The temperatures have started to drop, traffic is a little lighter and there are a few less footprints in the sand (human and sea turtle!) – the classic signs that fall is here in the Outer Banks.

 

Your OBX national parks are still tallying the numbers, but summer 2021 will likely be the busiest summer we’ve had on record. Even as things slow down this fall and winter in our parks, our work to protect and enhance these special places does not.

 

Something you may not know about your national parks is that more visitors doesn’t necessarily mean more funding to run our parks – which means your national park staff have to work harder to manage more people with the same resources.

 

That’s where we come in – when you Adopt A Pony, donate in honor of a loved one, or even just forward this newsletter to a friend who also loves the Outer Banks, you help us provide much needed support to your OBX national parks.

 

So, as another OBX summer comes to an end, we are grateful that you are part of our community dedicated to supporting our OBX national parks year round. Stay tuned in the coming months for more interesting stories from your parks and new ways you can make a difference in these places that hold so many amazing memories for each of us.

 

See you in your parks,

 

 

 

 

Jessica Barnes Green

Director, Outer Banks Forever

 

Photo: NPS Ranger says goodbye as two green sea turtles who were rehabbed and released make their way back to the ocean.

Our Meet Your Ranger series introduces you to the many amazing people who support your OBX national parks every day! 

 

We’d like you introduce you to Paul Doshkov, Supervisory Biological Technician at Bodie Island. He spends his days protecting and documenting the wildlife that calls Cape Hatteras National Seashore home, like our beloved sea turtles.

 

Last year, Paul led our first virtual sea turtle nest excavations on Cape Hatteras National Seashore! You can watch the two videos here and here.

Extra, extra, read all about it!

 

We’re thrilled to share that your Outer Banks national parks were recently awarded an Open OutDoors for Kids grant from the National Park Foundation! The goal of the grant program is to provide K-12 students, educators and families with access to national parks around the country through in-person and virtual learning opportunities.

 

We are helping your parks manage this grant that will cover transportation costs for field trips for students in 12 local Title I schools who are learning the important stories of Native American peoples, English exploration, the Freedmen’s Colony on Roanoke Island and the Wright brothers’ first flight on the sands of Kitty Hawk, which our national parks preserve.

 

 

 

 

 

What do an abandoned ship, disappearing Englishmen, rum and birds have in common? They are all real-life, unsolved mysteries from your OBX national parks!

 

With a nickname like the “Graveyard of the Atlantic,” there are no shortage of legends and lore at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. But what happened to the crew of the Carrol A. Derring, the “Ghost Ship” of the Outer Banks?

 

While the Wright brothers can be credited for putting Kill Devil Hills on the map, the sand dunes that stood where your park stands today were already called Kill Devil Hills…but why this unique name?

 

Years before the settlers we know as the “Lost” Colony came to the Outer Banks, other English explorers visited the area, interacted with the Carolina Algonquians who lived here and then disappeared without a trace. What happened to them?

 

Read on…if you dare!

Photo Credits: The Mariners’ Museum, National Park Service