THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 19, 1996 TAG: 9609190359
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CURRITUCK LENGTH: 56 lines
Jet skiers in the Currituck Sound are making waves with residents in Currituck County.
The increasingly popular water recreational vehicles have particularly angered waterfront residents who enjoy quiet surroundings.
``I've gotten several calls from Bells Island about the Jet Skis,'' said Currituck County Commissioner Paul O'Neal, who said the complaints are mainly about the noise.
Jet Skis can get close to shorelines, unlike motor boats, which can't get close because of shallow water.
In addition to the noise when they are near waterfront properties, the machines' maneuverability also allows them easy access to marshes, thus raising other concerns.
``These Jet Skis can go in very shallow water and are more adaptable, and this causes problems with our waterfowl,'' said Jerry Wright, a former county commissioner who serves on the state's Wildlife Resource Commission, at this week's Currituck County Board of Commissioners meeting.
Tourists appear to be the main culprits, mostly because they are unfamiliar with their surroundings or the effects on waterfowl habitats.
These users do not understand ``acceptable practices'' like locals do, he said.
With the tourist season now extending well into fall, Wright said, more conflicts are possible. One result may be fewer waterfowl passing through, thus reducing the county's reputation as a duck- and goose-hunting mecca.
``They just won't tolerate but so much of people bothering them,'' he said.
The highest waterfowl counts occur between Nov. 10 and Nov. 30, Wright said. The numbers drop off in December and then pick up again in January.
Those months are not usually enticing to Jet Skiers.
But O'Neal noted that wildlife hunters aren't the only ones annoyed by the Jet Skis.
``It can really disrupt a quiet Sunday afternoon by them buzzing by,'' said the commissioner from Church's Island.
Commissioner Ernie Bowden, whose constituents include part of the county's Outer Banks and Knotts Island, agreed that something needs to be done.
He noted that outboard motorists also have run off ducks to make them airborne targets. Others will start up their boats at 4 a.m., scaring nearby resting or feeding birds.
``I certainly have to agree with you that something has to be done about these disturbances,'' Bowden said.
But he advocates education, rather than regulation, to solve the problem.
``How soon do we regulate to the point where someone challenges the system and we discover what we're trying to do was illegal to start with?'' Bowden asked.
Wright and the county's game commission plan to meet this week and discuss the issue.
Currituck and Dare counties are the only two localities in North Carolina that govern their navigable, public waters. The state controls the others. by CNB