North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson joined Division of Coastal Management (DCM) staff, state and local officials, and community partners on May 1 for a visit to the Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve as part of the ongoing Discover the N.C. Coastal Reserve Tour.
The event marked the fifth stop in the multi-year Discover the N.C. Coastal Reserve campaign, which highlights the importance of the N.C. Coastal Reserve’s 10 sites and programs and their role in protecting North Carolina’s coastal resources for future generations.
This tour focused on the unique maritime forest ecosystem within Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve and showcased several additional coastal management programs that help protect and shape North Carolina’s coast, with a special focus on Kitty Hawk initiatives.
Following remarks from state and local officials, DCM staff led guests on a guided hike through the reserve. Secretary Wilson delivered remarks following the hike before attendees visited a Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access site and participated in a boat tour of the reserve.
The tour stop also highlighted DCM’s Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access and Resilient Coastal Communities programs, as well as the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Marine Patrol and their ongoing work to support North Carolina’s coastal communities and waterways.
“What you see here at Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve is part of a much larger, coordinated effort across the Department of Environmental Quality to protect and sustain North Carolina’s coast,” said Secretary Reid Wilson. “Programs like the Resilient Coastal Communities Program help towns prepare for flooding, sea level rise, and long-term resilience, while the Public Beach and Waterfront Access Program helps ensure residents and visitors can responsibly access and enjoy these natural resources. Access builds appreciation, and appreciation drives stewardship. At the same time, the work of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries supports healthy fisheries and coastal economies that depend on clean water and functioning habitats like those protected here. Together, these efforts reflect DEQ’s broader mission to protect the environment while supporting the communities, economies, and quality of life that make North Carolina’s coast so special.”
Special guests included:
Representative Ed Goodwin
Representative Celeste Cairns
North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission Chair Renee Cahoon
Kitty Hawk Mayor Charlotte Walker, Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Pruitt, and Councilmember Peter Mantz
Nags Head Mayor Ben Cahoon
DEQ Assistant Secretary for Resilience Kathie Dello
“I found it gratifying to have our environmental assets visited by the Department of Environmental Quality staff well as state officials and concerned citizens,” said Kitty Hawk Mayor Charlotte Walker. “They had the opportunity to understand firsthand why preserving our natural resources is of such critical importance to our town.”
The reserve program in North Carolina started 41 years ago with the designation of the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve in 1985 via a federal-state partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Estuarine Research Reserve System and the Division of Coastal Management. This designation provided an inspirational model for the state to protect additional habitat areas. In 1989, the General Assembly amended the Coastal Area Management Act to formally establish the N.C. Coastal Reserve which includes the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve. The program now protects 10 sites, including the Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve.
Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve spans approximately 1,900 acres and protects one of the largest remaining maritime forests on the Outer Banks. The reserve was established through decades of partnership between the State of North Carolina and the Town of Kitty Hawk, beginning with the town’s acquisition of a 462-acre tract in the early 1990s. Additional lands were later protected through state acquisitions supported by The Nature Conservancy with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program and what is now the North Carolina Land and Water Fund. Today, the reserve protects maritime deciduous forest, maritime swamp forest, marsh, and creek habitats and features approximately five miles of hiking trails and five miles of paddle trails . Compatible traditional uses such as recreation, fishing, and hunting continue at the site.
Kitty Hawk Woods was identified as the highest-priority maritime forest protection site in the landmark 1988 Assessment of Maritime Forest Resources on the North Carolina Coast because of its exceptional habitat diversity and large, intact landscape. That recognition helped drive long-term conservation efforts that continue today through shared state and local management of the reserve. Kitty Hawk Woods is one of three top-priority maritime forest sites from the 1988 report now protected within the N. Ca. Coastal Reserve, alongside Buxton Woods and Bald Head Island Reserves.
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