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North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke
Island Sound side Access and Demonstration Area
Manteo, North Carolina
The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island is one of
three state owned Aquariums located along the North Carolina coast. It
is one of the 21 federally designated Coastal
America Coastal Ecosystem Leaning Centers (CELCs), and thereby receive
special consideration as they are a component of a network of outstanding
environmental education centers around the country. The NC Aquarium on
Roanoke Island is in Manteo, North Carolina overlooking the Croatan Sound.
The Aquarium is situated on approximately 14 acres with approximately
2000 feet of sound frontage.
| Background: The North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke
Island's sound front property was experiencing erosion problems in
the late 1980's and early 1990's. The U.S. Army stabilized approximately
2000 feet of shoreline using large size trap rock. The rock revetment
created visual and physical barrier and impedes access to the sound.
In addition, it fails to serve as a government leading by example
shoreline project for North Carolina, a leader in promoting soft and
mixed erosion control structures. We would like to be able to provide
sound access and water-based programming to our visitors, approximately
305,000 visitors annually. We would also like to present a demonstration
area that would stabilize and reclaim shoreline access. This potential
demonstration area would also educate visitors about current shoreline
stabilization techniques. The potential demonstration area, approximately
three acres, is open and has plenty of space to implement any creative
features the team may identify. Aquarium staff have identified components
that could be included in this project. The components may include,
a boardwalk/deck with pier, a gazebo and overlook. The staff has also
presented the concept of an "aquatic to upland" approach, to integrate
this project with the existing nature trail. In addition, this potential
demonstration would help support the Aquarium's mission of promoting
appreciation and conservation of North Carolina's aquatic resources.
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Training opportunity: Design and construct a leading-edge
shoreline erosion control and water access project. The units involved
would gain direct experience in these techniques by working with guidance
from the State of North Carolina and USACE Wilmington District's planning
staffs. As coastal erosion is a problem facing bases owned by all of our
services, this training opportunity is applicable to a wide range of units'
missions.
The project would involve 3 major components:
1. Coastal Engineering: The site of located on Pamlico Sound, and
accordingly, significant fetch results in relatively high wave energy.
The coastal engineering design challenge would entail developing a erosion
protection scheme that would continue to protect the North Carolina Aquarium
on Roanoke Island's lands, but would do so through a more environmentally
friendly and innovative approach. Offshore breakwaters, rock sills, vegetation
and other components would all be examined as options for site design.
As significant qualities of rock already are placed on the site, innovative
reuse of these materials into a new design would be a component of the
design. The Wilmington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers possesses
planning expertise and can assist the State of North Carolina through
its Section 22 authority, Planning Assistance to States. While the bulk
of the coastal engineering would be performed by the IRT participants,
the Wilmington District's engineers could be involved as project partners,
providing advice and design oversight as requested by the units primarily
involved in the task. As access from the aquarium facility to the water
and a pier to allow for small boat access to the site are goals of the
project, these design features would be built into the engineering designs.
A nearby USACE project, Festival Park, is also located on Roanoke Island
and utilizes many of the techniques which could be used at this project
site. Easy access to that site and its project designers can be utilized
as a teaching tool for the units involved in the North Carolina Aquarium
on Roanoke Island project.
2. Site construction for erosion control and water access:
Implementation of the project as designed by the coastal engineering group
will require grading, relocating of existing rock and potentially placing
new rock on land an in adjacent waters, as well as pier and boardwalk
construction. Use of vegetation as an engineering feature, and corresponding
appropriate planting techniques, will also play a role. Expertise in the
vegetation component will be supplemented by state and federal agency
staff (i.e. USDA, NOAA, etc.). All consumable materials will be provided
by the State of North Carolina.
3. Associated structures: A vertical construction
and design component will include structures, currently envisioned as
a gazebo or similar structure(s), as a component of the overall site plan.
Engineers would work hand-in-hand with outdoor education planners to select
an appropriate scale and design for the structure(s).
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Project points of contact:
J.P. McCann
Director North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island
252-473-2453
JP.McCann@ncmail.net
http://www.ncaquariums.com/newsite/ri/riindex.htm
William Nuckols Project Coordinator and Acting Military
Liaison
Coastal America 300 7th Street, SW Washington, DC 20024
202-401-9548
443-994-1493 cell
william.nuckols@usda.gov
www.CoastalAmerica.gov
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