, commercial fisheries, light-houses, U.S. Life Saving Stations, U.S. Coast Guard Stations, ship-wrecks, military structures and sites, a U.S. Weather Station, and sites associated with the Civilian Conservation Corps.

•The Seashore is an outdoor recre-ational resource offering outstand-ing opportunities for hiking, camp-ing, boating, sailing, nature study, solitude and reflection, beach combing, fishing, hunting, shell-fishing, swimming, birding, biking, picnicking and many other leisure activities.

•The Seashore is an educational resource offering outstanding opportunities for visitors and edu-cational groups to learn about stewardship, preservation, and the park’s unique natural and cultural resources.

Foundation for Planning

Visitors sketching on the beach enjoy a recreational activity that is compatible with the park’s primary purpose of preserving the park’s resources.

INTERPRETIVE THEMES

Tangible/Intangible Concepts The purpose of interpretation is to make intellectual and emotional connections from the park resources to visitors’ experiences so that visitors will understand, appre-ciate, and help preserve the park.

At the park’s LRIP Workshops in 2005, the participants developed the list (although this is not an all-inclu-sive list) of tangible resources and intangible meanings below and on the following pages as a starting point in developing the park’s inter-pretive theme statements. NPS rangers, park partners, and media specialists should review this list and use the interpretive theme statements as a starting point when developing their interpretation of the park resources for visitors to help create meaningful connections.

Tangible (Resources) and Intangible (Meanings)

Airstrip: adventure, danger, bravery, leadership (Billy Mitchell)

Atlantic Ocean: inspiration, relaxation, danger, science

Bathhouses: comfort, privacy

Beach: vacations, fun, inspiration, geologic processes, recreation, habi-tat

Birds, turtles: beauty, survival, sus-tenance, joy, relaxation, protection, life cycle, controversy

Bodie Island Lighthouse: heritage, culture, nostalgia, family, protection

Bonner Bridge/future bridge:

beauty, breathtaking, gorgeous, poli-tics

British Cemetery: death, honor

Campgrounds: shelter, comfort

Coquina Beach & facilities:

convenience, cleanliness

Duck blinds: surprise, sustenance, heritage

Dunes: beach, protection, beauty, ecology, change, geologic

Fish: fun, exciting, education, discovery, living beach, circle of life, protection

Fishing centers/piers: recreation, hospitality, economics

Fishing/hunting Camps:

survival, tradition, culture

Flora and fauna: variety, survival, adaptation

Flotsam/jetsam: discovery, heritage, time, recycling, pollution

Fresnel lens: innovation

Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum:

preservation

Hatteras U.S. Weather Bureau Station: innovation, warning, sci-ence

Historic CCC cabins: preservation, stewardship

Inlets: recreation, economics, com-mercial, fishing, procreation, dan-ger, preservation, seashore dynam-ics, passageway

Insects: irritation, disease, neces-sary

Jetty: safety, change, manipulative

Foundation for Planning

Keepers Quarters: community, legacy, assistance, history, family, heritage

Lighthouses: warning, hardship

Life Saving Stations: service, loyal-ty, duty, devotion, work, discipline, integrity, violence, pride, preserva-tion

Light Stations: dedication, sacrifice, hope, aesthetics, memory, technological advances/changes, preservation

Marine Mammals: excitement, fun, loss, survival, protection, web of life, intelligence, biodiversity

Maritime Forests: adaptable, migrating

Nature trails: inspiration, exercise, discovery, different perspectives

Ocracoke ponies: history, community, heritage

Pamlico Sound: aquatic nursery

Pea Island NWR: cooperation

Pinelands: habitat, diversity, change

Pullouts/viewing stands:

curiosity, discovery, enjoyment Ramps: convenience, safety, protection, access

Ranger Station/Old CG Station:

decay, stewardship

Reptiles & Amphibians:

adaptable

Salt marsh: habitat, diversity, change

Shipwrecks: travel, courage, fear, terror, mystery, death, life, grief, pain, hope, despair, loss, curiosity

Signs: communication, respect, environmental, first impression

Sound: solitude, beauty, recreation, culture, restlessness, vastness

Surfing: excitement, thrill, danger, recreation

Trees: shelter, resilient

Weather: dynamic process, science

Whalebone Junction Station:

orientation, hospitality, assistance, comfort, communication, As stated previously, this is not an all-inclusive list, and should be updated as necessary. NPS rangers/interpreters, park partners, and media specialists should use this list and the interpretive theme statements on the next pages as a starting point when developing per-sonal services, education programs, and interpretive media.

