NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Overview Cape Hatteras National Seashore North Carolina

Contact Information For more information about the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Foundation Document, contact: [email protected] or (252) 473-2111 or write to: Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954 Purpose Significance

Significance statements express why Cape Hatteras National Seashore resources and values are important enough to merit national park unit designation. Statements of significance describe why an area is important within a global, national, regional, and systemwide context. These statements are linked to the purpose of the park unit, and are supported by data, research, and consensus. Significance statements describe the distinctive nature of the park and inform management decisions, focusing efforts on preserving and protecting the most important resources and values of the park unit.

• It was the first national seashore established to preserve significant segments of remote and unspoiled barrier islands and the associated plants, wildlife and coastal processes, and to provide diverse opportunities for resource-compatible outdoor recreation. • Located at the near-shore confluence of the Gulf Stream and Labrador currents, the seashore is continually shaped by coastal geologic, hydrologic, and weather processes, which together contribute to the evolution of these barrier islands. • Its coastal location and dynamic conditions have inherent scientific value as a living laboratory for physiographic and ecological research, including the study of climate change and its effects on sea level and ecology. This knowledge base has local, national, and global value and provides a robust source of information for education and stewardship programs and experiential learning opportunities. • It is representative of a mid-Atlantic barrier island system that is characterized by a diversity of aquatic and terrestrial habitat including open beach, dune, tidal marsh, wetland, shrub thicket, and maritime forest—each of which support a wide variety of wildlife. • The seashore supports resident and seasonal populations of federally listed and state-listed plants and animals including The purpose of Cape Hatteras National species such as the piping plover, American oystercatcher, gull- billed tern, green sea turtles, loggerhead sea turtles, seabeach Seashore is to permanently preserve the amaranth, and more. wild and primitive character of the ever- changing barrier islands, protect the • Its artifacts, historic sites, and geographic setting provide tangible links to understanding humankind’s ability to adapt in diverse plant and animal communities a harsh and changing coastal environment in isolation from the sustained by the coastal island processes, mainland. These links, which are of deep symbolic significance and provide for recreational use and to local villagers, include lighthouses, shipwrecks, American enjoyment that is compatible with Indian sites, and more. preserving the distinctive natural • Numerous historical events of national significance have and cultural resources of the nation’s occurred on or near its shores including four centuries of first national seashore. shipwrecks, the United States government’s response to protect maritime commerce during the Civil War and World War II, and the experimental development and use of new technology. Fundamental Resources and Values Interpretive Themes

Fundamental resources and values are those features, systems, Interpretive themes are often described as the key stories or processes, experiences, stories, scenes, sounds, smells, or other concepts that visitors should understand after visiting a park—they attributes determined to merit primary consideration during define the most important ideas or concepts communicated to planning and management processes because they are essential to visitors about a park unit. Themes are derived from—and should achieving the purpose of the park and maintaining its significance. reflect—park purpose, significance, resources, and values. The set of interpretive themes is complete when it provides the structure • Large expanses of undeveloped shoreline that offer opportunities necessary for park staff to develop opportunities for visitors to for solitude and isolation in nature and provide for various types explore and relate to all of the park significances and fundamental of recreational use that are compatible with the preservation of resources and values. the distinctive barrier island plants, wildlife, and coastal processes • Natural sounds of the seashore and ocean • Topic: Barrier Island Processes. Cape Hatteras National Seashore is part of a natural system, with geologic processes • Expansive, unhindered daytime and nighttime views of the unique to or associated with barrier islands, characterized by Atlantic Ocean and Pamlico Sound, and natural night lighting constant change and adaptation. along the seashore and offshore • Topic: Habitat and Species. Dynamic barrier island processes • Barrier island features (lands and submerged elements) shape the ever-changing and interdependent habitats that • Continuously changing coastal geologic processes: inlet support vibrant communities of diverse wildlife—avian, dynamics, overwash dynamics, dune dynamics, waves and terrestrial, and marine. nearshore current dynamics (sediment/sand transport) • Topic: History and Heritage. Within this dynamic and once • Knowledge base generated from past, present, and future isolated barrier island system, unique cultures have evolved research and information on the island and adjacent waters that serve as a testament to humankind’s relationship with the • Living laboratory of a barrier island environment that offers boundary of land and sea. research opportunities for natural systems and allows direct • Topic: Relaxation/Renewal. The remoteness of these islands comparisons between natural and human-altered elements of and the vastness of the surrounding waters made these islands a barrier island ideal for resource-based scientific study, education, recreation, • Terrestrial habitats: dunes, open beach, shrub thicket and and inspiration. maritime forest • Topic: Stewardship and Preservation. Stewardship of the • Aquatic habitats: wetlands, tidal marshes, freshwater ponds, national seashore and preservation of its history provides future and seagrass beds opportunities for people to access, experience, and learn about coastal dynamics/cultural change. • Important sites for coastal bird migration, breeding, and wintering along the Atlantic flyway • Natural processes that continue to influence the seashore habitats and allow for the movement or dispersion of native flora and fauna • All current and future federal and state listed species and other species of special management concern • Historic structures, archaeological sites, and cultural landscapes: light stations, lifesaving stations, shipwrecks, American Indian sites, and Civil War sites • Artifacts and archival materials that are significant and relate to people and places of the area • Stories of the evolution of land, species, and human survival on these islands, the role of maritime commerce in the area’s culture, the settlement of these islands and creation of the first national seashore, wartime events, and the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” Description

