ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE ISLAND ASSATEAGUE ® A Resource Assessment A Resource August 2007 ® Center for State of the Parks More than a century ago, Congress established Yellowstone as the CONTENTS world’s first national park. That single act was the beginning of a remarkable and ongoing effort to protect this nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Today, Americans are learning that national park designation REPORT SUMMARY 1 alone cannot provide full resource protection. Many parks are compromised by development of adjacent lands, air and water KEY FINDINGS 6 pollution, invasive plants and animals, and rapid increases in motor- ized recreation. Park officials often lack adequate information on the THE ASSATEAGUE ISLAND condition of critical resources. NATIONAL SEASHORE The National Parks Conservation Association initiated the State of the Parks® program in 2000 to assess the condition of natural and ASSESSMENT 7 cultural resources and to determine how well equipped the National Park Service is to protect the parks—its stewardship capacity. The NATURAL RESOURCES 7 goal is to provide information that will help policy-makers, the Park Protection Benefits a public, and the National Park Service improve conditions in national Wide Array of Imperiled parks, celebrate successes as models for other parks, and ensure a Wildlife lasting legacy for future generations. For more information about the methodology and research used in preparing this report, or to learn more about the Center for State CULTURAL RESOURCES 22 of the Parks®, visit www.npca.org/stateoftheparks or contact: NPCA, Lack of Staff and Funds Center for State of the Parks®, 230 Cherry Street, Fort Collins, CO Hinders Work 80521; phone: 970.493.2545; email: [email protected]. STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY 30 Since 1919, the National Parks Conservation Association has been Additional Staff and the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhanc- ing our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners Project Funds Needed work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for generations to come. APPENDIX 36 * More than 325,000 members * 22 regional and field offices * 35,000 activists A special note of appreciation goes to those whose generous grants and donations made this report possible: Dr. Dorothy Canter, Ben and Ruth Hammett, Alec Rhodes, John Ben Snow Memorial Trust, MSST Foundation, and anonymous donors. COVER PHOTO: © ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/RICHARD GUNION REPORT SUMMARY NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 1 Introduction As part of the Atlantic coast’s network of coastal stability of their natural ecosystems. Assateague Island barriers, Assateague Island is in a state of The difficulty of maintaining human struc- National Seashore consists of a 37-mile- constant flux under relentless buffeting from tures on Assateague Island has resulted in long barrier island wind and water. Sand dunes alternately are built limited development. However, the effects of running along the up and washed away, moved and restructured. that development persist to this day and in Atlantic coasts of Populations of vegetation emerge or die off many respects, the island remains a “work in Maryland and Virginia with changes in geography and hydrology. Over progress.” For example, artificially stabilized and the adjacent marsh islands and time, the islands are drifting west and south. dune systems were constructed over the length waters up to one-half Paradoxically, the very forces that make the of the island during the 1950s and 1960s. These mile from shore. islands dynamic also help maintain the relative unnatural features effectively curtailed storm ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE overwash for more than three decades until powerful storms in 1991, 1992, and 1998 elim- AT A GLANCE inated most of the relic dunes from the • Assateague Island National Seashore consists of a 37-mile- Maryland portion of the island. In the absence long barrier island running along the Atlantic coasts of of regular overwash, vegetation communities Maryland and Virginia and the adjacent marsh islands and changed, habitat for rare beach-dwelling species waters up to one-half mile from shore. In total, the seashore disappeared, and the cross-island movement of encompasses 48,700 acres of land and water. At its widest sand critical to the island’s persistence was point, the island is only about 1.5 miles across. Assateague halted. Although storm overwash is once again State Park and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge both lie a potent force influencing the evolution of the island, it will be many years before the effects of 2 within the national seashore boundaries but are managed by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Fish historic dune building activities fully disappear. and Wildlife Service, respectively. Assateague Island, which is part of both Maryland and Virginia, is one of the few fully • Like most barrier islands, Assateague is the product of federally protected barrier islands on the East complex interactions among various physical processes, Coast. The role that it plays in buffering these including wind, waves, sediment supply, and tides. Coastal coastal states from storms will likely become erosion, storms, changing sea levels, and ocean currents increasingly important if hurricanes and extrat- constantly reshape and restructure the island. Plant and animal ropical storms such as northeasters increase in residents have evolved to cope with the constant challenges intensity—a predicted effect of global climate presented by the harsh barrier island environment. change. The critical role the island plays for • The park is famous for its “wild ponies,” feral horses that have waterfowl and other bird species was recognized Assateague Island National Seashore inhabited Assateague Island since the mid-1600s. Settlers in 1943 when most of the Virginia portion of brought horses and other livestock to the island to avoid the the island was designated as Chincoteague penning laws on the mainland. Although an important compo- National Wildlife Refuge. Assateague State Park nent of the park, the horses are adversely affecting the island was established along a two-mile stretch of the ecosystem at the current population size. island in 1964. The next year, the island and its surrounding waters were established as • The National Audubon Society lists Assateague Island Assateague Island National Seashore. National Seashore as one of the top ten birding hot spots in About 3.2 million people visit the national the country. The park protects critical stopover habitat for seashore annually to boat, bird-watch, fish, many migrants as well as suitable habitat for a wide diversity of permanent and seasonal resident species. For this reason, the Assateague Island is one of the few fully federally island has been designated as a Globally Important Bird Area protected barrier islands on the East Coast. and is part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, a collection of protected sites in North America and South America critical to migratory shorebirds. • Although the challenging conditions of the island have limited human development throughout its history, archaeological ELIZABETH MEYERS/NPCA sites on and around the island include the remains of Spanish shipwrecks from the 18th and 19th centuries, U.S. Coast Guard lifesaving stations built in the 19th and 20th centuries, a presi- dential yacht that sank in 1891, and several former villages and commercial facilities. hunt, crab, clam, camp, ride over-sand vehicles (OSVs), see wild horses, or just meditate. Other visitors to the island include a host of migratory birds that depend upon Assateague’s diverse habitats for resting and foraging during NATIONAL PARK SERVICE seasonal passages. At least five federally listed threatened or endangered species—piping plover, loggerhead and green sea turtles, seabeach amaranth, and Delmarva fox squir- rel—breed on the island. Endangered whales and other protected marine animals regularly visit Assateague’s offshore waters. 3 Several archaeological sites in the park speak to Assateague’s human history. Throughout the last 400 years, Assateague’s treacherous offshore waters, shoals, and inlets claimed many vessels ranging from Spanish warships to a presidential yacht. Several of these shipwrecks lie within park waters. Terrestrial sites include the remains of formation. Recently introduced aquatic inva- Seabeach amaranth, a four U.S. Coast Guard lifesaving stations, which sive species may threaten the integrity of the federally listed threat- ened plant, was were built in the late 19th century. A more recent estuarine ecosystem, and a number of non- absent from the island vestige of the past, constructed in 1922, the native plants, including the common reed, are for 30 years but reap- Assateague Beach Coast Guard Station still found throughout the island. These and other peared in 1998 and is Assateague Island National Seashore stands intact, protected from the elements by the threats are being systematically addressed now thriving. ongoing efforts of park staff. Other sites include through monitoring, assessment, mitigation, evidence of 19th century fish and salt factories. and protection by park staff and a broad-based Visitors can learn about the island’s history and coalition of partners. see artifacts, photos, and newspaper clippings in Overall conditions of the park’s known the park’s visitor centers and museum. cultural