Currituck Sound estuary

1. Currituck Sound
A North Carolina Estuary
Kella Randolph BS M Ed

2. Currituck Sound Estuary
 Location
Importance
Plant life
Animal life
Rivers, streams and other waterways
Threats to the Currituck Sound Estuary

3. Location of the Currituck
Sound
Currituck Sound is a shallow, 3-mile-wide
water body fed by the North River; and the
well-known Albemarle Sound. The
Intracoastal Waterway is on the North
River, which provides a connection
between the Hampton Roads area to the
north and Pamlico Sound.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7128
Just 75 miles north of the very edge of
Corolla, where NC Highway 12 ends and
the 4WD accessible only beaches of the
northern portion island begins, many
explorers attest that the Currituck Banks
Coastal Estuarine Reserve is best
discovered via the two nature trails, or with
a 4WD vehicle. http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-
banks-coastal-estuarine-reserve.htmld to the south.

4. Importance of the Currituck Sound
 the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve is 965 acres of natural maritime
habitat. Visitors are free to explore the nature trails that wind through the area for
some of the Northern Outer Banks' best fishing, hunting, birding, hiking, photo
ops, and wild discoveries of how all of the barrier islands of the Outer Banks used
to be decades and even centuries ago. http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-
banks-coastal-estuarine-reserve.html
 We need estuaries to prevent shoreline erosion, buffer the impact of storms, filter
and neutralize contaminants, and produce fish and shellfish to feed ourselves and
our livestock. We need governmental agencies and nonprofit groups to monitor
and protect water quality and estuarine habitats.
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/544?ref=search

5. Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve. This area was one of three original components of the Currituck Banks that
was dedicated by the NOAA and the Division of Coastal Management in 1985, and was reserved and protected due to
its distinct and completely unique ecosystem. As a result, countless habitats for fish, reptiles, birds, and even the famous
Corolla Wild Horses have been careful preserved in their natural condition. http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-
banks-coastal-estuarine-reserve.html

6. The Geography of the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve
The islands of the Currituck Banks have been moving, at a glacial pace, to the west,
creating marshes and saltwater streams stemming from inlet deltas and over wash
that were directly affected by changes in rising sea levels.

7. Currituck water is getting fresher
 Another factor leading to significant changes in the Currituck landscape is the
influx of fresh water. For centuries, the northern barrier islands of the Currituck
Banks were separated by a small series of inlets, but one by one, they all started to
close as larger inlets along the Outer Banks, like Oregon Inlet or even Hatteras
Inlet, began to open, encouraged in no small part by passing nor'easters and
hurricanes. The last inlet on the Currituck Banks closed in 1828, leaving the island
more than 60 miles away from the closest saltwater inlet. Because of this, Currituck
Sound does not have regular deposits of saltwater, and as the decades have
passed, the waters of the sound side have gradually changed from strictly salty
waters to more freshwater environments.
 http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-banks-coastal-estuarine-reserve.html

8. The Currituck Sound borders acres of
undisturbed marshlands, maritime forests,
and undisrupted landscape where wildlife
could flourish.
 This sound was one of the few sounds
along the East Coast that wasn't primarily a
saltwater environment. As the inlets
bordering the central Outer Banks closed up
during the past few centuries, the salinity of
the Currituck Sound dwindled. In fact, since
the late 1700s, the only connection this
sound has with the ocean is via the Oregon
Inlet, located a good 40 miles south of
Corolla, North Carolina. Because of this
distinction, a number of species that aren't
normally accustomed to a salty environment
were able to thrive.
 http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-sound.html
Currituck Sound

9. Full of life
 This nearly-1,000 acre parcel of land is home to ocean beaches, sand dunes, shrub
thickets, grasslands, maritime forests, freshwater marshes, saltwater marshes, tidal flats,
and sub-tidal soft bottoms. And all of these minor ecosystems accommodate and serve
as a home for countless species of fish, birds, reptiles, mammals and plants. the
Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine Reserve spans from the borders of the Atlantic Ocean
west to the Currituck Sound, and is essentially and quite literally a "slice" of wild barrier
island life.
 Estuaries—areas where fresh and saltwater mix—are made up of many different types of
habitats. These habitats can include oyster reefs, coral reefs, rocky shores, submerged
aquatic vegetation, marshes, and mangroves. There are also different animals that live in
each of these different habitats. Fish, shellfish, and migratory birds are just a few of the
animals that can live in an estuary. http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/estuarylife.html

10. Plants of the Currituck Sound
www.stateforests.com

11. Some Wetlands Plants

For an extensive list see
https://brunswick.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-
content/uploads/2013/04/Plants-for-
Backyard-Wetlands.pdf?fwd=no

12. Wildlife Refuge

13. Animals of the Currituck Sound
www.visitcurrituck.com. http://www.outerbanks.com/ghost-crabs.html

14. Perhaps the reserve's most famous residents are the Currituck Wild Horses,
which were relocated here from the busy town of Corolla in the 1980s to
protect them from the busy traffic and population influx along NC Highway
12.

