THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 14, 1996 TAG: 9601140063
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines
Wooden fences can't keep the East Coast's tallest natural sand dune in its place. Dump trucks can't scoop enough sand off a bordering road to keep it clear.
Jockey's Ridge State Park just keeps sliding south down the Outer Banks.
The 87-foot tall, 1 1/2-mile long, 414-acre sand dune has already buried a miniature golf course, swallowed a house and overtaken a town fire hydrant in its mighty migration.
North Carolina officials aren't sure what to do about the park that refuses to stay put.
``Sand fencing and moving sand around aren't making a tremendous difference with stabilizing that dune,'' said Marshall Ellis, a resource management specialist from the state parks department in Raleigh. ``It's like trying to fill a bathtub with a teaspoon.
``We don't have the numbers or the data yet to decide what option will work best,'' Ellis said Saturday at the close of a three-day scientific conference about Jockey's Ridge. ``But these sessions have really crystallized a lot of issues for us. We know what questions to ask now. And we know we need funding for research. We just don't know where that money will come from.''
A rare geographical formation, Jockey's Ridge is the southernmost dune in a barrier island sand dune system that extends north to False Cape State Park in Virginia. The half-mile-wide Nags Head dune is a haven for hang-gliders and sunset hikers. It's one of North Carolina's five most popular parks, with more than 790,000 people striding up its steep slopes each year.
Because it's moving out of its boundaries, however, Ellis said Jockey's Ridge is also the state recreation department's biggest concern.
``Overall, we've learned this week that the dune is quite stable,'' he told about 30 people - primarily scientists and park rangers. ``Since 1974, it's lost about 20 feet in elevation. We had 15,000 cubic yards of sand removed from Soundside Road last year. That's bought us a couple years' time. There are some problem areas. But the dune is not in danger of disappearing from the landscape any time soon.''
Researchers from Old Dominion University, University of Virginia, East Carolina University, North Carolina State University and the University of Wisconsin were among those who attended the workshops, funded by the non-profit Friends of Jockey's Ridge group. The panelists promised to continue studying the moving dune, and report findings back to North Carolina officials. Other things they learned about Jockey's Ridge included:
The dune's summit has slid 400 feet south in the past 20 years.
Visitation to the park has tripled in the past decade and could be affecting the dune's movement or the ability of plants to grow on it.
In the past half-century, the dune's height has ranged from 87 to 140 feet - but usually remained taller than 110 feet.
``The height loss may not be permanent,'' Ellis said. ``That's one of the issues we have to study. We also have to look at land use changes around the dune's perimeter, which may affect sand's ability to replenish the dune. And we have to look at effects of allowing natural plants to encroach on the dune.''
Options that scientists are considering include:
Stabilize all of part of the dune with vegetation. In 1927, the National Park Service planted grass all over the sand hill on which the Wright Brothers' Monument stands. One Soundside Road resident kept part of the dune in its place by planting trees and grasses on its side.
Keep scooping sand from the south side of the dune and dumping it back onto the north side. This option is expensive and requires great amounts of manpower.
State officials could continue buying private property on the south side of the dune as the park encroaches on people's homes. Already, the state has bought at least two houses and three lots that are being slowly buried - or are in danger of being buried - by Jockey's Ridge.
Amend the state's policy of prohibiting people from removing sand from the park and allow private businesses to mine sand from the south side of the dune as it blows out of its boundaries.
Do nothing. Let nature take its course. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Creeping Jockey's Ridge engulfs things in its path: a fire hydrant,
a mini-golf course, a house.
Graphic
COMMENTS INVITED
State officials are collecting written comments about possible
solutions for Jockey's Ridge State Park. They want the public to
comment about any alternatives that have been proposed or offer
other options. Address comments about saving the sand dune to:
Marshall Ellis, N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation, P.O. Box
27687, Raleigh, N.C. 27611.
by CNB