Foundation for Planning

A park ranger interpreting a sea turtle nest on the beach helps visitors make intellectual and emotional connections to the park’s resources.

Theme Statements As visitors enjoy the Seashore’s resources, it is the responsibility of staff and partners to facilitate a con-nection within visitors from the park’s tangible resources to the intangible meanings inherent within them.

Visitors to the Seashore should have the opportunity to be exposed to the following themes — ideas that are central to the park’s story — through the personal services pro-gram, the interpretive media, or both.

Barrier Island Processes The Seashore is part of a natural system, with geologic processes unique to/or associated with bar-rier islands, characterized by con-stant change, both seasonally and daily, subtle and dramatic.

Sub-themes •Barrier islands are one of the most dynamic landforms on Earth.

•Although sea level rise, oceans cur-rents and weather alter the Seashore gradually over long peri-ods of time, some of the most dynamic changes occur suddenly during fierce storms.

•Barrier island migration, a natural process upon which the long-term continued existence of barrier islands depends, is mainly due to sea level rise and sand movement driven by wind and waves

•Inlets are the primary means by which sand is transported to the soundside of a migrating barrier island system. Inlets open and close in response to changing con-ditions and migrate along the bar-rier shoreline. Over time, many inlets have formed, changed, and closed along the Outer Banks, defining much of the geologic structure of these barrier islands.

•As waves strike the beach at an angle, a longshore current is formed which moves sand along the shore in the direction of the current. Through this process, spits can quickly form in areas that were previously open water.

•Wind and waves move sand grains along the beach to form dunes.

The primary stabilizing element in the dune-building process is vege-tation; otherwise, the sand contin-ues to move.

•The minerals and seashell frag-ments found in beach sand reflect the sand’s geological origin.

•Human attempts to stabilize these highly dynamic barrier islands will likely fail as the sea level continues to rise and intense storms impact the coast.

Habitat and Species The dynamic barrier island processes define the ever-chang-ing and interdependent ecological communities of plants and ani-mals within the Seashore.

Sub-themes •Barrier islands contain a diversity of habitats, including beaches, pri-mary dunes, secondary dunes, maritime forests, fresh water wet-lands, salt marshes, and tidal flats.

•The Seashore’s soundside and adjacent ocean waters provide habitat for aquatic species.

•The diversity of habitat on the Seashore supports a vast array of plant and animal life, including migratory and resident species, marine and terrestrial communi-ties.

•The Seashore protects several threatened and endangered species

— the piping plover, seabeach amaranth, and loggerhead, green, Kemp’s ridley, and leatherback sea turtles, — as well as several species

Foundation for Planning

The beaches at Cape Hatteras

National Seashore are part of the barrier island ecosystem - one of the most dynamic landforms in the world.

of special concern as listed by the State of North Carolina.

•Seashore plants and animals have special adaptations that enable them to survive the extreme condi-tions of heat, drought, wind, salt spray, saltwater overwash, limited fresh water resources, weather events, and the dynamic nature of their environment.

•The Seashore provides significant and vital resting and feeding areas for hundreds of thousands of birds migrating along the Atlantic flyway.

Migrating birds are found in the park virtually year-round; July through May.

•The Seashore’s geographic location and proximity to the cold-water Labrador Current and warm-water Gulf Stream allow for favorable habitat conducive to hosting sever-al northern and southern plant and animal species.

History and Heritage In response to the forces of nature and the dynamic barrier island setting, the Seashore’s archeological and historical resources reflect diverse human experiences through time.

Sub-themes •Shipwrecks, both submerged and buried along the shorelines, and the artifacts from them are testa-ments to survival and loss of life and property associated with mar-itime commerce and wartime activities along the Seashore.

•Structures and artifacts of Light Stations, Life Saving Stations, Navy and Coast Guard Stations, Weather Stations, and Survey of the Coast.

Markers in the Seashore represent the efforts of the United States to protect life and preserve property of maritime commerce from natu-ral and wartime forces.

•The geographic features of Cape

Hatteras, the Diamond Shoals, the Gulf Stream, and the Labrador Current are historic reference points for navigation, weather observations and events, war activ-ity, technological experiments such as aerial bombing and voice radio, and nautical folklore. Historic inlet locations determined settle-ment, trade, and transportation patterns.

