FW 321 Reserve Project Design Final

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Jim Kelley FW 321 Reserve Project Design-Final Introduction A crisp spring day, not too hot and not too cold. The sun peaks over the menagerie of islands sprinkled with the sound of sea birds and the periodic splash of a jumping fish. This is the coast along Eastern North Carolina. An area teeming with life, and one that needs protection. Hurricanes are periodic disturbances that hit these shores. The most recent (Hurricane Florence) had devasting effects on the coastal ecosystem. The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries observed large areas of oyster kills post hurricane resulting in the earliest closure of commercial oyster harvest under the current management system (Harrison, 2019). Eastern North Carolina is home to a diverse commercial fishing industry as well as a sprawling tourism industry bringing beach goers and fishermen alike (North Carolina | Coastal Resilience 2021). Making the preservation of salt marsh ecosystems vitally important. One of those salt marsh ecosystems in need of preservation is Sugarloaf Island. Location Sugarloaf Island is a small island located within Bogue Sound in Eastern North Carolina Figure 1 . The island is a stone’s throw across from the town of Morehead City, a port town aptly named “Fisherman’s Paradise”. The island is roughly 47 acres in size (Robles, 2020). Sugarloaf island is currently preserved in the sense that development is not permitted and it is primarily used as an easy kayaking destination for tourists and others setting out from the (very) developed Morehead City waterfront just several hundred yards away.

Figure 1. Sugarloaf Island and the surrounding area is home to a salt marsh ecosystem containing, but not limited to, an array of bivalve, fish, crustacean, and bird species. Sugarloaf Island provides a number of ecosystem goods and services such as income from eco-tourism and recreational fishing. It also results in wave attenuation for the town of Morehead City. Conservation Goals and Management Actions Conservation Goal #1: Restore the shoreline habitat of Sugarloaf Island. Presently the southern shoreline (Figure 1.) of Sugarloaf Island is eroding at an alarming rate, taking with it trees and other vegetation, and reducing the marsh area along the Eastern shoreline (Boyd, 2022). Restoring the shoreline and riparian habitats will preserve sea bird nesting habitat and vital habitat for crustacean, bivalves and fishes. North Carolina

Management Action #1: Install Living Shoreline material along Sugarloaf Island’s southern and eastern fringes. Living shoreline material will be placed in the intertidal zone of the Island’s coastline. The purpose of placing a living shoreline is to attenuate wave energy, and promote sediment deposition and marsh plant growth. Living shorelines also provide habitat for fish and crustaceans, and sites for natural oyster recruitment (McKinney, 2022). A recent study conducted in Eastern North Carolina following Hurricane Florence supports the effectiveness of Living shorelines. The locations with living shorelines showed evidence of reduced erosion and promotion of lateral growth compared to un-protected control sites (Polk et al., 2021). Other studies examined the impact of living shoreline material on fish and crustacean communities. The study found that the greatest benefactors were Blue crabs ( Callinectes sapidus ) , Red Drum ( Sciaenops ocellatus ) , Speckled seatrout ( Cynoscion nebulosus ) , and Flounder ( Paralichthys sp.) showing 297% to 79% (respectively) higher abundance at living shorelines than control sites (Scyphers et al., 2011). Management Action #2: Plant Spartina Alterniflora along Sugarloaf Island to mitigate erosion and promote marsh growth. Spartina plays a large role in saltmarsh marshes, by reducing tidal energy and retaining sediment through below ground bio mass (CABI,2022). Spartina seeds will be collected from adjacent marsh areas, and reared off site prior to planting. Plants will receive salinity exposure during the rearing process, which studies have supported the effectiveness of this technique (Carrion, 2016). By coupling living shorelines with spartina plantings the shoreline of Sugarloaf Island will be armed with the best tools to retain sediment, withstand storm erosion and sustain a biodiverse community.

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Management Action #3: Implement and incorporate a localized interpretive program focused on educating the public and relevant stakeholders on management actions. The core of our Sugarloaf Island Preserve is to promote marsh stabilization to benefit stakeholders through wave attenuation and promote vital habitat utilized by an array of wildlife from which the public benefits. The long-term success of our Preserve will fail regardless of how well planned without local stakeholder engagement and support. We will implement an interpretive program to educate local stakeholders to promote inclusion and incorporate adjacent universities providing opportunities for students and professors to engage with the public and consider social science dynamics. Previous studies on educational programs found that 42% of participants came forward with new ways to help local wildlife species, indicating retention of knowledge from the program and an interest in the welfare of local flora and fauna (Jerger et al., 2022). Community Impacts Habitat propagation in both size and diversity is the core of our preservation efforts for Sugarloaf Island. It is well-accepted that habitat fragmentation and habitat loss both negatively impact biodiversity (Mattos, 2019). Our management actions will not only promote sediment deposition and marsh growth but living shorelines have also been shown to promote nursery habitat for crustaceans and fish (Gittman et al., 2016). As previously mentioned, case studies of living shorelines showed the greatest benefit for Flounder, Red Drum, and Speckled Trout. This note is of great significance as the aforementioned species encompass the top 3 sought-after gamefish in North Carolina (Marsh, 2010). Considering social science dynamics, and

