Sounds Magazine, Volume 19, Number 1, Spring 2005 Page: 19 of 52
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Spring 2005 SOUNDS p. 19
able to access the channel markers and buoys,
and is being forced to remove some of the
markers entirely. Other coastal inlets affected
include Bogue, Carolina and Lockwood's Folly.
According to chamber officials, "This will
result in the inlets becoming 'non-navigable'
and declared 'closed,' in practical terms sig-
nifying that without dredging, and replacing
the markers, these inlets will simply cease to
exist, and at the minimum, loss of these
channels will have broad economic, environ-
mental and boating safety impacts at the
local, county and ultimately state levels."
The text of the chamber's resolution
concludes that, "The chamber urgently
requests that a concerted effort be made by
our elected officials to restore funding to
dredge New River Inlet and New Topsail
Inlet on a regular basis, such that they will
be maintainable on a year-round basis by
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and
thereby be useable by the many commer-
cial, charter and recreational boaters who
access the ocean via these inlets."
Issues of paramount concern to the
chamber include: the safety of boaters; the
impact on commercial fishing, charterboat operators and recreational boaters; a
severe impact on tourism - "one of our
principal economic engines"; the impact
on estuaries and wetlands, as well as on
fisheries, both fin and shell, on the water-
way side of Topsail Island; potential
impacts on the current highly active real
estate market; and the impact on not-for-
profit charitable resources, which often
sponsor fishing tournaments and similar
activities, that would be unable to gener-
ate the funds that support the youth, eld-
erly, and needy of our communities.
The chamber has circulated petitions
throughout the greater Topsail area asking
residents and visitors to sign off on this crit-
ical need. Thus far, over 700 signatures have
been collected. Additionally, it has posted a
banner on its website (www.topsailcoc.com)
directing to a link, through which people
can contact their elected officials online, in
both Raleigh and Washington, DC.
The chamber has prepared promotional
materials, and is in the process of working
with institutions of higher education, in trying
to assemble a regional economic impact state-
ment, which could demonstrate the conse-quences of these closures in bottom line terms.
In February, the chamber joined forces
with other individuals and organizations,
reaching from Carteret County to
Brunswick County, in seeking solutions. A
"town hall" meeting in Swansboro held on
March 3 drew over 700 concerned individ-
uals, working toward both short term and
long-term solutions. Another meeting,
conducted in Sneads Ferry on March 6,
addressed the New River Inlet specifically
Subsequently, a regional organization,
The Alliance for North Carolina Inlets, hay
been formed to tackle the issues. The
Alliance is to continue to meet until the
inlet concerns are brought to resolution.
Chamber officials say, "The closure of our
inlets is not to be taken lightly, and is current-
ly the top priority in our program of work. We
thank our elected officials, with whom we and
others have been in contact, for the measures
they are taking on our behalf. We continue to
generate all the resources at our disposal to
bring this issue to a positive outcome."
Further information regarding inlet clo-
sures can be found at www.fryingpantow-
er.com and www.obsfc.us.,xA .r. ...
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Pletl, Connie. Sounds Magazine, Volume 19, Number 1, Spring 2005, periodical, Spring 2005; Hampstead, North Carolina. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth887602/m1/19/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting National WASP WWII Museum.