•Military activity occurred around Cape Hatteras and nearby islands and banks due to their strategic location. Shipwrecks and control of vessel activity along adjacent waters were primarily results of activities from the 16th through the 20th centuries.

•Historic habitation sites of American Indians, European set-tlers, African American watermen, and shipwreck survivors are locat-ed in the maritime woods and along the soundside of the islands.

Living in isolation under a harsh maritime environment and the use of the traditions of barter, salving, and subsistence trade defined these historic cultures.

•Windmills, fish camps, hunt clubs, wharves, marinas, boatbuilding, and seafood facilities are examples of cultural resources that have existed in the Seashore and adja-cent villages.

•Gravesites of sailors, lifesavers, mariners and, shipwreck victims within the Seashore represent the toll of war and nature.

•Civil War fort sites and associated artifacts in the Seashore represent the struggle between the Confederacy and Union to control North Carolina’s commerce.

•Seashore oceanside dune construc-tion and visitor use infrastructure are legacies from the Work Projects Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps.

•Ocracoke Island possesses a unique heritage resulting from its continued remote setting.

Ocracoke Village originated as a pilot town, and served as an early port village and primary point of entry to North Carolina. Island ponies are a remnant of 17th-through early 20th-century live-stock raising. Nearby Teach’s Hole is the location of the battle between the pirate Blackbeard and his crew against Virginia soldiers and sailors.

•Unique customs, folklore, dialect, and the seafood industry are intrinsic to the cultural heritage of Outer Banks inhabitants and their link to the sea.

Recreation/Reflection The Seashore provides outstand-ing opportunities for relaxation, recreation, reflection, and memo-rable experiences for people across all generations and walks of life.

Sub-themes •Visitors to the Seashore recreate in a variety of ways including hiking, camping, boating, sailing, nature study, beach combing, fishing, hunting, shellfishing, swimming, birding, biking, windsurfing, kite-boarding, solitude and reflection, picnicking, as well as many other leisure activities.

•Recreational uses of the Seashore occur across and within heritage landmark sites, developed facili-ties, unique habitats, waterways, and other biophysical features.

• Recreation is an activity that renews one’s health and spirits through enjoyment and relax-ation.

•Recreation may be undertaken individually or with others. It may be planned or spontaneous. It may be passive or active, and may or may not require a designated area.

•Recreation can include educational visits or experiences.

•Recreational experiences can prompt a desire to be a good stew-ard of the park.

•Adjacent villages provide addition-al opportunities and services that may compliment and/or enhance recreational activities in the park.

•Dynamic environmental forces impact and change Seashore recre-ational opportunities.

•The colliding of the cold-water Labrador Current and the warm-water Gulf Stream off of Cape Hatteras helps to create unique recreational opportunities.

•Most of the Seashore’s habitats are accessible to visitors by walking, biking, boating, and/or driving on a year-round basis. Certain park areas have periods of restricted access due to resource protection efforts, visitor safety concerns, and maintenance projects.

Consideration is made for access for disabled visitors wherever possible.

Preservation and Stewardship Preservation and stewardship of the fragile cultural and natural resources within the Seashore is critical so that future generations can access, enjoy, value, and learn from these resources.

Sub-themes •Preservation and stewardship are accomplished through wise man-agement practices, dedicated park staff, cooperating partnerships, and park neighbors who instill appreciation, pride, and responsi-bility within today’s visitors for the park’s resources.

•The public is encouraged to sup-port stewardship of the park by

Foundation for Planning

Walking in the Seashore’s surf and other recreational activities provide park visitors with relaxation and memorable experiences.

becoming educated about the park’s natural and cultural resources and informed on park issues; and by providing comment during park planning processes.

•On-going research and inventory & monitoring provide vital statis-tics about the Seashore’s natural resources.

•Preservation and maintenance pro-grams for the park’s cultural resources are complimented by partner and public involvement.

•All people can be stewards and help make a positive impact on the Seashore by obeying park regula-tions.

•Local communities at the Seashore have a special place as stewards of the park and serve as a barometer of preservation and conservation achievement.

Weather The Seashore and all life found therein is greatly affected by the range, severity, and unpre-dictability of the weather on the Outer Banks.

