While we out for lunch yesterday at Darrell's in Manteo, the restaurant was filled with locals and the bits and snatches of conversations we heard were quite interesting. Many were local fisherman, both commercial fisherman who sell to restaurants and wholesalers, and charter boat captains, who depend on tourist business for their living. Most of what we heard was that the Inlet is filling up very fast, and apparently no efforts are being made right now to dredge it. The common complaint was that all this massive effort to protect property on the S. Nags Head beaches by dumping sand on those beaches over the last few weeks, has directly impacted the Inlet, because now all that sand is no longer on the beach, but washed south into Oregon Inlet. Apparently also the Park Service is bulking at allowing dredge pipes on its property to transport the sand back onto the beach where it's needed. In the recent commissioner's meeting during the public comment section, Mikey Daniels appeared to represent the fisherman to ask the commissioners' help in resolving the issues concerning the Inlet.
I haven't been into the Inlet in a boat in several years, since fishing is not my thing. I am interested in hearing any comments from anyone out there reading this who does have first hand knowledge of the condition of the inlet from "the wet side". Also any information on efforts to get the dredging back on track.
10 comments:
Not being an engineer I was just courious. Where is the sand coming from that they are using to "build up" the beaches? Couldn't they use the sand that they would get from a dredging operation to replenish the beach. Seems to me you have to put the dredge material somewhere. Why not the beach? Just wondering.
Steve.
Hey Rick. Do you know anything about the Park Service not allowing the dredge pipes to run across their land?
I think the idea was to pump the spoils back up the beach onto S. Nags Head, but the park land in between the two was the stumbling block.
Outer Banks Native
Oops! I inadvertantly posted my comment about Oregon Inlet under the Commissioners/beach easements. So here it is again:
Interesting to read what you overheard at Darrell's, Kim! I myself have speculated that all that hauled-in Currituck sand would eventually migrate down and fill up Oregon Inlet!!! Good heavens! I never thought it would be so noticeable so SOON! Well, now the "powers that be" have some awful choices to make, don't they?
Petie
I truly doubt that the small amount of sand that was trucked into South Nags Head in the spring of 2004 is impacting the inlet in such a way as the writer/folks at Darrell's are saying. The inlet has had issues for years!
From Capt.Skid, When you have to deal with "the powers that be" it`s like dealing with the VMRC in Va. A damn building has to fall on them before you get their attention! When the inlet fills in and completely shuts down one of the main sources of economic income for Nags Head area, they will simply say they didn`t realize how bad things were!!!!!
Sorry to sign in as anonymous, A nags header here. The NPS is so full of tree huggers and do gooders more concerned with keeping the taxpayers out of the parks and savoring them for their own personal enjoyment. Think about it who gets to go anywhere they want on the park service land? They corral us up and then fuss and complain that we have no business stepping foot on the land. We the People that pay for them to wear those green uniforms. The outer banks is about beaches fishing and family fun. They don't want us on the beaches and they want to tax us to wet a line and when the goverment takes away those to things from us the tourist will leave as well. The amazing cash cow of NC will be lost to greedy hands in goverment.
I am often at wonder as to who they really represent , themselves it seems to me more than those of us voting them to power. It is becoming the needs of the few outweigh the needs of them many, what path are we on and where is it taking us?
I don't think its accurate at this point to say that the Park Service is holding Oregon Inlet sand away from the nourishment wantabee's in Nags Head. Fact is, Nags Head is finding out, (1) the grain size of the inlet dredge sand may not be compatible for the south beaches, and (2) more importantly, it will cost more to pipeline the sand all the way from the inlet to the northern and southern N.H. beaches than it will to have it brought in from one of the borrow sites off shore. For this reason, there is a slim chance that Nags Head will end up garnering the inlet sand whether the park service agrees or not.
This is a serious problem with no permanent solution. Oregon Inlet has been drifting south ever since it opened but has been stopped by the groin that was built a few years ago to protect the south end of the bridge. The littoral drift of sand continues however and it piles up in the inlet. There is no way to get rid of it except by constant dredging from now until the end of time at a cost of many millions of dollars, no matter where it is deposited. The rapid shoaling of recent weeks is much more likely due to the northeasters than it is to any sand that has been dumped on the beaches of South Nags Head.
I'll be AnonymousOBXer
Shame on 'Anonymous Nags Header' who's blasting the Park Service. First of all if it wasn't for those tree huggers and do gooders there would be no Cape Hatteras National Park Service. That said, he should write his Congressional representatives and tell them to fund the NPS, not just here but all our parks all over America. It's rather hard to open all the camping areas and keep things running and safe when there is no funding for personnel and services. The Park Service has received less and less funding each year.
As to Oregon Inlet's problems,I seriously doubt that the fill on the S. Nags Head beach has washed all the way down to Oregon Inlet. Maybe it's possible but I don't think normal wave action works quite that way or that quickly.
Capt Jack, I've got that "wet side" information you're looking for. The CG put 3 buoys out there on Monday the 14th. One just east of the bridge to steer the mariners from a new shoal and 3 on the outside. There is a buoy 4A marking the southern tip of the shoal that extends from the north, just west of buoys 3 & 4. This is the shoal that has cut off the channel. There is also a buoy 5 just east of buoy 7. Right now there in not a channel at the entrance of Oregon Inlet but rather a slough. Once you get past buoys 6 & 7 you have to take a sharp turn right to a southeasterly course to stay in good water. If you and your readers look to the Army Corp of Engineers Wilmington office web site they can surveys that show what I'm describing and should be quite helpfull toward their safe navigation. As for the plans to dredge Oregon Inlet, the ACOE is planning on dredging the Oregon Inlet bar this March, just weeks away. Where that sand will be pumped????? I hope this information helps someone.
Post a Comment