- Title
- Study of state uses of Smith Island
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-
- Date
- September 04 1970
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-
- Creator
- ["Rulison, Michael v. E."]
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- Place
- ["Smith Island, Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States","North Carolina, United States","Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States"]
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Study of state uses of Smith Island
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A Study of State Uses of Smith Island
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
A. Basis and Scope of Study
This investigation originated through a request of Governor
Robert W. Scott for a study of State uses of Smith island at the mouth
of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. This study sets forth objec¬
tives that the State could achieve in its use of Smith Island, describes
previous attempts at development of the Island, identifies environmental
constraints associated with uses of the Island, and describes and
evaluates certain uses that the State could make.
B
. Smith Island--The Site
Smith Island is the collective name of some 11,000 acres of barrier
beach, sand dunes, marine forest, marshes, estuaries, and bays in Brunswick
County, beginning below Federal Point and terminating in Cape Fear itself.
Three major islands comprise the bulk of the solid or high ground in the
complex and total less than 3,000 acres. The largest and southernmost of
these is called Bald Head Island. Smith Island forms the eastern side of
the mouth of the Cape Fear River and is the southernmost point in the
State .
The Island has considerable interest because of both its natural and
social history. For the naturalist, Smith Island is a large, relatively
undisturbed marine coastal environment of great diversity, providing
sites ranging from open ocean beach and dunes to live oak, dogwood, and
palmetto forest, to marsh and estuary with many gradations of moisture
and salinity. These habitats serve many species of fin and shellfish,
shorebirds, and a modest number of other types of birds and animals,
including certain unusual species, such as the loggerhead turtle.
The social and cultural history of the Island dates back at least
to Indian settlements, of which remains can still be found. As the
Carolinas were settled and economic activity grew, ports and shipping
increased. Pirates came and went in the area. Lighthouses were built
to guide mariners around Cape Fear and the nearby shoals. A life saving
service was based on the Island, and river pilots also operated from it
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