Sub-themes •Weather on the Seashore includes, but is not limited to, high winds, extreme heat, cold, fog, humidity, thunderstorms, rain, lightning, snow, ice, waterspouts, hurricanes, tornadoes, and nor’easters.

•Major weather events such as hur-ricanes and nor’easters can cause great change and upheaval on the Seashore’s dynamic barrier islands.

Entire sections of the Seashore’s barrier islands and life found there can be radically changed in a very brief period of time.

•Weather affects the natural systems in the park by creating, changing, or eliminating geographic and bio-logical features as well as habitat, which in turn determines the vari-ous species and their survival on the Seashore.

•People (residents and visitors) on the Seashore must be prepared for any eventuality and the unpre-dictability of the weather at all times.

•Weather and weather events have a direct impact on the culture, activi-ties, and opportunities of people who live, work, visit, or own prop-erty on the Seashore.

•Mankind’s response to weather (e.g. building construction, laws and policies, technology, employ-ment opportunities, dune con-struction, evacuations, etc.) can alter the make-up of the Seashore and the lives of residents, property owners, and visitors.

Foundation for Planning

Major storms strike Cape

Hatteras regularly and cause great changes in the Seashore’s barrier island resources.

MANAGEMENT GOALS

In accordance with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, the Seashore draft-ed its third Strategic Plan in 2005, stating the park’s management goals through 2008. Within that GPRA Strategic Plan, the following goals address recreation, interpretation, and visitor experiences.

Mission Goal IIa: Visitors safely enjoy and are satisfied with the availability, accessibility, diversity, and quality of park facilities, servic-es, and appropriate recreational opportunities.

Long-term Goal: By September 30, 2008, 95% of park visitors are satis-fied with appropriate park facilities, services, and recreational opportunities.

Mission Goal IIb: Park visitors and the general public understand and appreciate the preservation of parks and their resources for future generations.

Long-term Goal: By September 30, 2008, 87% of park visitors under-stand and appreciate the signifi-cance of Cape Hatteras NS.

Mission Goal IVb: The National Park Service increases its manageri-al resources through initiatives and support from other agencies, organ-izations, and individuals.

Long-term Goal: By September 30, 2008, attendance at Cape Hatteras NS facilitated programs will increase to 902,465 (10%).

GPRA Goal Measurements The outcomes (i.e., how well the park is achieving its visitor-related GPRA goals) of these efforts are measured each year at every unit of the national park system through survey forms that are distributed to visitors at each NPS unit. Visitors send their completed survey forms to the University of Idaho where the data is collected and compiled for each NPS unit. The survey results reflect visitor opinion about each park’s facilities, services, and recre-ational opportunities, as well as measures visitor understanding and appreciation of each NPS unit’s sig-nificance. For the results of the most recent GPRA visitor survey at the Seashore, see page 18 of this

LRIP.

VISITOR EXPERIENCE

GOALS

Park-wide Goals for All Visitors

Programs and facilities throughout the Seashore will provide visitors with information and interpretive opportunities. Before, during or after their visit, visitors, including those from local communities, should be able to enhance their experience by:

•Receiving adequate orientation opportunites and hospitatlity serv-ice within the Seashore’s bound-aries and the surrounding area to gain an understanding of Seashore opportunities, to receive safety and regulatory information, and to feel welcomed to the park.

•Using safe practices while at the Seashore to ensure safe experi-ences.

•Gaining an appreciation and understanding of the Seashore by learning about, interacting with, and developing personal meaning in the park’s natural and cultural resources and heritage sites.

•Demonstrating stewardship by using park resources in a manner that promotes and enhances the natural ecosystem and preserves cultural resources.

•Understanding that the Seashore is a unit of the national park system and the importance of the NPS stewardship role in our society.

•Enjoying a variety of recreational activities that are compatible with the protection of park resources and use of the park by other visi-tors.

•Finding opportunities for reflection, solitude and personal discovery.

•Accessing the beaches, sounds, and programs given the full range of visitor abilities and disabilities.

•Understanding the Seashore’s management decisions and policies for protecting and preserving the park’s natural and cultural resources for present and future generations.

•Having the opportunity to pur-chase publications, maps, and other educational materials through Eastern National (EN), the Seashore’s cooperating associa-tion.

