Island Free Press ...Letters To The Editor

Beach Access Issues

Born in Wilmington, first visiting the OB in 1957, and a Buxton property owner since 1960, I am offended by the attempts of various outsider organizations to limit the public use of our beaches by tourists, residents, and owners. One small storm could wreak much more damage than what could supposedly be damaged by pedestrians and vehicles. Argument after argument of the outsiders (national and/or public organizations especially) can mostly be proven fallacious.

Chris Waters
Saunderstown, R.I.

On environmental wars: I've just finished re-reading a book that is astounding and eye-opening. Titled "Green Gone Wild," it is a paperback available through Amazon.com. It is a comprehensive study of the environmental movement and the Endangered Species Act and how it has been politicized into a rabid agenda for land grabs. It highlights the results of previous environmental battles fought and lost by others before us here on this island and covers completely the putrid results that the millions plus millions of taxpayer dollars were spent to achieve.

This inexpensive book is a must for everyone who has a stake in this fight. If I could afford it, I would send one to everyone including our Audubon friends. I really think that some of them could use the dose of reality that this book uncovers. I don't promote books, but this is one exception. Buy it, read it, and pass it on. Your eyes will really be opened.

Ray Seibert
Annville, Pa.

Again, our thanks go out to you for keeping us informed about the rulemaking committee. We appreciate that you will go to these mind-numbing meetings in our stead and report on them. I am confident that they are very aware that many are following the process on your site.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you good folks at Island Free Press!

G. VanNostrand
Ocracoke

About the story “What you can and cannot find out about harassment of negotiated rulemaking committee members: "We received the map to Maddock’s house, according to the letter, because it had been viewed by the public."

What's the big deal on a map to Sid's or any other homes? I can get a close up aerial photo from four sides of his or any other residence with turn-by-turn directions on my computer in about 15 seconds.

Dennis Gray
Dayton, Ohio

Christmas decorations on the islands

I enjoyed your Christmas photos. Keep up the good work.
Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.

Charlie Pisch
Coatesville, Pa.

Precious Memories

Wow! What a beautiful portrayal of a gift from God given to a devoted couple who honored the sanctity of marriage for 70 years. (Precious Memories: Going to Heaven on the History Page) To be able to glimpse into that brief moment in time that the Lord allowed your grandmother to return to her husband through that particular song is a blessing for all of us readers to be able to share in. It is extremely overwhelming for sure.

What a powerful testimony to a loving God that He gifted your Grandpop with sustaining memories to comfort him over the next three years, before being reunited with his bride in heaven -- together, resting at the feet of Jesus.

Thanks for sharing!

Sandra J. Koster
Williston, Fla.

On the national economy

As our economy crumbles, our representatives in the United States Congress have made tremendous effort to portray themselves as advocates of the middle class, but like the recent Wall Street Ponzi scheme, it’s all been a fraud.

With members of Congress demanding that corporate CEOs should work for free, lawmakers have not applied the same standard to freeze their own pay.

Instead, members of Congress will get a $4,700 pay increase, which amounts to an additional $2.5 million that taxpayers will payout in congressional salaries. Once again, politicians have shown a complete lack of concern for average ordinary hard working people.

Their performance has been nothing more than an act worthy of an Academy Award. While they sat in judgment of the automobile industry, they were silently looting the public treasury for their own personal gain.

Wouldn’t this money be much better spent helping struggling families rather than on the 535 self-absorbed members of the United States Congress?

Kevin Conner
Dare GOP Vice Chairman
Hatteras

New Letters to the Editor....12.15.2008 9:45 am

Commentary on park’s administrative history

Great commentary ! Don't forget the Redwood National Park Act of 1978 which augmented the 1916 Organic Act and provided that NPS activities shall "not be exercised in derogation of the high values and purposes for which these various areas have been established except as may have been or shall be directly and specifically provided for by Congress." It is further indication that the NPS changes in name and conversion from recreational beaches to bird sanctuaries is unlawful.

Bob Davis
Buxton

Wow, right on. See it is all right there. As (North Carolina) state Sen. Marc Basnight continues to state, access means driving where we want, when we want. These NPS environmental freaks need to get out of the way, so we can have some fun and support the local economy by attracting even more fisher folk in their ORVs. That, friends, is true recreation.

Dave Sweeten
Washington, D.C.

