This Land, Your Land

We've tried to round up Hurricane Irene damage reports to coastal parks and recreation areas, but reporting is sparse so far.

The biggest problem is the several breaches to N.C. 12, the main highway on Hatteras Island, the largest of which is shown in the DOT photo below. This leaves the island south of Rodanthe, including Cape Hatteras National Seashore, cut off from cars.

At Cape Lookout National Seashore, "The Cape Lookout lighthouse is standing," a National Park Service news release says. "All docks appear impacted with varying amounts of damage and should be considered dangerous. Structures have roof and siding damage. Infrastructures, including the back roads, have also sustained damage."

The Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk remained closed Tuesday morning. Just down the road, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site has the same report.

Several Croatan National Forest day use sites and campgrounds are near New Bern, one of the areas hit hardest by the hurricane, but the Forest Service has not reported damages yet.

At Carolina Beach State Park, the staff was clearing debris and working to reopen trails and camping areas by Tuesday afternoon, the Wilmington Star-News said Monday. Nearby, Fort Fisher State Recreation Area reopened Sunday.

In addition to Carolina Beach, the state Division of Parks and Recreation said Tuesday morning that eight other state parks remained closed to all visitors: Cliffs of the Neuse, Dismal Swamp, Goose Creek, Hammocks Beach, Jockey's Ridge, Merchants Millpond, Pettigrew and Medoc Mountain. In reopened parks, the state said, some trails and facilities may remain closed until assessment and cleanup is complete.

Nineteen state parks were closed in eastern and central North Carolina late last week prior to the storm.

Like other organizations, the state's Coastal Reserves reported the closing of five sites in anticipation of the storm, but have no followup so far.

Fort Macon State Park this week welcomed the first working cannon in the Civil War fort's exhibits. The “32-pounder” is to be fired in its first public demonstration January 29, according to the Sun Journal of New Bern.

The 20-foot-long, 4,200-pound replica weapon resulted from a partnership between State Parks and Wayne Community College originally joined to manufacture aluminum cannon carriages to replace wooden ones too quickly destroyed by the elements. The state saved about $20,000 by working with the college, and leftover funds were put toward a gun barrel. The barrel was manufactured at New Windsor, Md.

Fort Macon, the centerpiece of the 424-acre state park near Atlantic Beach, has two non-working cannons and pair of non-working mortars.

Down the coast, Fort Fisher has working cannons that are fired in scheduled demonstrations.

Fort Macon is now training staff to fire the cannon, called a "32-pounder" for the size of the shell it fires.