Education Program Goals In addition to Park-wide Visitor Experience Goals, schools and other education groups should be able to enhance their knowledge and help preserve the Seashore’s resources by:

•Understanding relationships and concepts of the Seashore’s natural and cultural resources.

•Having access to age-appropriate, hands-on materials and techniques for off-site presentations, pre-trip exercises, and on-site experiences.

•Creating research and internships to expand education.

•Encouraging education activities to be fun, safe, and economical.

•Developing educational opportu-nities for local education groups, i.e. Dare and Hyde County Schools, College of the Albemarle, UNC Coastal Studies Institute, and The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching.

Foundation for Planning

Visitor experience goals at the

Seashore range from organizing special programs that draw large crowds to opportunities for individuals to find solitude.

Goals Related to Virtual Visitors In addition to the Park-wide Visitor Experience Goals, “virtual visitors” (web-based users) should be able to enhance their knowledge of the Seashore by accessing a website that:

• Provides interpretive text as well as informational text.

• Provides a balance between text and visual components.

• Includes easy navigation and a uniform look.

• Includes a comprehensive site map to show users what is available.

• Links to local parks, partners, and other appropriate web sites.

• Incorporates student and teacher resources such as curriculum, activities, worksheets, and experi-ments.

• Includes a web-based Junior Seashore Ranger option.

• Includes a feature where visitors can ask questions and request park information.

• Is consistent, accurate, and up-to-date.

VISITOR PROFILES

The following annual and monthly visitation figures for Cape Hatteras NS are based on computations by the National Park Service Public Use Statistics Office in Denver, which esti-mates visitation data based on counts at specific locations with-in the Seashore.

Park-wide Visitation Figures

Annual Visitation, 1982 - 2005 1982: 1,698,543 1983: 1,685,628 1984: 1,396,076 1985: 1,224,687 1986: 1,535,913 1987: 1,629,277 1988: 1,929,713 1989: 2,097,991 1990: 2,072,715 1991: 2,098,930 1992: 2,047,103 1993: 2,259,889 1994: 2,383,684 1995: 2,384,388 1996: 2,355,580 1997: 2,515,057 1998: 2,737,640 1999: 2,634,587 2000: 2,647,383 2001: 2,592,889 2002: 2,923,894 2003: 2,660,535 2004: 2,321,618 2005: 2,376,947

Monthly Visitation, 2005 January 70,200 February 73,656 March 109,717 April 136,296 May 215,245 June 363,285 July 388,888 Aug. 322,934 September 284,518 October 147,152 November 130,680 December 131,460 Total visitors to Cape Hatteras NS in 2005 = 2,376,947

Monthly/Seasonal Visitation 2005

Visitor Center Visitation 2005

Foundation for Planning

Month Whalebone Bodie Island Hatteras Island Ocracoke Island

January 0 1,772 3,661 529 February 0 2,787 3,118 609 March 4,742 6,924 17,733 2,798 April 5,724 11,042 31,181 3,964 May 7,489 16,731 42,021 8,758 June 7,299 26,653 66,171 14,782 July 11,200 29,500 68,987 15,590 August 9,200 23,400 67,844 13,590 September 5,288 14,790 29,247 5,447 October 4,996 13,097 32,329 5,140 November 4,666 5,000 16,092 2,560 December 3,049 2,841 6,779 913

TOTAL 63,653 154,537 385,073 74,680

Winter

Spring

Summer

Autumn

Analysis of Visitor Group Types

Regional/National Vacationers Characteristics: Park visitation consists of mainly vacationers from eastern states from the Carolinas up to New England, as well as many visitors from Ohio. Most come to the Outer Banks for a 1-week or 2-week vacation during summer.

Highest summer visitation is typi-cally on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Use of Cape Hatteras NS:

Primarily sightseeing, visiting light-houses, sunbathing, beachcombing, fishing, swimming, and camping.

Issues: Because many of these visi-tors see the Outer Banks simply as a vacation beach, it is a challenge to get them to appreciate the signifi-cance of the Seashore, and that it is a unit of the national park system.

Orientation of these visitors is diffi-cult as the park lacks north and south adequate and effective entrance orientation/information facilities.

Local Recreational Users Characteristics: People who live in villages within the Seashore and local residents of the Outer Banks area and coastal North Carolina.

Use of Cape Hatteras NS:

Primarily to access the beach.

Issues: NPS management of out-door recreational vehicles and pro-tected species can cause friction.

