THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 1996 TAG: 9603200473
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
After a year's absence, National Park Service rangers will return to Bodie and Ocracoke Islands to enlighten the 2.5 million visitors who flock to the barrier islands each summer.
But while the return of the broad-brimmed hats to the island may be seen as a sign of improving financial health for the cash-strapped Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Superintendent Russell Berry said problems remain.
``It's like a person who is terminally ill with leukemia who looks healthy,'' Berry said. ``The illness is still there. That's where we are now.''
The agency, like virtually every other government entity, is suffering from a perplexing malady: How to provide basic services with fewer resources.
In the last 15 months, the 30,000-acre Cape Hatteras National Seashore has lost 17 positions, mostly through retirement and transfers, as part of a downsizing effort. For the last four years, Berry said, the park's budget has remained unchanged, at about $5.1 million annually, with no increases to offset a 10-percent increase in employee salaries.
With the nation's politicians wrangling over the budget, there are no prospects for more money
``We haven't had a budget and we're not going to have a budget, so as a result we're working with what we've had the last four years,'' Berry said.
In many ways, the park is like a young couple, struggling to scrimp and save every dime.
``We sat down on a Wednesday, and were looking at the budget, and decided that we could only pay employees salaries and our electric bill,'' Berry said. ``Even at that, we were $100,000 short.''
For this year, however, Hatteras got a reprieve.
``A part-time employee at the Lincoln Memorial died last year, without any benefits,'' Berry said. ``In light of that, Congress appropriated $160,000 to each of the parks to convert those employees from temporary to permanent. We haven't had temporary employees for quite some time. But that money means we'll be able to open the campgrounds and to keep the park open this year.''
Berry said he made a commitment to improving interpretive services at the parks even before his arrival at Cape Hatteras in December 1994.
``I got some travel guides and found out that at Bodie Island and on Ocracoke, people were going to have to check with the park concerning the availability of interpreters and guided walks,'' Berry said. ``After I arrived, my family and I were having lunch on Ocracoke. There was a family with two boys who were doing all the right things. They had the park service newspaper, and found out that there weren't any guided walks available on Ocracoke. They had to take the ferry back to Hatteras.''
Berry said the rangers' presence will enhance the park experience.
``We need to provide as much value as we can to our visitors,'' Berry said. ``The park is in its third generation in terms of the visitors we now have. I remember when I was 8 years old, we visited Ocracoke. The rangers really made the visit special.''
Along with the federal money, the seashore got a boost from the Ocracoke Civic Association. A $3,000 contribution by the group means the Ocracoke campground will open April 5, seven weeks earlier than originally planned.
The service will also provide life guard service on Ocracoke beaches, beginning with the Memorial Day weekend. Berry said the park service is currently negotiating with the Town of Nags Head to provide lifeguard service at Coquina Beach on Bodie Island.
But while the park's finances seem secure for this year, 1997 will be another year for battling the budget bugaboo.
``I'm worried about 1997,'' Berry said. ``We're going to put out a prospectus concerning turning over the park to private concessionaires. If I could keep the money we generate here and do that, I believe we can turn a profit. But that money has to go back to Washington. It's just a continuing struggle.''
The Cape Hatteras Group of parks includes the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. ILLUSTRATION: CAMPGROUND OPENINGS
Here are opening dates for campgrounds in the Cape Hatteras National
Seashore. For more information, call (919) 473-2111.
Oregon Inlet Campground: April 5; Ocracoke Campground: April 5; Cape
Point Campground: May 24; Frisco Campground: May 24.; The Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse: April 5, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. On Memorial
Day weekend, times will be adjusted according to the number of
available volunteers.
The Wright Brothers National Memorial, Fort Raleigh and the Hatteras
Island Visitors Center in Buxton are open year-round.
Summer schedules for the Cape Hatteras group will be available in
the park service's publication ``In the Park'' before Memorial Day.
Lifeguarded beaches at Coquina, Bodie Island and Ocracoke are
scheduled to open Memorial Day weekend.
by CNB