The National Park Service is facing a water conundrum: some parks have too little, some parks have too much. While an historic drought continues to parch much of the Western United States, a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association predicts that sea levels across the United States will rise, on average, 10-12 inches by 2050. In other words, from Maine to Florida to Texas and all the way up to Alaska, there are more than 100 national park units threatened by the slow siege of rising coastlines.
So far this year three houses have been claimed by the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, polluting the seashore with construction materials, furnishings, sewage from septic tanks, and more. While more houses could be pulled down by the ocean, the National Park Service is searching for a solution but has yet to order homeowners to relocate their houses before they collapse.
Another house has been claimed by the Atlantic Ocean at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and it's likely that more will be claimed as the ocean continues to churn against the barrier islands of North Carolina's Outer Banks.
Plastics -- everything from plastic bottles and bags to food containers -- are washing ashore at national seashores, where crews work throughout the year to remove the garbage that is not just unsightly but a threat to marine and terrestrial wildlife.
Storms, and sea level rise, have the National Park Service debating how best to protect the historic Ocracoke Light Station and its support buildings at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
We’re all aware of the rush to the outdoors that the covid pandemic has spawned. From coast to coast, national parks, national forests, and state parks are being crowded, if not overrun at times, by visitors. Whether it continues now that the pandemic seems to be easing will be interesting to watch.
A house at Cape Hatteras National Seashore claimed by the ocean early Wednesday sent a debris field more than 7 miles down the beach, prompting a warning to seashore visitors while officials worked on a plan to remove the structure.
Challenging ocean currents sent three vessels onto the beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in recent days. While all those on board of the three managed to go ashore, their boats remained grounded on the beach.