Conflicts can occur between vari-ous user groups. There is not a clear understanding of park issues and management practices among local users. Visitors in this group rarely attend traditional interpretive pro-gramming.

“Virtual” Visitors Characteristics: Local, national, and international visitors who “visit” through computers in their homes or offices via the park’s web-site.

Use of Cape Hatteras NS:

Although these visitors have no direct impact on the park’s tangible resources, a great opportunity to develop stewardship and apprecia-tion of the park’s resources exists through the web. These visitors do impact park staff in the time required to create, update, and maintain the park’s website.

Issues: The numbers of these “vir-tual” visitors are growing each year;

as these numbers grow the impor-tance the park’s website increases.

Education Groups Characteristics: Organized school groups or other education groups, primarily during the autumn and spring months.

Use of Cape Hatteras NS:

These groups have little impact on park resources other than use of facilities. However, they do impact park staff in time required to pre-pare and present educational pro-grams.

Issues: NPS staff to present educa-tional programs needs to increase and curriculum-based programs developed. NPS needs to work with partners to help serve these education groups.

Data from the GPRA Visitor Survey -- 2005 Each summer, the Seashore distributes Visitor Survey cards to selected visi-tors for one week, and the data is compiled by the University of Idaho as a report for the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993.

Each year's survey reflects visitor opinion about park facilities, services, and recreational opportunities. The results of the 2005 GPRA Visitor Survey is summarized below:

2005 Overall quality of facilities, services, & recreational opportunities Very good: 59% Good: 32% (91% satisfaction: combined Very Good and Good) Average: 7% Poor: 1% Very Poor 1%

2005 Specific ratings of facilities, services, & recreational opportunities Category Approval Ratings

Park Facilities Very Good Good Average Poor Very Poor Visitor Centers 56% 36% 8% 0% 0% Exhibits 47% 40% 13% 0% 0% Restrooms 48% 36% 11% 5% 0% Walkways, Trails, Roads 52% 39% 8% 2% 1% Camp/Picnic Areas 47% 35% 12% 6% 0% Combined Facilities: 50% 38% 10% 2% 0%

Visitor Services Very Good Good Average Poor Very Poor Employee Assistance 75% 15% 9% 1% 0% Interpretive Programs 67% 13% 20% 0% 0% Park Map or Brochure 62% 31% 7% 0% 0% Commercial Services 38% 44% 13% 5% 0% Combined Visitor Services: 61% 25% 12% 2% 0%

Recreational Very GoodGood Average Poor Very Poor Opportunities Learning about ... 59% 32% 7% 0% 2% Outdoor Recreation 65% 26% 4% 4% 2% Sightseeing 69% 27% 5% 0% 0% Combined Recreation Ops: 63% 28% 5% 2% 2%

Comments from GPRA Visitor Survey — 2005

“more funds for national parks so future generations can experience the real parks.”

“Nice facilities — all staff were help-ful and friendly. Very clean.”

“NPS has great employees who do a thankless job for very little pay. They are to be commended for all they do!”

“As the first National Seashore, the park is an exemplary resource. Its national significance is without ques-tion and is due to the distinctive cul-tural and environmental resources located on the Seashore.”

“The park is significant because of its wetlands, bird watching, different ecosystem, ocean and sounds, shrubs and trees not found elsewhere, and lighthouses and history.”

“Need more lifeguards and need more shower areas to rinse off when leaving beach.”

“Please make less beach area accessi-ble to 4-wheel drive vehicles.”

“As holders of a National Parks Pass, we would have appreciated free admission or reduced entry to the lighthouse.”

“Need larger scale maps for senior citizens who can’t read tiny print.”

“We enjoyed our visit and climb to the top of Hatteras Lighthouse.”

“Accessible to all; I owned a piece of the Outer Banks for weekend!”

“This used to be some of the last unspoiled beaches/Seashore on the

East Coast.

“I love driving on the beach and surf fishing in the fall. Keep the beaches open for 4x4s. I hope funding is available to restore Bodie Island

Light.”

“Much of the parking area was taken up by boat trailers.”

“The exhibits and gift shop should be separated at the Ocracoke Island

Visitor Center.”

“Preserve nature and natural shore-line so it doesn’t go the way of huge rental houses.”

“We visit often from out of state and are always treated with respect by employees.”