Isn't it sad that the will of the people, the intent of Congress, and the good will of the Park Service has been subverted and prostituted to the extent that we stand where we do today, ready to take the whole OBX recreation area away from the people? Do what the great reformers and civil rights leaders have done in the past – keep fighting. This was a great article.

Bert Smith
Richmond, Va.

I believe that these areas should be accessible to the public to enjoy responsibly with those acting in a manner of destruction punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Jim Kiser
Chesapeake, Va.

Sailboat stranded in the Avon surf

It looks like a nice ketch, and it is too bad Mr. Oger did not realize the importance of watching where you are going instead of going below.

Elsie George
Williamsburg, Va.

Thank you for the update on Gypsy Dane, It has been most interesting watch this go down. But what has become of Yves Oger, the boat’s owner? Has he left the island?

Judy Bragg
New Lebanon, Ohio

(Editor’s note: The last we heard is that Mr. Oger is still on Hatteras Island. He has given no interviews to the media.)

Making wreaths from cedar trees is an Ocracoke tradition

This story makes me wish I lived on Ocracoke!

Judy Latham
Raleigh, N.C.

Great article, especially since it features two of my favorite people – Cindy (Fiore) and Tim (Fields).

Jean Fields
(aka Tim's Mom)
Hemet, Calif.

Fisheries Management

I own a wholesale/retail seafood fish house on Oak Island. I’ve been there since 1994 and had another wholesale/processing/distribution house in Southport going back to 1986. I remember how we all worked together, all the fishing people -- catching, buying, and selling all the fish products up and down the coast. We managed the resource.

What should really dictate the markets ultimately is top-notch quality. If you are unable to maintain the freshest quality of the resource through the course of its marketing, you should limit the amount of resource you handle. That is all too often missing in the fresh seafood marketing of products getting moved around the coast. Instead of letting us handle the problem, the government is going to come in, in a big way, and push us all right out of business. They seem to think they know more about fishing than the people who have been living it for generation after generation. What ever happened to saving and preserving the fishing culture, and nurturing a working relationship with the fishermen? It is a sad day, when a man just trying to help feed the world, is told he cannot work, nor make a living anymore.

Jon Haag
Oak Island, N.C.

New Letters to the Editor....12.09.2008 10:45 am

Beach Access Issues

(This is a copy of a letter sent to Mike Murray, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.)

I begin by commending you on the early release of the National Park Service Draft Environmental Impact Statement alternatives. Not only do these offer a needed framework upon which the negotiated rulemaking committee may build, but also they provide a glimmer of hope that reason might prevail in the ORV beach access issue. I hope to see this borne out at the next meeting.

Your presentation at the RegNeg meeting on Friday afternoon, Nov. 14, was illuminating and prompts me to comment -- of course. I am especially attracted to your Slides 4 and 5, which depict plover population data for the past two decades. For the purpose of this letter, I accept these data as correct and without bias.

The premise that the plover is at risk, fundamental to the argument that embroils us all, seems to find at best only weak support in Slide 4, indicating that, with the exception of our Cape Hatteras, the plover is faring satisfactorily along the Atlantic coast. The upper Midwest and Gulf Coast offer similar good news. In addition, population data for Pea Island and Portsmouth Island are omitted as these significant beaches are outside the jurisdiction of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and those for the numerous spoil islands have been unexamined. Whatever the reasons, the birds' choice must be considered to be contributory.

Your Slide 5 depicts a substantial decline in seashore plover breeding pairs (from a mean of 12 per year before 1998 to mean of four per year 1999-2007), with estimated (by me, assuming four chicks per pair) number of chicks 48 to 16 annually. While this may be statistically significant by one or another test, is it biologically significant when compared to the major cost and societal upheaval that is now ongoing? I suggest that it is not.

Neither number seems sufficient to influence the survival of the species when studied in the total context. But then, this is not necessary, as the species is doing well elsewhere, and there is no reason to force an unneeded outcome.

The known enormous expenditures for so little gain seems to me to be irrational, especially in these times of local as well as national economic turmoil. The outlay by NPS, funded solely by tax monies, includes enhanced beach management and regulation, these meetings, legal fees in defeat and more. The substantial monetary and cultural losses sustained thus far by Outer Banks populace and businesses, certain to increase, have not yet been properly tabulated and sadly seem to be of little interest. Add to these stresses the uncertain impact on our lives of the incoming liberal federal administration and continued pursuit of "birds over people" is worrisome. We love our birds, and do protect them, but the unending opposing of pro-avian zealotry is fatiguing and discouraging.

