Editorial: Treat Masonboro like a jewel

We've briefly discussed Masonboro and its "issues" before. Recently, the Star-News in Wilmington weighed in.

In an area rich with natural resources, undeveloped Masonboro Island stands out as a gem. The barrier island between Wrightsville and Carolina beaches is a nature reserve and also a popular destination for beachgoers.

Unlike our beach towns and the popular north end of Carolina Beach, there is no regular supervision on the fragile barrier island, which is a sea turtle nesting area, important marine nursery and wildlife haven.

Unfortunately, another sort of “wildlife” has put its mark on the island at times, leaving the beach trashed after busy summer weekends, especially holidays. In addition to trash, there have been fights and injuries amid the throngs of people and anchored boats along the island’s shoreline.

After one particularly wild weekend a few years back, New Hanover County sheriff’s deputies ferried ATVs to the island and patrolled the area. Most people seemed to get the message about the trash, and officials and island supporters were pleasantly surprised to arrive on the island the day after a big holiday weekend and find very little litter. ...

With the weather warming up and people beginning to take the short boat ride to the island, it’s important to get the word out that, although a closure to the public is not imminent, it is always a possibility.

With the folks at the N.C. Coastal Reserve taking a hard look at the rules for Masonboro and all its other sites up and down the North Carolina coast, folks using the island need to be on their best behavior.

And not simply because access could be restricted, but because it is a fragile and unique place that we share with all sorts of marine life, and because taking special care of this jewel is the right thing to do.

Visit Masonboro. Enjoy its isolation and its beauty. And honor it by being a good steward

Masonboro to remain open

Masonboro Island has a habit of getting, um, colorful during summer holidays. But the barrier island won't be closed to the public anytime soon.

The Star-News of Wilmington reported Friday that the North Carolina Coastal Reserve program held a hearing in Wilmington to hear from the public about how to protect the island from holiday revelers.

Hope Sutton with the program says people have enjoyed walking, kayaking, surfing and sunbathing at the island, but in recent years, the number of visitors has increased dramatically. Trash covered a quarter-mile stretch of beach after the July 4th holiday.

Oh no they didn't

Apparently folks got a little out of control around the Fourth of July at Masonboro Island, according to the Star-News.

Here’s one species Masonboro Island could do without but is sometimes overrun with: the litterbug.

They come in all shapes and sizes, but all have in common the nasty habit of not picking up after themselves. They’re particularly numerous on holidays such as the Fourth of July, when they have a predilection for leaving behind beer cans.

Approaching the barrier island after this Independence Day, Hope Sutton, of the N.C. Division of Coastal Management, was met with the unmistakable mark of the beer-loving litterbug.

“It was polka-dotted with beer cans,” Sutton said of the northern end of the island, which is between Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach. “By the time I was in the inlet, I could smell the beer.”

Sutton said a quarter-mile of the 8-mile-long island was covered with cans, beach chairs and even tents on Sunday. The trash can poison animals and kill vegetation and micro-organisms that live in the water, said Sutton, who manages Masonboro Island for the state.

Click here to read the rest about this travesty.

(Image from the Star-News)