Management Issues at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, N.C. John Welsh

1. Management Issues at Jockey’s Ridge State Park, N.C. John Welsh

2. Location of the Park Nags Head Outer Banks, N.C. Jockey’s Ridge Cape Hatteras Cape Lookout

3. Park Facts • Medano – large hill of shifting sand that lacks vegetation • Park contains 10.3 million yd3 of sand • Park covers 414 acres • Dune height varies from 110-140 feet • Important tourist attraction: hosts more than 900,000 • tourists each year • Tourist activities: Hang Gliding, Kite Flying, Hiking, etc.

4. Jockey’s Ridge is on the Move • Wind has caused the park to migrate • Direction of wind shifts throughout year • Summer: wind from the SW • Winter and Fall: from the NE Predominant direction of Migration: Park is moving to the SW

5. Management Issues • Development – North of the park has cut off the source of • new sand • Migration of the dune field outside the limits of the Park: • Entrepreneurs hauling away sand for commercial use • Encroachment onto Neighbors’ property • Human impacts: • Recreational activities

6. Management Solutions • Do Nothing – not really a solution • Haul sand away on a regular basis – 50,000 yd3 could be moved • every five years from the S-end and put on the N-end • Vegetate the Dune: • Entire dune field • Southern end of the Park • Sand Fences

7. Problems with Management Options • Hauling Sand away is expensive and would have to be done on a regular basis • Vegetating the dune field would stabilize the system but would • defeat the purpose of having an active dune • Sand fences and old Christmas trees emplaced along S-end of • park have been covered with migrating sand Wright Brothers Memorial in nearby Kill Devil Hills once had a migrating dune.

8. The End