Tuesday, April 20, 2004
2004-04-17 & 18, Shackleford Banks
This is what we received from Ranger Dave. It tells the story better than I can. Photos are below.
Elmer/Jessica,
I would like to start by thanking you both for all of the work that you
have done to make this clean up successful. The work both of you have done
is commendable and Cape Lookout National Seashore is very grateful.
After the past weekend I have evaluated the progress and logistics of what
we have done and it is impressive. As we move toward next weekend, I need
to let you know what I can see from the Shackleford side of the clean up. I
can see by last weekend's clean up that recruiting for a larger number of
participants may not benefit us as much as it may seem. On Saturday, we
worked with the clean up with 9 people including myself, and on Sunday we
had 16 people. Though both groups worked just as hard, the area covered did
not increase by the number of people. This happened simply because the only
mode of transportation on the island is by foot. There are only so may drop
off points on Shackleford so spreading the drop offs would only serve to
confuse my efforts to remove the trash from the island while placing too
much strain on our ferry service. In order to keep things organized on the
island and allow me to keep up with the location of the trash collected,
the best number to work with is between 10 and 25 people. The more we
increase the number over 20, the harder it is to keep things organized on
the island. The 9:00 to 3:00 time frame seems to work the best because it
is early, but allows folks time to travel to Harkers Island. We could move
the start time up to 8:30, but I am afraid that you will not get folks who
are willing to arrive that early because most of the folks coming are
traveling at least 30 minutes.
The following are some things that people should be aware of for the coming
weekend. Watch the weather. If the wind speeds increase over 15 MPH the
clean up will most likely be canceled because it is difficult to transport
folks in high winds and the trash, trash bags, and equipment are difficult
to handle in high winds. We have moved around to where we are on the ocean
side of the island and we are unprotected from the winds on that side. If
the weather is calling for rain we will cancel the clean up because there
is no shelter on the island. The drop off point will continue to be the
ferry dock where we were dropped off and picked up on Sunday. Because of
this, we will start our day by walking to where we left off and we will
have to walk a distance at the end of the day to return to the dock. The
ferry service can't get us to the ocean side because of the surf on that
side of the island. I know that you do not want to discourage folks from
participating, but they will need to know that the logistics will mean more
walking, higher winds, less shelter, and more difficult terrain than we
have been working with thus far. We don't want to get folks who are
unprepared for the work that is needed. We also have to let folks know that
anything that they bring with them will need to be carried so less is
better. Folks will want to make sure that they have good walking shoes that
can get wet, water, lunch, sunscreen, and bug repellant. We want to make
sure that everyone know what they are getting into before they arrive at
the island. I don't want anyone getting into more than they can handle, and
I want to make sure everyone makes it through the clean up safely.
Thanks again for all that you are doing. You have made a great impact on
the park.
Dave Carney
Resource Education Park Ranger
Cape Lookout National Seashore
131 Charles Street
Harkers Island, North Carolina 28531
(252) 728-2250 Ext. 3010
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by
the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
Elmer/Jessica,
I would like to start by thanking you both for all of the work that you
have done to make this clean up successful. The work both of you have done
is commendable and Cape Lookout National Seashore is very grateful.
After the past weekend I have evaluated the progress and logistics of what
we have done and it is impressive. As we move toward next weekend, I need
to let you know what I can see from the Shackleford side of the clean up. I
can see by last weekend's clean up that recruiting for a larger number of
participants may not benefit us as much as it may seem. On Saturday, we
worked with the clean up with 9 people including myself, and on Sunday we
had 16 people. Though both groups worked just as hard, the area covered did
not increase by the number of people. This happened simply because the only
mode of transportation on the island is by foot. There are only so may drop
off points on Shackleford so spreading the drop offs would only serve to
confuse my efforts to remove the trash from the island while placing too
much strain on our ferry service. In order to keep things organized on the
island and allow me to keep up with the location of the trash collected,
the best number to work with is between 10 and 25 people. The more we
increase the number over 20, the harder it is to keep things organized on
the island. The 9:00 to 3:00 time frame seems to work the best because it
is early, but allows folks time to travel to Harkers Island. We could move
the start time up to 8:30, but I am afraid that you will not get folks who
are willing to arrive that early because most of the folks coming are
traveling at least 30 minutes.
The following are some things that people should be aware of for the coming
weekend. Watch the weather. If the wind speeds increase over 15 MPH the
clean up will most likely be canceled because it is difficult to transport
folks in high winds and the trash, trash bags, and equipment are difficult
to handle in high winds. We have moved around to where we are on the ocean
side of the island and we are unprotected from the winds on that side. If
the weather is calling for rain we will cancel the clean up because there
is no shelter on the island. The drop off point will continue to be the
ferry dock where we were dropped off and picked up on Sunday. Because of
this, we will start our day by walking to where we left off and we will
have to walk a distance at the end of the day to return to the dock. The
ferry service can't get us to the ocean side because of the surf on that
side of the island. I know that you do not want to discourage folks from
participating, but they will need to know that the logistics will mean more
walking, higher winds, less shelter, and more difficult terrain than we
have been working with thus far. We don't want to get folks who are
unprepared for the work that is needed. We also have to let folks know that
anything that they bring with them will need to be carried so less is
better. Folks will want to make sure that they have good walking shoes that
can get wet, water, lunch, sunscreen, and bug repellant. We want to make
sure that everyone know what they are getting into before they arrive at
the island. I don't want anyone getting into more than they can handle, and
I want to make sure everyone makes it through the clean up safely.
Thanks again for all that you are doing. You have made a great impact on
the park.
Dave Carney
Resource Education Park Ranger
Cape Lookout National Seashore
131 Charles Street
Harkers Island, North Carolina 28531
(252) 728-2250 Ext. 3010
EXPERIENCE YOUR AMERICA
The National Park Service cares for special places saved by
the American people so that all may experience our heritage.
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