December 2004 The Shoreline Page 11
Land Use Planning Meeting
By Yvette Bannen
Dale Holland, planning consultant,
conducted a meeting Thursday, Nov.
11, at the Ramada. The current Land
Use Plan has been in effect since 1996
and it is being rewritten to be more
comprehensive and to address areas of
environmental concern.
Holland emphasized that participa
tion is important so that significant is
sues will go into the document. Meet
ings will be held at 10 a.m. on the fourth
Tuesday of the month and they will be
advertised and will be open to the pub
lic. The next meeting will be Nov. 23.
Even though there was only a small
crowd, everyone was encouraged to
voice their ideas about issues that need
to be addressed. These were written on
a large chart and, afterwards, everyone
was invited to vote on the top ten con
cerns.
There was a lot of mulling over the
various topics. The item that received
the most votes was for maintaining
strict residential zoning restrictions.
The next priority was development of an
in-door recreational facility for seniors.
Then there was a four-way tie for mainte
nance and upkeep of the canal; solution to
problems involved with the water system
(purchase and/or improvements); phasing in
underground utilities and a long-term (20-30
years) plan for beach renourishment.
Next was preservation of the maritime
forest.
Maintaining housing standards and ad
dressing storm-water management issues
were also tied.
There also was a three-way tie for identi
fying strategies for use and preservation of
the Roosevelt natural area; determine a proper
use for the Roosevelt tract (10 acres) that
will be given to the Town; and, addressing
traffic problems along Highway 58.
Other issues garnered fewer votes, but
with a different group of people voting,
might have risen to more importance. It is a
chance for townspeople to think ahead, if not
for us, then for the next generation.
Turtle Time
By Peggy & Gene Sagmiller
Nest #5, the last nest of the 2004 season
in Pine Knoll Shores, boiled in the pre
dawn hours of Oct. 13, 68 days after hav
ing been laid. Once again, no one wit
nessed the hatching event. At the 8 a.m.
nest check, many small tracks were seen
headed down the runway, where they van
ished on the wet sand left by high tide.
Unfortunately, the runway was also criss
crossed by the tracks of many ghost crabs,
a loose dog, and a feral cat. Three days
before the hatch, the feral cat was seen by
our “sitters,” hunting for ghost crabs near
the nest. There is no way to tell if any
hatchlings were taken.
Due to impending bad weather and the
abundance of predator tracks, we decided
to excavate the nest as soon as possible.
The nest excavation was performed on the
evening of Oct. 13 by Victor Filan and
Dorothy Steenland. In the nest were found
96 empty shells and 14 unhatched eggs.
The emergence success was 87 percent.
So ends this disappointing sea turtle sea
son in Pine Knoll Shores, as well as the rest
of the East Coast. Out of just five nests laid
on our beaches this summer, only two
resulted in a healthy hatch. Two nests were
washed away by hurricanes. One was in
undated close to hatching, resulting in a
drowned nest with only three known survi
vors. One very weak survivor made it into
the ocean with the aid of volunteers.
Pine Knoll Shores’ 2004 contribution to
the Loggerhead Sea Turtle population was
just 222 hatchlings. We hope the 2005
season will be much better!
We would like to thank all of our won
derful volunteers for your patience with
the wind, rain, and hurricanes this year.
We wouldn’t have a program without you.
Although we had a meager season, your
dedication and willingness to walk and sit
in adverse conditions was awesome! Thank
you all so very much for your time. We
hope to see you next spring, when turtle
season begins on our renourished beach!
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