We appreciate that you are simply doing your job and that this regrettable process must grind to a conclusion. The committee's deliberations are coming to a close, and its recommendations, if any, are subject to your control. Data driven by an agenda, from whatever direction, can only further pollute the outcome of these actions that have already spawned widespread distrust of both the legal system and the relations between the Park Service and those subject to its regulation on the beaches.

It is imperative that you ensure that only the best available information and data be sought and utilized in the pursuit of these recommendations

Frederic Westervelt
Ocracoke, NC

The sailboat that washed up in Avon

This is a very good article. Good writing and coverage. It’s nice to keep up with the happenings on Hatteras. I’d say it would be fascinating to be on vacation down there and see a sight like that – a stranded sailboat on the beach. Good luck and keep on writing.

Neil Donovan
Newport, Del.

Remember Lucy Allen Stowe

Thank you for this commentary. I loved her like a mother. She still lives in me and Ruby. Lucy gave so much of herself to each of us that we are an extension of her life. She will always live in us. My granddaughter, who is only 6, knows what she is missing in her "friend Lucy." Lucy is fishing in her favorite hole as we speak. Thank you for this from the bottom of our hearts.

Allen Fagley
Hatteras

Miss Lucy stands among my favorite folks from my childhood. She was a wonderful woman whom I'll never forget. Thank you for honoring her.

Mary Williams
Buxton

Well written article. Lucy was my great aunt. I would always try to stop in to visit her whenever I got to Hatteras.

Mark Freitager
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Lucy was an incredible friend and role model. As a kid, I had the pleasure of having Lucy as a neighbor. I enjoyed spending quality time with Lucy surf fishing, playing with her cat Cricket, or just talking about her life and the stories about Hatteras Island. Over the years, I would make a point to stop by and visit with Lucy. She always had a big smile and a warm welcome. It was like going back in time for me. I will miss Lucy, but she will live in my many fond memories. Thank you Lucy!

Martin von Euw
Minneapolis, Minn.

I wish I could have known Miss Lucy. She sounds like a "character" -- my favorite kind of person. My sympathy to her family.

Judy Latham
Raleigh, N.C.

Island History

I believe that the stories about the history of Hatteras Island are the most interesting articles to read. Oral histories are, by far, the best. I've managed to get two books on tourism -- one with the help of GeeGee Rosell at Buxton Village Books -- that also contain a lot of oral interviews from life residents of Hatteras. Thank you for all that you do and all the research on your articles that helps me and those I know who love the beach as their own.

Jill Marshall
Ashland, Va.

These types of stories (Precious Memories on the History Page) relate to me a lot. I lived in Rodanthe for four years. I caught my first fish, surfed my first wave, and shot my first duck there. I always thought it was a place where good souls reside. I am glad I am not the only one. I said to all my friends and family if I pass before them, they should throw my ashes off Mirlo Beach to put my soul back were it belongs. I feel I lost it there in my early years of childhood.

Scott Barto
Virginia Beach, Va.

Beach Erosion

(This is a copy of a letter that Jack Shea of the Dare County Board of Commissioners wrote to the North Carolina General Assembly.)

Dear members of the General Assembly:

I am dismayed and greatly disappointed by the disregard you and your fellow lawmakers have had for the welfare and good of all peoples of our great state. You have had, and continue to appear to have, little concern for the fact that great stretches of our Eastern Coastal seashore continue to erode. As this erosion continues, homes, businesses and our great recreational beaches are disappearing steadily. If this process is allowed to continue unchecked, jobs and incomes not only for individuals, but for our state income, will be affected. This income is necessary to pay for governmental operations and necessary services. Study after study has shown that beaches are a significant economic engine supplying a significant source of jobs and revenue. All lawmakers should take steps to protect and preserve this asset.

I believe you and others have been listening to the siren song of those well intentioned individuals and groups who chant the theme that we should “let nature take its course.” I ask you to tell me in truth that you would not repair a garden or lawn that was damaged by a heavy rainfall or storm. If you would not let nature take its course in these cases, why do you not see the parallel when our coast is being adversely affected by nature?

I urge you and your fellow lawmakers to take the steps necessary to protect our coastline which is a priceless natural resource belonging to all the people of North Carolina. Should you continue to do little or nothing, you will be guilty of allowing the inheritance of future generations to be squandered.

