conservation-minded landowners. 

 Others aren't quibbling with the reserve 

 designation, happily signing over their 

 property to the federal government for a 

 fair price. 



"We still have some landowners 

 who are holding out and some we 

 haven't contacted about purchasing their 

 land," Taggert says. "But I believe all of 

 them will come around." 



Taggert steps down the beach side 

 of the dune. His feet sink into the warm 

 sand, sliding past the hungry thorns of a 

 prickly pear. He points to a flattened 

 hollow between the larger dune line 

 and a smaller dune toward the beach. 



"Look here," he says. "Signs of 

 campers. The burned sticks, shells piled 

 up. Someone gathered them and just left 

 them there." 



Camping is only one of the tradi- 

 tional uses of Masonboro Island. 

 Though it's accessible only by boat, 

 mainlanders visit the island frequently in 

 warmer months, using its resources for 

 typical beach activities. 



They leave hundreds of footprints 

 in the island's ecologically-sensitive 

 sands. But that doesn't worry Taggert. 



"People have been using the island 

 for many decades, even before Carolina 

 Inlet was cut to the south and while it 

 was just an extension of Carolina 

 Beach," he says. "And, while litter 

 sometimes becomes a problem in the 

 summer, we don't think the island is 

 being abused." 



"I love coming out to Masonboro, 

 and it's always hard for me to leave. 

 It's one of my favorite places to be. " 

 —John Taggert 



He says he'd like to see someone 

 survey the island's users. "That would 

 give us some idea of whether or not 

 we should regulate some uses," he 

 says. "Still, you can just look around 

 and see that things are pretty much in 

 their natural state." 



Perhaps that's why people aren't 

 the only users of the island. Because of 

 its extensive undisturbed beach, logger- 

 head turtles depend on the island as a 

 prime nesting site. Turtle eggs laid at 

 Wrightsville and Carolina are some- 

 times transferred from those busier 

 beaches to the safer sands of 

 Masonboro. 



"The people who use the island 

 are proud of the turtle sites and protect 

 them well," Taggert says. 



Other significant fauna that have 

 found safe refuge on Masonboro 

 include the threatened piping plover 

 and the endangered peregrine falcon. 

 The falcon uses the island as a stopover 

 on its annual migratory routes. 



"These are the things that make 

 Masonboro Island valuable not only to 

 the average person, but to researchers 

 and scientists as well," Taggert says. 



He gives much credit for the 

 island's preservation to a wide-ranging 

 grassroots movement and "solid local 

 legislative support," including efforts by 

 the members of the Society for 

 Masonboro Island. 



"These people have been instru- 

 mental." he says. "You can tell they 

 really love their island. It makes me feel 

 good about the future of this place." 



Back at the sound, we step lightly 

 into the small aluminum skiff. A rope is 

 pulled and the motor churns. As the 

 boat cuts the water toward the ramp at 

 Harbor Island, we watch Masonboro 

 Island hide behind the high-rise condos 

 on Wrightsville and the tall-masted 

 pleasure yachts lining Banks Channel. 



"This is the part I always hate," 

 Taggert says, catching a last glimpse of 

 the island reserve. "I love coming out 

 to Masonboro, and it's always hard for 

 me to leave. It's one of my favorite 

 places to be ''• 



Photo by C R. Edeerton 