“The educational programs we attended were outstanding! My three children earned their Junior Ranger badges, each completing age-appro-priate materials.”

“Without these parks, my kids would have never understood the important balance between nature and the world today, and how we must pro-tect it. Keep up the good work. The park and its rangers are vital.”

Visitor Study by the University of Idaho In July 2002, a Visitor Services Project Study was conducted by the Park Studies Unit of the University of Idaho. The questionnaire for this visitor study was designed using the standard format that has been developed in previous Visitor Services Project studies. Interviews were conducted with, and question-naires were distributed to, a sample of visitors who arrived at the Seashore during the period of July 12-18, 2002. Visitors were sampled as they arrived at eight locations within the park.

At the Seashore, 376 visitor groups were contacted and 356 of these groups (95%) accepted question-naires. Of these 356 questionnaires, 263 were completed and returned, resulting in a response rate of 73.8% for this study.

Below and on the following pages are some results of this visitor study:

Visitor Group Sizes 1 person 3% 2 people 28% 3 people 10% 4 people 18% 5 people 7% 6 to 10 23% 11 or more 10%

Visitor Group Types Family 61% Family and friends 22% Friends 10% Alone 5% Other 2%

Number of Visits First visit 33% 2-4 visits 27% 5-7 visits 15% 8 or more 25%

Visitor Ages 10 & under 14% 11 to 15 11% 16 to 20 5% 21 to 25 4% 26 to 30 3% 31 to 35 8% 36 to 40 11% 41 to 45 11% 46 to 50 11% 51 to 55 8% 56 to 60 6% 61 to 65 3% 66 to 70 3% 71 to 75 1% 76 & older 1%

State of Residence Virginia 23% North Carolina 28% Ohio 10% Pennsylvania 8% Maryland 7% New Jersey 6% West Virginia 5% New York 3% Connecticut 3% All other states 1% or less each International less than 1%

Sources of Information used by Visitors Previous visits 58% Friends/relative 39% Travel guide/tour book 19% No information prior to visit 17% Websites (other than NPS) 13% Newspaper/magazine articles 10% Rental property materials 9% Cape Hatteras NS website 9% Outer Banks Visitor Bureau 6% Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce 4% Videos/television/radio programs 4% Telephone, emails or letters to park 3%

Most Important Reasons for visiting Cape Hatteras NS Lighthouse/s mentioned 54 times

Beach/beachcombing/seashells mentioned 33 times

Fishing/charter fishing mentioned 18 times

Historical Significance mentioned 17 times

Swimming mentioned 14 times

Beach Access mentioned 13 times

Beauty of the Area mentioned 12 times

Camping mentioned 9 times

Uncrowded/solitude mentioned 9 times

Surfing/windsurfing mentioned 8 times

Visitor Activities on this visit to Cape Hatteras NS Swimming/sunbathing 78% Visiting historic sites 70% Walking 65% Enjoying solitude 56% Photography 53% Beach driving 36% Picnicking 26% Surf fishing 26% Note: attended ranger-led pro-grams 9% (#15 on this list)

Quality of Visitor Services on this visit to Cape Hatteras NS Very good 56% Good 38% Average 6% Poor 0% Very poor less than 1%

Opinions about Crowding on this visit to Cape Hatteras NS Not crowded at all 30% Somewhat crowded 43% Moderately crowded 21% Very crowded 4% Extremely crowded 2%

Preparation for Safety Issues while at Cape Hatteras NS Prepared? Yes 91% Prepared? No 4% Prepared? Not sure 5%

Safety Situations encountered at Cape Hatteras NS Sunburn mentioned 64 times

Tide/currents mentioned 9 times

Heat mentioned 5 times

Ocean mentioned 3 times

Rain mentioned 2 times

Issues and Influences This section includes issues and influences, both inside and outside the park, that affect the Seashore’s interpretation and education pro-grams. Many of these are issues that the park’s interpretive efforts can help the park’s managers and division chiefs to solve or mitigate.

Others are issues that may influence the park’s interpretive programs and, therefore, park managers need to consider while planning the park’s future.

Park-wide Issues

Budget and Staffing A Business Plan for the Seashore was written in 2004 through a grant from the National Park Foundation.

That plan identified gaps between the current levels of the Seashore’s budget and staffing the levels that are needed to keep the Seashore fully operational. The Business Plan noted a 53% funding shortfall for the Outer Banks Group. Since 1980, the Group’s appropriated budget has increased by less than 3%, while visitation has increased over 41%.