Jack Shea
Commissioner
Dare County

Surfing in black and white

The pictures were great. Are you the same Wayne Fulcher who was once a firefighter in the Tidewater area? If so, I have two of your paintings from about 38 years ago. I have often wanted to stop at the Indian Town Gallery on the way to Hatteras, and I hope to do so soon and meet you.

Donna Sapp
Chesapeake, Va.

New Letters to the Editor....12.01.2008 9:45 am

The nighttime ocean beach

At the last negotiated rulemaking meeting, it became evident to me that the National Park Service was going to close the ocean beaches to off-road vehicle use at night during turtle season. Hours to be determined.

The rationale for this loss of public access is that ORVs at night disturbed the turtles and inhibited their breeding, ran over breeding females and hatchlings, and caused hatchlings to get stuck in tire ruts.

When I asked about the record of ORV mortality on sea turtles in the seashore, there was no real data available. I heard stories of hatchlings being drawn to a campfire in one of the villages and some more that, in an area with no ORV access, tried to get to Highway 12 to hitch a ride, but no real numbers regarding the impact of nighttime vehicle access to the remote beaches that make this recreational seashore such a public treasure.

I am tired of the prejudice ORVs are subjected too. We really don’t know what causes animals to do what they do. There is significant human activity on the village beaches. People are out with flashlights and campfires, which activity, by the testimony of the turtle expert, may impact the chances for successful nest laying. Why does the NPS continue to make vehicles the poster child for saving the birds and turtles?

I have heard testimony from piping plover experts that we need larger buffers on Cape Hatteras because the birds, according to Ann Hecht, “may be able to see further here.” Please show me the scientific study to support such a claim. When the “experts” are questioned on why a large number of false crawls happened in an area that was closed to all human activity for the season, the answer from Michelle Bogardus, the lead turtle bio-technician for the seashore, was:

“Last year, we had a huge amount of false crawls on South Beach when it was closed,” she told the committee. “It may or may not have anything to do with human disturbance; it may have to do with sand quality. We don’t really know.”

If they really don’t know what happened and the area was closed to humans, how can you say it may or may not be due to humans? This was an area without any homes and the only constant light source was the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The only way for humans to be involved would be the record of human intrusions in the area. This record exists, and I would ask whether the small numbers and times of human intrusions were more detrimental then the hundreds of the reflective Carsonite stakes that wave in the wind. Could it be that the very apparatus used to keep the humans out, kept the turtles out also? I don’t know and neither does the NPS.

While we are on the subject of false crawls, I would like an explanation for the fact that Cape Lookout, with less vehicle activity and no villages with oceanfront floodlights, has a higher false crawl ratio than Cape Hatteras.

Don’t let “We don’t know” get in the way of eradicating public access to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area, just believe what they say. Pay no attention to the facts, which are not available, just trust them.

We “believe” does not equate to we “know.”

Without real data on whether we have a significant problem regarding ORVs and turtles, we should not be willing to accept a total closure of the ocean beaches to nighttime use for the public. There are areas that can be managed to provide for nighttime vehicle access during the summer months, when the public’s visitation is at its highest. Is nighttime access to be limited to individuals who are able to hike out to darkness or able to afford beachfront accommodations? If so, why does not the NPS close the nighttime beach to everyone? If we listen to the turtle experts, any human activity may inhibit nesting.

One of my favorite memories is the time I spent with my two young sons on the beach down at Hatteras Inlet. It was a clear night, and they asked me what was that stripe of stars across the sky? That’s the Milky Way, the plane of the galaxy you live in. They were astounded to watch it wheel across the night sky. That was the night that they came to better understand the scope of the universe. I remember giving them binoculars so that they could see more details. What is that cluster of stars? That’s another galaxy. How many of them are there? No one knows, but I am told that there are more stars in the sky then there are grains of sand on all the world’s beaches. This sent them to digging in the sand and laughing at me for being so stupid as to propose such a thing.

The reason we could have that experience was the fact that I could afford a small “beach box” with no real access to the ocean and was fortunate enough to have a four-wheel-drive as my everyday vehicle.

Is the current definition of “public access” limited to those families who can afford the rent on a home with easy beach access, only to find their view radically diminished by all the village’s lights?

