The National Park Service has introduced a new volunteer “beach watch” program for the 2009 summer season.
Park officials say the program’s goal is to prevent incidents of
vandalism, crime, and damage to park resources and property and to
ensure the Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a safe place for the
visiting public.
The program is intended to assist the Park Service in monitoring
inappropriate or illegal activities at Cape Hatteras National Seashore
and extend the educational components of good stewardship practices of
the park’s natural resources. Volunteers are needed and
will be trained to assist the NPS in assuring compliance with beach
resource closures, monitoring areas of concern experiencing crowded
conditions, and helping ensure a safe visit for park visitors.
The idea for the program began when community leaders, concerned park
user groups, and park staff began discussing ways to prevent vandalism
and unauthorized entry into resource closures, which leads to closures
expansions.
The park is interested in recruiting a group of volunteers from the
surrounding communities who spend time on the beach. The program
will also ask the visiting public to report inappropriate
activities. To learn more about this new program and volunteer
time to help protect the resources, call Ocracoke Park Ranger Bill
Caswell at 252-928-5111, ext. 26.
