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The earliest predecessor of the North Carolina Seashore Commission was the North Carolina Cape Hatteras Seashore Commission. Established by the General Assembly of 1939, the commission was charged with acquiring lands in the Cape Hatteras region for incorporation into the national seashore system, administered by the National Park Service. The commission consisted of eight gubernatorial appointees, including three members of the Board of Conservation and Development, and the director of the Department of Conservation and Development who served as the commission's chairman. Appointees not affiliated with the Board or Department of Conservation and Development served four-year terms. In 1941 the commission was authorized by the legislature to condemn land under procedures established by the federal Public Works Eminent Domain Law. Additionally, the commission was required to submit an annual report to the governor. By the decade of the 1950s, the body had become inactive--although it continued as a statutory body. In the aftermath of several major hurricanes, Governor Luther H. Hodges in 1956 urged greater regulatory and conservation measures to protect the Outer Banks areas against the ravages of storm and ocean. In 1958 the Cape Hatteras region was officially designated a National Seashore Recreation Area under the National Park Service. While Hodges praised the area's designation for drawing attention to the attractions of the state's coastal area, he also noted the potential problem of overlapping federal and state jurisdictions. Hodges's successor, Governor Terry Sanford, issued an executive order in 1962 that addressed the concerns of the previous administration and established a new body, the North Carolina Outer Banks Seashore Park Commission. The commission was to plan and assist in the preservation and development of the shoreline in the Outer Banks area--from Shackleford Banks to the Virginia state line--and develop a comprehensive plan of cooperation among related state and federal agencies. The order further stipulated that such efforts were to balance conservation practices with the advancement of tourism, business, and industry. Additionally, the commission was charged with establishing public parks in the area. The commission was composed of an unspecified number of gubernatorial appointees to serve four-year terms, along with the following members appointed by virtue of their offices: the chairman of the Board of Water Resources; the director of the Property Control Division of the Department of Administration; the chairman of the Parks Committee of the Board of Conservation and Development; the director of the State Civil Defense Agency; the director of the North Carolina Recreation Commission; and the chairman of the North Carolina State Highway Commission or his nominee. The governor designated the principal officers of the commission; and the Department of Water Resources furnished staff assistance and office space. In 1963 the General Assembly repealed the 1939 law creating the Cape Hatteras Seashore Commission. Under the same act, the legislature reestablished the Outer Banks Seashore Park Commission under a new name: the North Carolina Seashore Commission. Composition of the commission was expanded to include a member of the Wildlife Resources Commission. In addition to ex officio members, the commission was to consist of twenty gubernatorial appointees who were to serve staggered first terms, while their successors were to serve for four years. The duties of the commission were virtually the same as those of its predecessor, except that the new body was responsible for assisting in the preservation of the state's shoreline in its entirety and in the development of all coastal areas, with particular emphasis on scenic and recreational resources. Additionally, the commission was charged with coordinating the activities of local governments, state agencies, and the federal government and serving as a liaison among all governmental units concerned with the preservation and development of the coastal region. The commission was also responsible for filing its recommendations with the various governmental units and for submitting an annual report to the governor. In 1969 the General Assembly abolished the Seashore Commission and transferred its duties to the Department of Conservation and Development. The director of the department, pending the approval of the Board of Conservation and Development, was authorized to established a new division to continue the activities of the former commission. However, a new division was never formed. Under the same legislation, a Seashore Advisory Board was created to study coastal problems and to make written recommendations on any issues referred to it by the Board of Conservation and Development, the director of the Department of Conservation and Development, or the General Assembly. The advisory board was also authorized to conduct public hearings on various matters. In 1969 a staff member of Conservation and Development's Division of Commercial and Sports Fisheries was assigned to coordinate the activities of the Seashore Advisory Board. By the Executive Organization Act of 1971, the Board and the Depart- ment of Conservation and Development were transferred to the Department of Natural and Economic Resources, an umbrella agency under a cabinet-level secretary. Separate legislation in 1971 repealed the law authorizing the Seashore Advisory Board, and the staff members responsible for the advisory board's activities were transferred to the Division of Travel and Promotion. The division handled the arrangement and promotion of packaged tours to coastal areas and the development of the leisure industries business. The following year the Division of Travel and Promotion was placed administratively under the Office of Industrial, Tourist, and Community Resources of the Department of Natural and Economic Resources. By terms of the Executive Organization Act of 1973, the old Board and Department of Conservation and Development were effectively abolished, and their functions were formally vested in the Department of Natural and Economic Resources. The act established under the department new divisions of Parks and Recreation and Community and Economic Development, both of which absorbed most programs formerly under the Office of Industrial Tourist, and Community Resources. REFERENCES: P.L., 1939, c. 257. P.L., 1941, c. 100. S.L., 1963, c. 989. S.L., 1967, Resolution 80. S.L., 1969, c. 1143. S.L., 1971, cc. 864, s. 14(10); 882, c. 8. S.L., 1973, c. 1263, s. 86(2)(3). Department of Conservation and Development. 23rd BIENNIAL REPORT OF OF THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT, 1968-1970. Raleigh, 1970. Pp. 17, 22. ---. 24th BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT, 1970-1972. Raleigh, 1972. Pp. 101, 104. Governor's Efficiency Study Commission. SURVEY AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Raleigh, 1973. Pp. 128, 136. Mitchell, Memory F., ed. MESSAGES, ADDRESSES, AND PUBLIC PAPERS OF TERRY SANFORD, GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA, 1961-1965. Raleigh: Council of State, 1966. Pp. 349-350, 534-535. ---. MESSAGES, ADDRESSES, AND PUBLIC PAPERS OF DANIEL KILLIAN MOORE, GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA, 1965-1969. Raleigh: State Department of Archives and History for the Council of State, 1971. Pp. 408-409. Patton, James W., ed. MESSAGES, ADDRESSES, AND PUBLIC PAPERS OF LUTHER HARTWELL HODGES, GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA, VOLUME I, 1954-1956. Raleigh: Council of State, 1960. Pp. 288-291. ---. MESSAGES, ADDRESSES, AND PUBLIC PAPERS OF LUTHER HARTWELL HODGES, GOVERNOR OF NORTH CAROLINA, VOLUME III, 1959-1960. Raleigh: Council of State, 1960. Pp. 103, 541. Powell, William S. NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH THE CENTURIES. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989. Pp. 544-547. Rankin, Robert S. THE GOVERNMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF NORTH CAROLINA. American Commonwealths Series, edited by W. Brooke Graves. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1955. P. 263. %7EFor information about related agencies see the agency histories for the Economic Development Record Group (#44) and the Marine Affairs Record Group. (#32). |
