of a lot that can be altered adjacent 

 to the Theodore Roosevelt Natural 

 Area to 25 percent. Farther south, in 

 Brunswick County, Bald Head Is- 

 land passed vegetation protection 

 ordinances. 



But above all, the 

 working group urged 

 the state and nonprofit 

 conservation groups to 

 buy the remaining qual- 

 ity tracts. It recom- 

 mended a general AEC 

 designation for mari- 

 time forests as a last 

 resort if these lands 

 couldn't be adequately 

 protected. 



Nine maritime for- 

 ests were ranked by the 

 panel as the state's top 

 priorities: Kitty Hawk 

 Woods, Nags Head 

 Woods, Buxton Woods, 

 Theodore Roosevelt 

 Natural Area, Emerald Isle Woods, 

 Huggins Island, Bluff Island, 

 Middle Island and Bald Head 

 Woods. Emerald Isle Woods was 

 eventually dropped. The sites were 

 nominated for AEC designation by 

 several environmental groups but 

 dismissed by the CRC in favor of 

 other options cited by the working 

 group. 



And so continues the struggle 

 between conservationists and regu- 

 lators over how best to protect valu- 

 able natural areas. But it's a struggle 

 that has spawned some successes, 

 Lopazanski says. Today, nearly 

 3,300 of the 5,000 acres in these 

 high-priority sites are managed as 

 natural areas for conservation. More 

 than 95 percent of the remaining 

 1,700 acres is subject to strict local 

 protection ordinances. 



Weakley offers mixed reviews 

 of recent efforts to save the remain- 

 ing maritime forests. Since the 1988 

 inventory, four Bogue Banks sites 



have been lost; on the other hand, 

 significant tracts have been saved. 



"Over the last several years, 

 there have been notable victories and 

 notable losses," he says. "Every year, 

 a few more acres of maritime forest 



Lundie Spence 



The shrubs tilt landward. 



Trees reach and twist 

 for inland shelter, all the while 

 changing size, shape and 



species as they retreat 

 from the water and wind. 



Closest to the water, 



stumpy shrub thickets 

 take root. They fade into 

 high-canopied maritime 

 woods and wetland scrubs 

 farther inland. 



are assured protection. But also ev- 

 ery year, there are fewer acres of 

 maritime forest remaining. This 

 threatened ecosystem is still declin- 

 ing in North Carolina, but at least 

 we're making progress in protecting 

 a few of the most important rem- 

 nants." 



Future gains, however, may be 

 modest since the financial means for 

 purchasing the tracts are limited. 



Market forces are a major determinant 

 in what can be done. Maritime forest 

 land is some of the most expensive 

 in the state, though prices vary by 

 location. 



The state is actively pursuing the 

 path of acquisition that 

 was suggested by the 

 working group, espe- 

 cially in Buxton Woods, 

 Bald Head Woods and 

 Kitty Hawk Woods, 

 Lopazanski says. The 

 unfolding phase-two pur- 

 chase in Bald Head 

 Woods wraps up three 

 years of work by the 

 CRC, DCM and local 

 and private groups. 



Miller, however, 

 predicts that the conser- 

 vation effort will eventu- 

 ally nam away from the 

 barrier island maritime 

 forests and focus on bur- 

 geoning development along the estuar- 

 ies, sounds and bays. The effort to 

 save the maritime forest ecosystems 

 began too late, he says. As a result, 

 the best that can be hoped for most 

 sites is to preserve the appearance of 

 the forest. 



But the lesson can be applied to 

 other ecosystems that are in danger of 

 encroachment. And the hard question 

 then is how to allocate the money. 



"The costs will have to be 

 weighed: $10 million for 100,000 

 acres of wetland versus $4 million for 

 several hundred acres of maritime for- 

 est," Miller says. E 



Information about maritime forest 

 types was provided by the N.C. Natu- 

 ral Heritage Program. Other helpful 

 sources of information were An As- 

 sessment of Maritime Forest Re- 

 sources on the North Carolina Coast 

 and Final Report of the Maritime For- 

 est Working Group, both Division of 

 Coastal Management publications. 



8 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 1993 



