Cape Hatteras is noted for its high quality beach-oriented recreation. The park’s signature feature, the picturesque Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, is one of the world’s tallest brick lighthouses (208 feet). Since then, it has become a major tourist attraction, attracting about 3.1 million visitors a year. Although authorized in 1937 as America’s first national seashore, Cape Hatteras was not actually established until 1953. Fish and Wildlife Service oversees the 5,915-acre Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge within the park’s borders. Situated in the scenic Outer Banks region of North Carolina, Cape Hatteras National Seashore protects a windswept 70-mile stretch of the Outer Banks coastline that encompasses unspoiled beaches, huge sand dunes, wild horses, coastal marshes that are vital for migratory waterfowl, important historic sites and structures, picturesque Ocracoke Village, and many other interesting natural and cultural attractions. Here’s a rundown of our national seashores, courtesy of Dr. Disputes over personal watercraft and ATVs are just two of the most visible these days. Of course, over the years these seashores have been centers of controversy as user groups squabbled over what is appropriate for a national seashore. Priorities were established, and this led to efforts in the 1960s and 1970s that brought the national seashore total to ten.”Īlong with Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras, those national seashores include Cape Lookout, Point Reyes, Assateague Island, Canaveral, Cumberland Island, Fire Island, Gulf Islands, and Padre Island. “Private use was growing rapidly, and it was becoming much more costly to acquire land. “A second seashore study in 1955 urged prompt action to protect beaches,” says the professor, who teaches an online course on national parks through the University of South Carolina’s Independent Learning division. This study led to the creation of Cape Hatteras National Seashore in 1937, he adds. The park system’s expansion to the surf dates to the 1930s, when, as part of a New Deal effort to better utilize our country’s natural resources, a study pointed to seacoast beaches as being suitable for the public’s use, notes Dr. But what mattered more than that realization was that the national seashore existed and protected a long swath of the Cape from development and for the general public’s enjoyment. Lobster feasts, game-fishing, and whale watching were added benefits, as were exploring the seashore’s lighthouses, roaming its dunes, and looking for sea creatures in its mudflats.ĭid the boys realize that their frolicking largely was within the boundaries of Cape Cod National Seashore? Probably not. My parents had retired to the Cape, and our boys loved romping in the surf and building castles in the sand. Oil Trains Pose A Significant Threat To National Parksįor years, summer trips to Cape Cod were an annual ritual for my family.The Care And Keeping Of History Within The National Park System.Wastewater And Sewer Facilities Failing In National Parks.Private Philanthropy Fills The Gaps Of Deferred Maintenance.National Park Roads And Bridges Impacted By Lack Of Maintenance.NPS Is Running $670 Million Behind On Caring For Maintained Landscapes.Mixing Energy Development And National Parks.Maintenance Backlog Impacts Historic Structures In National Parks.Lack Of Dollars Crippling National Park Facilities For Staff And Visitors.Invasive Species A Plague On the National Park System.Groups Continually At Work To Acquire Private Lands Key To National Parks.Backlog Of Maintenance Needs Creates Risks In National Parks.Tackling The Maintenance Backlog In The Park System.Coping With 21st Century Wildfires In The Parks.Mixing Oil And Water At Big Cypress National Preserve.Not Enough Water And Too Many Invasives At Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.Colorado River Series-Canyonlands National Park.Special Reports Toggle submenu for Special Reports.Understanding Climate Change Impacts On National Parks.Get the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks.
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