This Land, Your Land

The state announced today that the Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve on Hatteras Island has finally reopened to visitors following cleanup from Hurricane Irene's damages.

Buxton Woods, one of 10 coastal reserves administered by the state Division of Coastal Management, comprises 1,007 acres on Hatteras Island between the northern border of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and N.C. 12. It is part of the largest tract of maritime forest left standing on the Carolina coast.

Division of Coastal Management and Wildlife Resources Commission staff members have cleared a variety of downed trees and other debris from the woods since Irene hit the Outer Banks August 26-27, the news release says.

Ocracoke Island, home to part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore including its Ocracoke Campground, will reopen to visitors at 5 p.m. today, Hyde County officials have announced.

The island will be accessible via the Cedar Island and Swan Quarter ferries.

At last word, beaches were open but national park facilities on Ocracoke Island remain closed.

WITN reports that N.C. 12 is open and clear from the village on Ocracoke north to the Hatteras Ferry docks. Hatteras Island north to Oregon Inlet remains closed to visitors.

Hyde County officials warned that "big swells and deadly rip currents are expected Wednesday and Thursday from Hurricane Katia, though she will stay hundreds of miles offshore," WITN in Washington said. "Officials also ask people to be respectful of roadside crews working to clear debris from Hurricane Irene."

Three of the state's Coastal Reserves (below) have reopened after Hurricane Irene, though the Division of Coastal Management warns visitors to be wary of downed trees. Five of the 10 Coastal Reserves were closed in anticipation of the August 27 landfall of the storm.

The Currituck Banks National Estuarine Research Reserve near Corolla, Kitty Hawk Woods Coastal Reserve in Kitty Hawk and Rachel Carson National Estuarine Research Reserve in Beaufort are open to visitors.

The Emily and Richardson Preyer Buckridge Coastal Reserve in Columbia remains closed until damage assessments are complete, as does the Buxton Woods Coastal Reserve on Hatteras Island until access to Hatteras Island is restored.