Masonboro Island: An Unspoiled Gem 



By C.R. Edgerton 



The wind whips up small white- 

 caps in the tidal waters of Masonboro 

 Sound. 



The small boat pops the water like 

 a fishing lure. 



From his seat on the bow, John 

 Taggert points to a high dune near the 

 north end of Masonboro Island. 



it's the highest point on the 

 island," he says. "You'll be able to see 

 most of the island from there." 



The pilot cuts the engine and the 

 boat drifts to the small beach on the 

 sound side. The anchor holds fast in 

 the smooth sand, and we step ashore - 

 alone on a nine-mile stretch of unin- 

 habited, undeveloped banier island. 



At the top of the small dune, we 

 are amazed at what we see: no beach 

 cottages, no streets, no high-rise condo- 

 miniums, except those across the inlet 

 on neighboring Wrightsville Beach. To 

 the east, the island is black skimmers, 



least terns and dune plants; to the west, 

 it is extensive salt marsh. 



"This is great," says Taggert, who 

 oversees the island as part of the 

 National Estuarine Research Reserve 

 program. "I love coming out here." 



And why not? Unspoiled Mason- 

 boro Island is a dream-come-true for 

 naturalists and others who enjoy 

 coming to the beach without worrying 

 about walking where they aren't 

 wanted. 



The island is one of four Tar Heel 

 estuarine reserves under Taggert's care 

 (the others are Zeke's Island south of 

 Fort Fisher, a small section of Currituck 

 Banks near Corolla, and the Rachel 

 Carson Reserve on Bogue Banks near 

 Beaufort). 



In winter, the island is seldom 

 touched by human feet. 



In warm weather, dozens of small 

 boats line up on the island's soundside 



beaches. Swimmers, sunbathers and 

 beachcombers cut their ties with the 

 overdeveloped mainland and join gulls 

 and terns, skinks and spiders on un- 

 spoiled beaches and wind-kissed dunes. 



To many folks in New Hanover 

 County, Masonboro Island is a rare gem 

 in a costume jewelry store. 



And recent designation as part of 

 the estuarine reserve program guaran- 

 tees an ecologically bright future. 



Taggert explains that Masonboro 

 Island's weaknesses - in terms of its 

 developability - are its major strengths. 

 For example, the island's uplands, those 

 areas that are never under tidal waters, 

 are too nanow for buildings. The rest of 

 the island's 5,000 acres is salt marsh, 

 incapable of supporting development. 



"The people around here love this 

 place," Taggert says. "Even the landown- 

 ers want it preserved as a natural area." 



They do indeed. Hundreds of acres 

 have been ceded to the reserve by 



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