THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 25, 1996 TAG: 9601250410
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Medium: 59 lines
In the latest attempt to stabilize the sand, an orange fence stretches across the main dune at Jockey's Ridge State Park.
The fence will be there all winter, when northeast winds are fierce, park superintendent George Barnes said Wednesday.
Hunkered behind the top of the park's main ridge, the 150 feet of plastic fencing was installed about two weeks ago to discourage sand drift toward the southwest, a problem that has stumped park officials for years.
``We just want to see if it would slow it some,'' Barnes said.
Previous attempts to control the relentless movement of the East Coast's highest natural sand dune have left Mother Nature with the last laugh. Since the park opened in 1975, sand has buried a house, a miniature golf course and a town fire hydrant.
A favorite of hang gliders and kite flyers, Jockey's Ridge - currently 87 feet high and 1 1/2 miles long - has lost about 20 feet in elevation in the past 20 years.
Although a state parks department official said at a recent conference on the park that fencing does little to stabilize the dune, Barnes said it can, at least temporarily, restrain the movement of several tons of sand.
``In the big picture, the sand fencing is ineffective,'' he said, ``but in the short term, it's not. It helps - it doesn't stop it, but it helps.''
The fence, which looks similar to the tailgate webbing used on some pickup trucks, is safer and cheaper than wood, Barnes said. This is the first time the park has tried it, and Barnes said he's been happy with the results so far.
``This wooden stuff, it breaks up and it's dangerous,'' he said.
Establishment of a future plan for Jockey's Ridge is dependent on finding money to do the necessary research, said Marshall Ellis, a resource management specialist for the state parks department.
Ellis said a team of ecologists, engineers and geologists that attended the symposium is expected within the next few months to submit research proposals, including expected costs and details on how the problems will be addressed. At that point, he said, the parks department will likely ask the General Assembly for the funds.
He also said he hopes to hold a follow-up conference next year. ``Then we can start talking about serious long-term management goals,'' Ellis said.
In the meantime, the dune experts say, Jockey's Ridge will stay put, sort of. ``They feel the dune is not in any kind of dire condition right now,'' Ellis said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Park officials hope that a plastic sand fence will slow erosion of
the Jockey's Ridge dune during the winter months. Previous attempts
to control the relentless movement of the East Coast's highest
natural sand dune haven't been successful.
by CNB