DATE: Thursday, May 1, 1997                 TAG: 9705010503

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS                  LENGTH:   81 lines

OUTER BANKS ASSESSES ITS ENVIRONMENT A TWO-DAY CONFERENCE PRODUCED NUMEROUS IDEAS AND SUGGESTIONS.

After shivering through tours from Corolla to Ocracoke in bone-chilling rain the day before, participants at the State of Environment conference presented an impressive summation Wednesday of the environmental challenges facing the Outer Banks.

The wrap-up presentation was the result of a full day of brainstorming sessions held indoors while the sun gleamed outside. About 160 people attended at least a portion of the two-day conference.

``I always heard, `If you can't make it better, make it bigger,''' said Ralph Buxton, who moderated the Outer Banks Community Foundation-sponsored conference's final presentation at the Ramada Inn. ``But I think that's become a less and less valuable approach to take on the Outer Banks. We have to pick our shots and do things more pointed. We really have to pick the direction we want to go.

``Doing studies and spending money is not necessarily going to solve the problems. A lot depends on your own personal initiative.''

Five groups each focused on one issue: water quality, water quantity, natural and cultural resources, environmental education and planning and growth. Tuesday participants toured sites pertinent to each issue, from the Currituck Beach Lighthouse for the history group to Jockey's Ridge for the education group to the Ocracoke Reverse Osmosis Plant for the water quality group.

Grappling with the myriad dynamics that will determine the future face of the Outer Banks, participants hashed out current problems, goals and objectives, and future options and recommendations.

Conclusions included:

Planning and growth - The economic and environmental climate of the Outer Banks is threatened by a lack of economic diversity and incompatible growth, which puts pressure on the character of the community. The strengths of the area - beauty, culture, history and recreation - can be preserved with a land-use management plan and pursuit of the production of goods and services that will fill the needs of the community while conserving the environment.

The planning group recommended that non-tourist, low-impact businesses and products be identified and that an architectural review process be established to promote a community identity. It also wanted assurance that development maintain its low-density character, and that beach nourishment would be encouraged.

Water quantity - An adequate, safe and affordable public water supply is ensured until 2004 in Dare County. Currituck County, however, faces degradation of the water supply for the projected population because of unprecedented growth and poor planning. Unlike Dare, Currituck lacks a deep aquifer suitable for reverse osmosis processing on a county-wide scale.

The group recommended conducting a hydogeological study of the area; establishing a regional cooperative to oversee water issues; organizing citizen education on water issues; and promoting water conservation.

Water quality - Unlike the quantity of water, the quality of water is a state-wide challenge.

The public needs to understand the problems related to the safety and appeal of their water, and to recognize its sources and its limitations. The group recommended that the public should be educated about ecosystems and the importance of water quality on a state basis; point and non-point discharges into water systems should be reduced; and existing water regulations must be improved.

Natural and cultural resources - Although the Outer Banks is extraordinarily rich in history and natural beauty, no comprehensive inventory of the area's natural and cultural resources exists. Marshes and estaurine areas should be identified.

Diverse cultural expressions of the area, like the boat building businesses and the barrier dune systems, are important facets of life on the barrier islands. Vital oral histories must be recorded before the older generations die.

The resources group recommended that attention be given to maintenance of the natural habitats of indigenous animals; a maritime history must be organized in an accessible manner; and a regional partnership should be established to preserve its cultural and natural assets.

Environmental education - There's plenty of resources for education about the environment on the Outer Banks, but they need to be coordinated.

Numerous agencies have developed programs, but awareness of them is hit and miss.

The education group recommended that an outreach coordinator position be created to pull together education information. In the meantime, promotional campaigns about environmental education should developed and implemented.

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