DATE: Tuesday, July 22, 1997                TAG: 9707220102

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B4   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: BUXTON                            LENGTH:   27 lines

PANEL VOTES TO STUDY LIGHTHOUSE MOVE

A Senate panel has approved money to study moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, but an opponent of the plan said Monday the funds could be used for more practical and immediate protection.

The 127-year-old lighthouse - distinctive for its diagonal black-and-white stripes - is the tallest in North America. Over the years, the beach eroded so that the structure is about 120 feet from the sea.

The Interior Subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee approved $2 million, and the full appropriations committee is scheduled to vote on it today, said Sean Callinicos, an aide to Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-N.C.

Faircloth is a member of the committee, which also approved $1.2 million to conserve forested wilderness near Lake Jocassee in western North Carolina. The bill also includes $3 million for the Appalachian Trail, which runs through North Carolina, and the Chatooga River watershed, also partially in the state.

Moving the lighthouse a half-mile is estimated to cost $12 million and could be done in 1999. KEYWORDS: CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu