Wrightsville Beach Field Trip

Introduction: Unlike recently developed beaches such as Figure Eight Island (started in 1967) and Sunset Beach (started in the 1960s), Wrightsville Beach has a long history of development dating back to the late 1800s.  With this long history, many concerns with the development processes have surfaced in the past and continued new development always seems to be "pushing the envelop" as far as being good for the environment.  We will make three stops on Wrightsville Beach to view the current management concerns and trace the history of the area in an effort to put the concern in the context of the development process.  The magnitude and direction of the coastal processes affecting the development will be discussed.

Answer each of the questions posed at each stop as part of your laboratory assignment.  Due date: Tuesday, 3 September 2002.

Stop 1.  Shell Island Resort. This resort was built in what the Office of Coastal Management determined to be an inlet hazard zone.  Many of the purchasers of units in this structure were unaware of this designation.  Since construction of the resort, Masons Inlet has migrated rapidly southward to a point where it is imperiling the resort.  Numerous efforts have been undertaken to prevent the inlet from impacting the structure, but to date all have failed.

FIELD NOTES:

• What would be the best outcome for this management problem?  How could it be achieved?  
• Should private, local, state, federal, or some combination of funding be used to support minimizing the impact of the inlet on the Shell Island Resort?  Why?

Stop 2. Station 1 Condominium. This section of Wrightsville Beach illustrates the results of beach renourishment.  Before renourishment, the first row of homes were destroyed in Hurricane Hazel in 1954.  Therefore, the homes you see are actually the second row of homes.  Each street perpendicular to the beach serves as an access for the public.  Dune reconstruction has met with minimal success.  Renourishment, which was started in earnest in the mid-1960s, has gradually increased in frequency and amount of sand.

FIELD NOTES:

• What is the sand source for renourishment of Wrightsville Beach?  
• When this source runs out, where will the town of Wrightsville Beach turn to for sand? 
• Has renourishment been successful?  
• What are your criteria for your determination of success?

Stop 3.  Masonboro Inlet.  Masonboro Inlet is one of the few "controlled" inlets in North Carolina.  Jetties were constructed at the inlet during the past 40 years.  This particular kind of jetty system, a weir jetty, is one of the first of its kind actually constructed.  The jetty system has been highly successful in maintaining the inlet in position and allowing Wrightsville Beach to grow seaward.  Unfortunately, these events have been at the expense of the island to the south of the inlet, Masonboro Island.

FIELD NOTES:

• Using a diagram of the inlet area, show the basic construction of the weir jetty and describe how it works.  
• How and why is Masonboro Island changing?