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.

Not only does a man in central North Carolina think Bigfoot lives in the Uwharrie National Forest, the Animal Planet cable channel is sending a crew into the forest to find the half-man-half-ape beast.

Animal Planet and Michael Greene, who says he already has video of Bigfoot from about two years ago, plan to search the Uhwarries on Saturday, according to the Montgomery Herald. Any useful footage captured is to become part of the network's six-episode series on Bigfoot sightings around the United States.

The 78.7-square-mile national forest encompasses the Uwharrie Mountains, some of the oldest in North America. According to geologists, the 1,000-foot hills of today's Uwharries were created from an ancient chain of volcanoes that once had 20,000-foot peaks.

Greene, who has a master's in Behavioral Psychology and is a court-qualified Questioned Documents Expert, says he's been on the trail of Bigfoot for some 20 years.

The Public Broadcasting System sent a film crew with archaeologists to excavate at Fort Raleigh National Historic Site for a show about the equally mysterious Lost Colony, which aired in July 2009. OK, maybe not "equally mysterious."

Greene, the cable channel's film crew and volunteers are set to head for the treeline about 3 p.m. Saturday.

National Parks on the Outer Banks have closed in anticipation of the approach of Hurricane Earl.

Visitor centers and campgrounds at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial were to close by 5 p.m. or earlier Wednesday, as was ocean-side beach access for off-road vehicles at Cape Hatteras.

The reservation system for Ocracoke Campground has also been suspended until further notice.

Earl was expected to bring high winds to the Outer Banks but not to make landfall.