Tricolored hewn 



As an estuarine reserve, the island 

 fulfills two purposes. It provides 

 undeveloped sites for both exploration 

 by naturalists and for research by 

 scientists. And it acts as a standard — a 

 standard by which we can measure how 

 development is affecting other barrier 

 islands. 



Estuarine areas such as Masonboro 

 Sound are valuable coastal commodi- 

 ties. Estuaries, 

 shallow earthen 

 bowls where salt 

 water and fresh 

 water mix, play a 

 special part in 

 coastal pro- 

 cesses. The low, 

 salt marsh 

 grasses of an 

 estuarine 

 community are 

 home to many 

 types of plants 

 and animals that 

 die and decom- 

 pose, leaving an 

 area rich in 

 nutrients. These 

 nutrients feed a 

 food chain that is 

 the basis for 

 almost all coastal 

 life. In fact, most 

 of Masonboro 

 Island — 87 

 percent — is 

 classified as 

 marsh. 



Masonboro 

 Island and its 

 marshes are one 

 link in a chain of 

 barrier islands on 

 the coast of 

 North Carolina. 

 But Masonboro has some differences 

 that set it apart from the others. First, 

 most of the fresh water that filters into 

 its sound washes off the nearby 

 mainland instead of flowing from rivers. 

 Second, the island has remained 

 completely uninhabited and undevel- 

 oped throughout centuries of change. 

 Masonboro Island is flanked by its 



two citified New Hanover County 

 neighbors: Wrightsville Beach to the 

 north and Carolina Beach to the south. 

 These are two of the most visited beaches 

 along the Tar Heel coast, and they only 

 continue to grow — hotels and homes, 

 bars and hot dog stands, roads, shops and 

 restaurants. 



Like Wrightsville Beach, 

 Masonboro Island is lapped on one side 

 by brackish waters of the Intracoastal 

 Waterway and pounded by the Atlantic 

 Ocean on the other. Unlike Wrightsville, 

 Masonboro has no houses, no hotels, no 

 beachwalks, no asphalt. It is only 

 accessible by boat. 



TVT 



sonboro 

 Island can be 

 reached only by boat. 

 To launch a boat, 

 use one of several 

 public boat ramps at 

 Wrightsville and 

 C arol ina be ache s . 

 A quick ride will land 

 you on the sandy 

 beaches along the 

 north or south ends 

 of the island. 



Only a small part of Masonboro 

 Island's 8.4 miles is uplands, or lands 

 that are never underwater or touched 

 by overwash. These uplands are too 

 narrow for development. What's more, 

 Masonboro Island falls within the 

 Undeveloped Barrier Islands System 

 established by the Federal Coastal 

 Barrier Resources Act of 1982. 



Under this act, the island can't 

 receive federal funds for public improve- 

 ments or development. This means no 

 water, sewer or roads. Masonboro Island 

 properties can't get federal flood 

 insurance either. 



From that standpoint, it seems 

 Masonboro has little to offer — no 

 swimming pools or air-conditioned hotel 

 rooms. There's not even one tourist shop 

 that sells painted shell magnets or 



4 MARCH/APRIL 



1995 