In 1937, Cape Hatteras became the first To To Water depths Elizabeth City Duck and Corolla Southern Shores and Norfolk, Va C North national seashore. It was designated to 0-6 feet U (0 to 2 meters) S R More than 6 feet O R Kitty Hawk preserve dynamic barrier islands and (over 2 meters) U I T 1 Kilometer N 0 5 U 158 its unique vegetation, wildlife habitat, D C 0 5 1 Mile K Kill Devil Hills and coastal processes, and to provide L B E M Wright Brothers National Memorial A A R L E First Flight airstrip recreation and enjoyment for the public. S O U N Fort Raleigh Located within a day’s drive of several D National Nags Head Historic Site Jockey’s Ridge urban centers, Cape Hatteras National East National Park Service State Park Group Headquarters Lake R Seashore is a popular vacation destination O A Dare County Manteo N that receives over two million visitors each To Regional R o O Whalebone Junction Raleigh Airport a 64 n K Information Station o 264

k E Manns Harbor C B year. Stretching over 70 miles from north e R o R d E 345

64 O i I S e V s

l to south, Cape Hatteras National Seashore I A a O I n s R T U Coquina Beach d l

a A N n crosses three barrier islands: Bodie, d N D Bodie Island

Wanchese Visitor Center Hatteras, and Ocracoke. Barrier islands R Bodie Island Lighthouse

O S

are narrow, low-lying landforms that run T O Marina A U

12 G N Oreg I ALLIGATOR RIVER on Inlet

parallel to ocean coasts and are constantly P L D e a

L 264

I s A l shifting and reshaping as a result of wind, NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE a n d Refuge Visitor Center

N waves, storms, ocean currents, and sea level a t i o

n E changes. These three islands are linked by a Stumpy Point l

W

R i l North Carolina Highway 12 and by the d l i f e

O Hatteras Inlet Ferry. Although not part of R e

f

u

g H

e

the park, the islands are also inhabited by

S Chicamacomico Historic U.S. Life Saving eight villages predating the park that reflect Service Station

A the history of the Outer Banks region. Rodanthe Fishing pier Cape Hatteras National Seashore provides E Waves

S s l

a

a special opportunity to protect a widely o D Salvo Lake h

S

L diverse natural community and a robust Mattamuskeet N e l

b

d A m

collection of cultural resources, while also Engelhard U N i

n

a W

l O N providing a unique, unspoiled seashore s

I To A

Swan Quarter S experience for visitors. O s

a

E I r

e t T t

C a

A H Little Kinnakeet O Historic U.S. Life Saving O N Service Station C 12

I Avon S Fishing pier L A M R Haulover Day use area A E P T T A Buxton H Hatteras Island Visitor Center Ferry Service: A Cape Hatteras Lighthouse free ferry runs daily Frisco year-round between Hatteras Billy Mitchell Hatteras and airstrip Cape Hatteras E Ocracoke islands. Fishing D P pier I A To M Swan Quarter A H via toll ferry (2.5 hours) a O C tt N d er D Pony an as S Isl In H Pens le O Ocracoke Island ke t A Visitor Center co L S 12 cra C O I To Ocracoke Cedar Island T via toll ferry (2.25 hours) N A Cape Ocracoke Island airstrip L Ocracoke T USS Monitor Lookout Lighthouse National Marine National Ocr A acoke Sanctuary Seashore Inlet