vegetation is destroyed by foot traffic, 

 off-road vehicles or construction, it 

 means more than dead plants. 



When there are no dune grasses or 

 sea oats to anchor the dune's sands, 

 it blows away. Then, there's a hole in 

 the dunes and the defense they offer. 

 It's an open invitation for the ocean 

 to come rushing in during the next 

 big storm. 



To prevent damaging dunes and 

 their vegetation, use wooden walk- 

 ways to access the beach. And don't 

 drive ORVs on the dunes. 



If you would like more informa- 

 tion about building or repairing sand 

 dunes with grasses and sea oats, 

 write Sea Grant for a copy of Build- 

 ing and Stabilizing Coastal Dunes 

 with Vegetation. Ask for UNC- 

 SG-82-05. The cost is $1.50. This 

 booklet was written by Broome, 

 Woodhouse and Seneca. 



Photo by Scott Taylor 



Oh, 



Christmas 

 Tree! 



By Kathy Hart 



Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree 

 How thick are your branches 

 They trap the wind and blowing sand 

 And make the dunes all strong again 

 Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree 

 How thick are your branches 



It was a novel idea. 



Instead of tossing the ol' Christmas 

 tree out by the curb for the garbage 

 men to pick up, why not put it to 

 use — repairing the dunes. 



That was exactly the idea Spencer 

 Rogers had 10 years ago. 



The Fort Fisher State Recreation 

 Area had been flattened by dune- 

 busting off-road vehicles. And the 

 area was a sure bet for increased 

 storm damage. 



The recreation area needed to have 

 its dunes repaired and rebuilt. But 

 that could be an expensive proposi- 

 tion if the state had to use sand fenc- 

 ing or bulldozers. 



Instead, Rogers suggested that they 

 ask folks in New Hanover and Bruns- 

 wick counties to bring their Christ- 

 mas trees to Fort Fisher for some 

 repair work. 



Each year, no matter what the 

 weather, several hundred people and 

 their Christmas trees would show up 

 at Fort Fisher on the first Sunday of 

 the new year. Rogers would lead them 

 out to the beach to help them position 

 and stake their Christmas trees. 



Then Mother Nature would take 

 over. Strong winter winds would 

 blow sand across the beach until it 

 met the branches of one of the trees. 

 There, it would pile up, often as 



much as one to two feet in just a few 

 days. Later, vegetation would spread 

 onto the new dunes and repair 

 would be complete. 



Altogether, Rogers and his volun- 

 teers planted more than 8,000 trees 

 in 10 years. 



The Christmas tree project, run in 

 conjunction with the Fort Fisher 

 Recreation Area and the N.C. Aquar- 

 ium, was so successful that the job is 

 done, Rogers says. 



The dunes have been built back 

 up to a safe, protective height. The 

 state saved $55,000 in expensive sand 

 fencing. And hundreds of volunteers 

 have learned more about the value of 

 our coastal dunes. 



