American oystercatcher 



X _-M^asonboro 



Island and North 

 Carolina' s other 

 barrier islands 

 were formed almost 

 5 ,000 years ago 

 about the same time 

 that ancient Egyptians 

 were building the 

 pyramids. Sand and 

 soil were eroded from 

 the land during the 

 end of the last ice 

 age and pushed into 

 island formations as 

 the glaciers melted 

 and sea level rose, 

 says Spencer Rogers, 

 Sea Grant's coastal 

 construction and 

 erosion specialist. 

 When sea level 

 stabilized, the islands 

 completed formation 

 and gradually 

 widened. 



In 1932, the Intracoastal Waterway 

 between Beaufort and the Cape Fear 

 River was finished. Hurricane Hazel blew 

 by in 1954. 



Through 200 years of turmoil, 

 Masonboro Island has serenely watched 

 from a distance — and stayed completely 

 the same. The tides rise and fall, and time 

 passes. 



True, there was the Carolina Inlet cut 

 at the south end in 1952. In the 1960s and 

 70s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

 built northern and southern jetties for 

 Masonboro Inlet. The corps also deposits 

 spoil on the island from the dredging of 

 that and other inlets. And thousands visit 

 the island and leave their footprints. But 

 other than that, and the shifting of the 

 sands, the isle of Masonboro looks a lot 

 like it did back when Richard Mullington 

 first set his eyes on it. 



And that's the way most people want 

 it to remain. 



In 1983, before Masonboro Island 

 was part of the research reserve system, 

 an ad appeared in the Wilmington 

 classifieds announcing the intention of 

 some Masonboro Island landowners to 

 build for the first time. 



"Everyone assumed that no one 

 would be able to do anything with it," 

 says Wilmington attorney Bill Raney. 

 "A number of people who thought 

 Masonboro Island should be left like it is 

 started wondering, 'What happens if 

 they're successful?'" 



So a small group of people, calling 

 themselves the Society for Masonboro 

 Island, joined together to champion this 

 barrier island. They even considered 

 buying the land to keep it undeveloped. 



The society called on Raney to help 

 its members get better organized, and by 

 the second meeting, they formed a 

 nonprofit corporation. Today, the 

 organization has a newsletter, a growing 

 membership and an executive director, 

 Marian T. McPhaul. 



"The society is unique in that it has 

 support from all over," says McPhaul. 



"It's an incredible place," she adds. 

 "You can walk down eight miles of 

 beaches. It's a real taste of isolation." 



Many noticed Masonboro Island's 

 charms. 



"The state had a history of looking at 

 Masonboro Island for acquisition," says 

 Raney. There was talk of preserving it in 



6 MARCH I APRIL 1995 