recreational angler stakeholders will be critical to achieving long-term success, as there are an estimated 1 million recreational fishermen in North Carolina (Forsey, 2021). Juveniles and smolts utilizing the nursery habitats will provide additional food sources for consumer species. In the intertidal zones, Spartina stands will also provide additional food sources for sea birds, and crustaceans as Spartina is known as a resource limiter on Littoraria irrorata Marsh periwinkle snails (Stagg & Mendelssohn, 2012). As Sugarloaf Island harbors nesting seabirds, we anticipate that enhancing prey species through habitat propagation will have a positive bottom-up effect on bird communities. Our approach of enhancing habitat patch size, quality, and diversity will positively impact the entire food web, as it will provide adequate conditions for autotrophs, structure for bivalves, nursery habitat for fish and crustaceans, and food sources for consumers. Broader Significance The proximity of Sugarloaf Island to 3 University Marine Science Centers (University of North Carolina, Duke University, North Carolina State University) and the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries lends to incorporating two of our biggest priorities; Including the experts and promoting stakeholder engagement. Our partnership with these local organizations will aid in monitoring efforts to maintain the integrity of the preserve. The proximity of the reserve will also allow us to easily incorporate the community as private citizens will have a front-row view of the importance and effectiveness of living shorelines. Our intention to incorporate an Interpretive program to inform and educate the public on the management programs at the Sugarloaf Island Preserve will serve to ensure long-term success. Providing an additional source of tourism to the local economy, and preserving the integrity of Sugarloaf Island, the preserve will also provide the adjacent commercial, and private properties protection

from storm surges and wave energy. Initially, our management efforts will impede access to the preserve and adjacent waters, and we will aim to mitigate stakeholder strife through our educational program to translate the future rewards (to the public) our management actions will reap. During the infancy of the preserve, the educational programs will serve to supplement any losses of tourism due to the restricted availability of the preserve itself. We will also rely upon local businesses and stakeholders to promote the efforts. As the bright future of our actions will protect many commercial properties from future natural disturbances through wave attenuation and provide an influx of vacationers and eco-tourists sure to visit local visits following their experience at the Sugarloaf Island Preserve. References Boyd, J. (2022, July 27). Town of Morehead City, organizations working to restore Sugarloaf Island . MSN. Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/town-of-morehead-city-organizations-working-to- restore-sugarloaf-island/ar-AA102bi1 CABI (2022, October 4). Spartina alterniflora (smooth cordgrass) . Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/107740 Carrion, S. (2016, April 26). Determining Factors that Influence Smooth Cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora Loisel) Transplant Success In Community-Based Living Shoreline Projects. Honors Undergraduate Theses . 68.https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/68 Forsey, M. (2021, May 13). Commercial fishermen say they can’t stay afloat under biased regulations . WNCT. https://www.wnct.com/local-news/commercial-fishermen-say-they- cant-stay-afloat-under-biased-regulations/#:~:text=The%20number%20of

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%20recreational%20fishermen%20in%20North%20Carolina,younger%20people%20stay %20in%20school%2C%E2%80%9D%20said%20Judy%20Thaanum. Gittman, R. K., Peterson, C. H., Currin, C. A., Fodrie, F. J., Piehler, M. F., & Bruno, J. F. (2016). Living shorelines can enhance the nursery role of threatened estuarine habitats. Ecological Applications , 26 (1), 249-263. https://doi.org/10.1890/14-0716 Harrison, J. (2019, February 5). Impacts from Hurricane Florence to North Carolina wild oysters . North Carolina Oyster Blueprint. https://ncoysters.org/2019/02/impacts-from- hurricane-florence-to-north-carolina-wild-oysters/ Jerger, A. D., Acker, M., Gibson, S., & Young, A. M. (2022). Impact of animal programming on children's attitudes toward local wildlife. Zoo Biology , 41 (5), 469- 478. https://doi.org/10.1002/zoo.21702 Marsh, M. (2010, October 4). Five Top North Carolina Saltwater Picks . (2013, March 7). Game & Fish. https://www.gameandfishmag.com/editorial/fishing_saltwater- fishing_nc_0506_01/241831 Mattos, J. (2019, May 9). Does Habitat Fragmentation Affect Biodiversity? Science Connected Magazine. https://magazine.scienceconnected.org/2019/05/habitat-fragmentation-affects- biodiversity/ McKinney, M. (2022, October 11). QuickReef Living Shorelines ~ . Native Shorelines. https://nativeshorelines.com/quickreef-living-shorelines/ North Carolina | Coastal Resilience . (2021). Retrieved November 2, 2022, from https://coastalresilience.org/project/north-carolina/

Polk, M. A., Gittman, R. K., Smith, C. S., & Eulie, D. O. (2021). Coastal resilience surges as living shorelines reduce lateral erosion of salt marshes. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management , 18 (1), 82–98. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4447 Robles, D. (2020, April 28). Tiny, uninhabited Sugarloaf Island at NC coast re-opens to public . CBS 17. https://www.cbs17.com/news/north-carolina-news/sugarloaf-island-at-nc-coast- re-opens-to-public/ Scyphers, S. B., Powers, S. P., Heck, K. L., & Byron, D. (2011). Oyster Reefs as Natural Breakwaters Mitigate Shoreline Loss and Facilitate Fisheries. PLoS ONE , 6 (8), e22396. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022396 Stagg, C. L., & Mendelssohn, I. A. (2012). Littoraria irrorata Growth and Survival in a Sediment-Restored Salt Marsh. Wetlands , 32 (4), 643- 652. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-012-0297-5

FW 321 Reserve Project Design Final

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