This is very personal to me. The wonders that I have seen on the ocean beach at night are some of my most treasured memories of Hatteras Island.

A wave quartering the beach, full of phosphorescence, looking like brightly lit train windows running down the beach. An evening on Cape Point, without any Gulf Stream clouds to hide the rising of the full moon. It started out blood red and ended up with four distinct bands of color, ranging from red, to orange, to yellow and bright white. The time I saw a “high angle of impact meteor.” It was like somebody on a giant stepladder fired off a flash bulb. It left a cloud in the sky that looked just like a “waffle fry.” Watching the Space Shuttle rise up from Ocracoke, track across the night sky, and then see the three main engines wink off as it reached orbit. Watching the storms out on the Gulf Stream. They look like big light bulbs, flashing across the horizon. A full moon on a cloudless night when you could look down at the sand and see the shadow of the gulls, wheeling above you. A full moon, on a night with broken clouds, as moonbeams dance across the beach and ocean.

The nighttime beach is one of the most unique experiences available to us, and we need to assure that it is not taken away from us because the NPS is so under funded they have to practice “padlock management.”

What if your town passed a law that you could not drive to the store after 10 p.m. because of budget restraints?

Are we willing to give over public nighttime access without hard facts?

Think long and hard about this issue because it is the camel’s nose in the tent of public access.

John Alley
Hatteras

Go Coast Guard!

I just found your Web site this past week. Wow! Great job, Island Free Press! I was able to see several pictures of my son, whom I'm proud to say is a U.S. Coast Guardsman, stationed at Hatteras Inlet/Ocracoke. USCG Halloween Party and Day at the Docks photos were the best! Go Coast Guard!

Dan Staniewicz
Abingdon, Md.

Sailboat stranded in Avon

We feel so badly for the guy who had to make a sandwich -- BUT -- it certainly is keeping our attention to see how they will get it moved. We have been going to Avon for over 30 years and have never seen anything like this before. Thanks for the free educational entertainment!

Anita Stoltzfus
East Earl, Pa.

It has been amazing to watch this. Thank you for all the pictures and the update on Gypsy Dane.

Judy Bragg
New Lebanon, Ohio

It is unfortunate that Yves was persuaded to “change horses in midstream.” It’s too bad that Paul (Rosell) and his crew didn’t get the chance to finish what they started. After watching proceedings everyday, I think they should have gotten the chance to prove themselves, and I believe that the boat could have been saved by them.

Laura Garay
Aliquippa, Pa.

Well, no wonder he (the owner of the sailboat) won't talk to you. You don't make him sound like much of a sailor. Nice boat, though.

Joe Ward
Louisville, Ky.

Change in the air – and the water

I always appreciate Daniel Pullen's surfing pictures, but the way he captured the waves in the fall surfing series to frame the village behind them was absolutely breathtaking! And those tunnels under the waves were fabulous. Thanks so much.

Jeanie Wright
Chesapeake, Va.

Margaret Peele celebrates her 90th birthday

Thank you so much for this beautiful piece honoring Margaret Peele. We were guests in her home and the home of her son, Shankie, and his wife, Donna, many times. Our memories of the Outer Banks definitely include Miss Margaret. Great photos. It’s nice to enjoy someone else's photographic efforts for a change! I am usually the one taking all the photos. This was a blessing.

Dianne and Russell Walker
Kannapolis, N.C.

A small storm causes big trouble

Great coverage on this storm (On Local News Page). We heard nothing about this in Clemmons!

Karen Rogers
Clemmons, N.C.

Island Gardening

Joy, you have made me smile tonight (Island Gardening column on Life and Lifestyles Page.). I visit OBX often, and long for the day to finally move there. I share your black thumb indeed! I could have moved down there by now with just what I've spent on the [blasted] blue hydrangea. I've tried at least one of every varietal. Makes me think sometimes plants will take their own life rather than have me as their keeper. Keep writing and posting pictures! I need to stay connected to that area! And why not plant inside the shoes that don't fit? Or fill the dryers with tomato plants?

Darlene Swift Potter
Waterville, Maine

Thanks for the Island Free Press

Thank you, thank you! We have been spending time in Hatteras every year since 1980, so this feels like a second home to us. The Island Free Press has allowed me to get involved on the beach access issue plus know what is going on in the most wonderful place.

What a delight!

Andrea Reik
Athens, Ohio

December 2008 Letters to the Editor