Barrier Island Dynamics Barriers islands, such as those com-prising the Seashore, are by nature dynamic, and in a state of constant change through daily tide fluctua-tions, annual storm and hurricane impacts, and long term coastal ero-sion and sea level rise. Pre-storm preparations and post-storm recov-ery can have significant impact on park and regional operations.

Expectations of standardized and unchanging uses of Seashore lands by visitors and local users often conflict with the ever-changing park environment. This conflict affects beach nourishment, protection of NC Highway 12, off-road vehicle use, protected species management, Oregon Inlet dredging, hardening of seashore beaches, and relocation of historic structures.

Tourism and Visitation Successful local tourism marketing has resulted in significant rise in vis-itation to the Outer Banks and a corresponding rapid increase in vis-itation to the park. Impacts are seen, and will continue to increase as visitation increases, with both natural and cultural park resources and escalating conflict between var-ious park user groups. Along with visitation increase, the park budget has remained flat, hampering man-agement’s ability to keep services parallel with visitor needs.

Local Community Issues and Influences Increased development of lands adjacent to the Seashore, and increased population and demo-graphic transformation of adjacent communities have changed, and continue to change, expected uses and use impacts at the Seashore.

Due to limited availability of non-federal lands, the park is sometimes requested to permit uses that may be incompatible with park values.

Foundation for Planning

Some sections of NC Highway

12 have been moved westward because of shoreline migration.

Protected Species The park’s dynamic dunes and islands encompass a variety of habi-tats and are a valuable breeding and wintering area for species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and species protected under the Endangered Species Act. The season-to-season change in land location use of these mobile species creates variations in the park pro-tection responses, causing conster-nation to some park users, mainly off-road vehicle users.

Off-Road Vehicle Use The Seashore is developing an Off- Road Vehicle (ORV) management plan/environmental impact state-ment and regulation for the Seashore. As well as the standard NEPA planning process, the NPS may use Negotiated Rulemaking as well. Executive Order 11644 of 1972, amended by Executive Order 11989 of 1977, requires certain federal agencies permitting ORV use on agency lands to publish regulations designating specific trails and areas for this use. Title 36, section 4.10 of the Code of Federal Regulations implements the executive orders by providing that routes and areas des-ignated for off-road vehicle use shall be promulgated as special regula-tions. Section 4.10 also provides that the designation of routes and areas shall comply with E.O. 11644 and with section 1.5 of Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Public Involvement Public awareness on critical issues, and management decision-making and direction is increasing. As this desirable public interest grows, the Seashore must adapt and respond with effective and efficient opportu-nities for public involvement.

Public involvement will play a sig-nificant role in the outcome of park planning efforts during this strategic cycle, including the Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan and an upcoming update of the park’s General Management Plan.

Information Technology The park struggles to keep up with changes in information technology.

This ties to a need for improved and effective use of staff time and improved information to park visi-tors given current industry stan-dards and expectations.

Linear Nature of the Park The long, linear nature of the park complicates operational communi-cations and travel with distance being a disadvantage. Seashore employees, including interpretive staff members, are required to take certain training courses each year.

Travel time and coordination can complicate the ability of employees to take these courses. Seashore management needs to devise a strat-egy of targeted communication options to improve timely commu-nications with the park staff, part-ners, visitors, and the general pub-lic. The linear nature of the park is often a challenge to effective com-munication processes.

Interpretive Training for Park Staff Most visitors associate anyone in an NPS uniform as a person who knows the park. In many cases, maintenance, law enforcement and resources management personnel are the first contact for visitors. A well-informed park staff can orient visitors and answer their immediate questions or direct them to an appropriate location to find the answers. Interpretive training can provide the tools that employees

Foundation for Planning

Anglers and other visitors use of

Off-Road Vehicles (ORVs) at the

Seashore is permitted year-round, but with limitations.

need to better assist park visitors.

Interpretive staff could also benefit from inter-divisional training by learning about other divisional issues. The goal of this training would be to provide safe and enjoy-able visits for all park visitors.

Partnership Issues Seashore management increasingly depends on a variety of park part-ners to help provide services to park visitors. Several of the park’s visitor facilities could not be ade-quately staffed without assistance from partners like EN and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau.

Although the Seashore has a good number of highly valued…