THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 4, 1995 TAG: 9503040410
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DEGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: OUTER BANKS LENGTH: Long : 114 lines
Visitor centers at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore won't stay open as late in the evenings. And some National Park Service campgrounds will close early this year.
But by cutting back on hours and shortening seasons, federal rangers said they will be able to offer the Park Service's 2.5 million Outer Banks visitors more attractions this summer than in years past.
``It's getting a little tighter for us every year. As our financial and human resources keep shrinking, we've had to shrink some of our operations in response,'' Park Service spokesman Bob Woody said Friday from his Roanoke Island office.
``We're trying to make up for some of the cuts by shifting our focus, manpower and resources around. We're letting the paperwork slide to focus on things that really impact the visitors,'' said Woody. ``I don't think most of the changes will be obvious. There will be fewer opportunities for educational programs. But people shouldn't notice any difference in the quality of services they receive on our seashore.''
For the first time in at least two years, Park Service rangers plan to open the Frisco campground. The 127-site campground - which sleeps more than 700 people on peak summer weekends - had been closed to cut costs.
Oregon Inlet campground will open April 14, three weeks earlier than it did last year. Campgrounds at Cape Point in Buxton and on Ocracoke Island each will open May 26.
All campgrounds will close Sept. 5, after Labor Day Weekend. In 1994, all National Park Service campgrounds stayed open through mid-October.
``We're moving more to a caretaker status than a maintenance role in order to keep all these campgrounds open,'' Woody said. ``We'll refocus our employees' energies from picking up litter to patrolling the campgrounds. Campgrounds were the one attraction visitors said they wanted most to see open.''
Visitors also asked for guarded beaches - so Park Service officials are trying to accommodate that request, too. Ocracoke and Hatteras Island beaches each will have at least two lifeguards on duty seven days a week this summer. Last year, the 70-mile-long seashore didn't have any guarded beaches.
Park Service officials also are trying to open a guarded area at Coquina Beach, just south of Whalebone Junction on Pea Island. ``We've requested help from the Dare County Tourist Bureau and the town of Nags Head to jointly fund a single lifeguard stand at Coquina Beach for the first time this summer. We haven't heard back to firm things up yet. But we're hoping to share the costs of the stand, guard, parking area and restrooms,'' Woody said.
Last month, workers completed an $85,000 renovation of the five National Park Service visitor centers on the Outer Banks. The federally funded project allowed rangers to replace, repair and update exhibits and displays in time for summer vacationers. New exhibits were added at Bodie Island, the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills and at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site on Roanoke Island.
Visitor centers traditionally have been staffed by National Park Service rangers and remained open from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. This year, rangers won't be stationed at every visitor center. Most centers will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
``In the mid-1970s, we had 15 to 20 Park Service people stationed at Bodie Island Visitor Center full time. In 1993, we had one full-time ranger and a seasonal employee at that site,'' Woody said. ``Last year, there was one full-time ranger on duty there three days a week. This year, we won't have any.''
``Our costs and needs have gone up every year,'' said Leann Cauthen, chief administrator for the National Park Service's Outer Banks attractions. ``Our budget isn't really keeping up with inflation and cost of living increases.''
The 1995 fiscal year budget for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site is $4.9 million. Last year, the budget was $4.7 million. Increased expenses, however, mean that Park Service officials will not be able to hire as many seasonal employees this year as they have in past summers.
``We've already left some permanent positions unfilled so that we can get more part-time summer rangers in here,'' Cauthen said Friday.
``We'll probably lose two or three of our 121 full-time funded positions. That could mean losing as many as 10 part-time summer people.
``But by moving them - and their duties - around, we really should be able to lessen the impact these cutbacks will have on the public.'' MEMO: CAPE HATTERAS NATIONAL SEASHORE
This summer, the National Park Service plans to alter the dates and
hours for some of its campgrounds and attractions on North Carolina's
Outer Banks.
Oregon Inlet campground will open April 14.
Cape Point, Ocracoke Island and Frisco campgrounds will open May 26.
All campgrounds are scheduled to close Sept. 5.
Visitor Centers at Bodie Island and Ocracoke Island will be open from
9 a.m. until 5 p.m., but with no rangers on staff. Employees with the
nonprofit Eastern National Parks and Monuments Association, which runs
the Park Service bookstores and gift shops, have agreed to man the
visitor centers.
Most of the Park Service's free educational and interpretive programs
will be held at the Buxton ranger station near the Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse.
Visitor Centers at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and the Wright Brothers
Memorial will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The Fort Raleigh National Historic Site visitor center will be open
from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m. daily, except for Saturdays, when it will close
at 6 p.m. There will be two rangers on duty, and volunteers from the
Roanoke Island Historical Association will staff the visitor center in
the early morning hours.
Employees at all five visitor centers - including non-Park Service
workers - will be trained to answer questions and provide information
about their sites.
Lifeguards will be stationed at stands on Ocracoke and Hatteras
islands this summer.
For more information about the Cape Hatteras National Seashore - or
any National Park Service offerings on North Carolina's Outer Banks,
call (919) 473-2111.
by CNB