Natural Resource Condition Assessment: Cape Lookout National Seashore
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National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Natural Resource Condition Assessment Cape Lookout National Seashore Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR—2017/1434 ON THE COVER Foal season begins at Cape Lookout. National Park Service photo. Natural Resource Condition Assessment Cape Lookout National Seashore Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR—2017/1434 JoAnn M. Burkholder, Elle H. Allen, Carol A. Kinder, and Stacie Flood North Carolina State University Center for Applied Aquatic Ecology 620 Hutton Street, Suite 104 Raleigh, N.C. 27606 May 2017 U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Fort Collins, Colorado i The National Park Service, Natural Resource Stewardship and Science office in Fort Collins, Colorado, publishes a range of reports that address natural resource topics. These reports are of interest and applicability to a broad audience in the National Park Service and others in natural resource management, including scientists, conservation and environmental constituencies, and the public. The Natural Resource Report Series is used to disseminate comprehensive information and analysis about natural resources and related topics concerning lands managed by the National Park Service. The series supports the advancement of science, informed decision-making, and the achievement of the National Park Service mission. The series also provides a forum for presenting more lengthy results that may not be accepted by publications with page limitations. All manuscripts in the series receive the appropriate level of peer review to ensure that the information is scientifically credible, technically accurate, appropriately written for the intended audience, and designed and published in a professional manner. This report received informal peer review, which was provided by subject-matter experts who were not directly involved in the collection, analysis, or reporting of the data. The level and extent of peer review was based on the importance of report content or its potentially controversial or precedent- setting nature. Views, statements, findings, conclusions, recommendations, and data in this report do not necessarily reflect views and policies of the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use by the U.S. Government. This report is available in digital format from the Southeast Coast Network website, the Natural Resource Condition Assessment website, and the Natural Resource Publications Management website. To receive this report in a format that is optimized to be accessible using screen readers for the visually or cognitively impaired, please email [email protected]. Please cite this publication as: Burkholder, J. M., E. H. Allen, C. A. Kinder, and S. Flood. 2017. Natural resource condition assessment: Cape Lookout National Seashore. Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR— 2017/1434. National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. NPS 623/138142, May 2017 ii Contents Page Figures.................................................................................................................................................. vii Tables ..................................................................................................................................................xiii Appendices ........................................................................................................................................xxiii Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... xxv Overall Report Card of Natural Resource Conditions in Cape Lookout National Seashore as of 2014 .......................................................................................................................................... xxix Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................. xxxi Acronyms ........................................................................................................................................xxxiii 1. NRCA Background Information ........................................................................................................ 1 2. Introduction and Resource Setting ..................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 5 2.1.1. Park History, Enabling Legislation, and Examples of Other Legislation and Actions Affecting CALO Natural Resources ............................................................................ 8 2.1.2. Geographic Setting ........................................................................................................ 13 2.1.3. Visitation and Demographics ........................................................................................ 14 2.2. Natural Resources .................................................................................................................. 15 2.2.1. Land Use in the Watershed of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Complex ................. 15 2.2.2. Natural Resource Descriptions ...................................................................................... 18 2.3. Resource Stewardship ......................................................................................................... 194 2.3.1. Management Directives and Planning Guidance......................................................... 194 2.3.2. Synopsis of Stressors to Cape Lookout Natural Resources ......................................... 202 3. Study Scoping and Design ............................................................................................................. 207 3.1. Preliminary Scoping ............................................................................................................ 207 3.2. Study Design ....................................................................................................................... 210 3.2.1. Data Sources ................................................................................................................ 210 4. Indicators to Assess Natural Resource Conditions ........................................................................ 213 4.1. Adjacent Human Population and Visitors to the Seashore .................................................. 213 4.1.1. Human Population in the Area .................................................................................... 213 4.1.2. Visitation ..................................................................................................................... 217 iii Contents (continued) Page 4.2. Land Use/Land Cover—Shackleford Banks ....................................................................... 220 4.3. Air Quality ........................................................................................................................... 222 4.4. Soundscape .......................................................................................................................... 226 4.5. Lightscape............................................................................................................................ 228 4.6. Geology ............................................................................................................................... 230 4.7. Surface Water ...................................................................................................................... 234 4.7.1. Surface Water Quality ................................................................................................. 234 4.7.2. Surficial Sediment Quality .......................................................................................... 236 4.7.3. Fish Tissue Quality ...................................................................................................... 241 4.8. Groundwater ........................................................................................................................ 243 4.8.1. Groundwater Supply .................................................................................................... 243 4.8.2. Groundwater Quality ................................................................................................... 245 4.9. Biological Resources ........................................................................................................... 247 4.9.1. Vascular Plant Communities ....................................................................................... 247 4.9.2. Estuarine Benthic Macroinvertebrates ........................................................................ 249 4.9.3. Fish .............................................................................................................................. 251 4.9.4. Herpetofauna ............................................................................................................... 252 4.9.5. Birds ............................................................................................................................ 255 4.9.6. Mammals ..................................................................................................................... 259 4.9.7. Species of Special Concern