Imagine, if you will, the most beautiful and undisturbed beach that you have ever seen. Imagine the birds soaring overhead, the waves spilling onto pristine sand and the rustling of the beach grass as the only sound you hear. Now, imagine that same beach blanketed with gleaming beer cans, cardboard boxes and empty liquor bottles as far as the eye can see. Imagine your perfect and undisturbed beach utterly tainted.
Masonboro Island has long been viewed by those in Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach as a beach-goer and surfer’s paradise, a place to escape the summer crowds and enjoy the local beach scene. Unfortunately, however, Masonboro Island is not often enough recognized for what it truly is, a precious natural resource. The island is a dedicated nature preserve designated as part of the Division of Coastal Management’s North Carolina Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve, organizations that oversee Masonboro and utilize it for its most valuable purposes: environmental stewardship, education and research.
Not wanting to deprive the public of all Masonboro has to offer, DCM and NCCR/NCNERR have kept the site open to the public, allowing use of the island’s beaches and primitive camping opportunities. For the greater part of the year, this leniency does not prove problematic; most users of Masonboro Island visit the site responsibly and respectfully. But it is during the summer holidays such as Fourth of July that primitive camping transforms into drunken partying, and respectful use transforms into destruction. Piles of trash cover Masonboro’s beaches by the night’s end and only with the help of a sizable team of volunteers can they be cleaned.
This is an issue of environmental responsibility. Masonboro Island is home to a number of threatened species, including loggerhead turtles and numerous shorebirds, which rely on the site for nesting each year. As the largest undisturbed barrier island in southern North Carolina — and an extensive estuarine habitat — Masonboro is a critical habitat for these species; however, every year it is subjected to disturbance and destruction by loud, drunken partiers and the pollution that is left in their wake.
This is also an issue of safety and legality. Masonboro Island is subject to all federal and state laws as well as local regulations and ordinances. Underage drinking, use of controlled substances, contributing to the delinquency of minors, littering, leash laws and a list of other regulations are all enforceable and punishable by fines and jail time. Worst of all, when the celebration ends Masonboro partiers often risk their personal safety to return home at night by driving their boats intoxicated or swimming across the busy inlet to reach Wrightsville Beach.
This editorial is not meant to suggest that all attendees who misuse Masonboro Island on the Fourth of July are college students, or even that college students alone form the majority. Instead, it is meant to call on the students as stewards of the environment who will seek to reform their actions and the actions of others and become more environmentally responsible. So, think about it this Fourth of July. Consider enjoying your holiday elsewhere or, if you do visit Masonboro Island, go trash free; treat the island with respect and be smart about your safety.