15. Birds of the Currituck Sound

16. Wild birds of Currituck
Photos courtesy of Currituck-Dare Community foundation, http://www.duckstamp03.com/244PageFullSize.html

17. A walk on the wild side
 the Currituck Banks Coastal Estuarine
Reserve is 965 acres of natural
maritime habitat. Visitors are free to
explore the nature trails that wind
through the area for some of the
Northern Outer Banks' best fishing,
hunting, birding, hiking, photo ops,
and wild discoveries of how all of the
barrier islands of the Outer Banks
used to be decades and even
centuries ago.
http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-banks-
coastal-estuarine-reserve.html

18. Human Life Refuge
A quiet day spent with nature can help us to gain perspective.

19. Rivers, streams, or waterways that feed into the
Currituck Sound
 Currituck Sound is a shallow, 3-mile-wide water body fed by the North River; and
the well-known Albemarle Sound. Wakes from barges on the Intracoastal
Waterway appear on the North River, which provides a connection between the
Hampton Roads area to the north and Pamlico Sound to the south.
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=7128
 The most significant freshwater inputs to Currituck Sound include the North
Landing River and Northwest River, both originating in the Great Dismal Swamp
of North Carolina and Virginia. Back Bay, a 35 square mile estuary located in
Virginia, also discharges water into the sound through shallow water channels
along the eastern shore.
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Portals/59/docs/review_plans/Congressional%20Fact%20Sheets/4%20-%20Currituck%20Sound%20NC.pdf

20. The threats to Currituck Sound Estuary and/or
North Carolina estuaries
 Excessive Nutrients
 Nutrients are substances which help plants and animals grow. Two nutrients, nitrogen
and phosphorous, are present in plant fertilizer and wastes from animals and people.
Rain can wash fertilizer from lawns and fields into streams and the Sounds. This type of
pollution is called "nonpoint source" since it does not come from a single point, but it is
from water running off a large land area. Sewage treatment plants and leaky septic
systems can also add nutrients to the water. When pollution comes from a single point,
such as an outfall pipe, it is called "point source" pollution.
 When too many nutrients get into the water, they disturb the natural balance by
allowing too much algae (microscopic plants) to grow. The algae cloud the water and
block vital sunlight to underwater plants (submerged aquatic vegetation or SAV). When
the algae die and decay, they use up much of the oxygen needed by fish and shellfish,
often killing them. https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

21. The threats to the Currituck
Sound
Today the sound has
too high a sediment
load from marsh loss
due to erosion and a
reduction in
submerged aquatic
vegetation resulting in
less abundant birds
and fish.
http://nc.audubon.org/news/new-alliance-
addresses-health-currituck-sound

22. Toxic Materials
 Toxics are chemicals that can cause cancer (carcinogens) or other harmful effects.
Their effects can be immediate such as a poison, or occur very slowly such as
with cancer. Streams and rivers are very effective at hiding the effects of poisons.
Often the fish that are killed are not seen. They may be small and hard to see or
eaten by turtles, snakes, crabs, or other scavengers. Modern pesticides (i.e.,
chemicals used to kill animals, insects, or plants) used on lawns and fields are
very poisonous but, fortunately, they break down much more quickly than older
pesticides such as DDT. Because these modem pesticides are toxic they should
not be used near rivers or streams or along roads with storm drains which lead to
a stream. Cancer-causing substances enter our rivers from municipal sewage
treatment plants or industrial discharges and sometimes from nonpoint source
discharges. Although we are usually exposed to low concentrations of
carcinogens, there are thousands of cancer-causing agents. The cumulative
effects of these agents is not fully understood.
 https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

23. Erosion and Sedimentation
 •Every time it rains around the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed, water erodes the
land. The precious soil which washes away into streams is called sediment.
Sediments are carried downstream and may eventually enter the Sounds, where
they settle out of the water and cover the bottom.
 •Sediments can harm Sound life in several ways. Sediment particles pick up toxic
materials on their surface and concentrate them on the bottom of the Sound.
Floating or suspended sediment clouds the water, cutting off light to SAV. Excess
sediment smothers clams, oysters, and other bottom dwellers.
 https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

24. Habitat Loss
 An animal s habitat is its home. Habitat provides shelter, food, water, and space.
As more and more people come to live and work around the Albemarle and
Pamlico Sounds, more and more habitat is being lost. Some animals, such as
squirrels, can adapt to these changes and learn to coexist with humans. But many
others, such as black bears, bald eagles, and black ducks, do not adapt well to
change. Habitat damage and loss can decrease a population of plants or animals
or even cause extinction.
 Wetlands, one of the most important types of habitat, are threatened all around
the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed. They are filled in for development, drained for
agriculture, or dredged for marinas. Pollution has degraded water quality in the
Sounds and their rivers, resulting in declines of important SAV and scallops.
 https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

25. How Can I help?
 The Sounds depend on us for life just as we depend on the Sounds. Therefore, it is extremely
important that we exercise great care with our actions. We must become responsible citizen
caretakers of the Albemarle-Pamlico watershed in order to restore and preserve our natural
neighborhood.
 Conserve water. Take short showers; run dish and clothes washers only when full; and place a
plastic bottle in the toilet tank to reduce the amount of water flushed.
 Make certain your septic system is working well and is not overflowing.
 Use household chemicals and pesticides carefully. Choose the least toxic material, and buy only
what you need. Follow instructions, and dispose of leftovers carefully.
 Plant vegetation along streams to prevent soil erosion and to absorb excess nutrients from
fertilizers.
 Recycle used oil, paper, aluminum cans, and glass.
 Use a sewage pump-out station on land to empty boat toilets.
 Observe posted boat speed limits. Large wakes from boats can erode shorelines and banks.
 Clean up debris and trash from a local stream to improve stream flow and water quality.
 https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html

26. Sources
 https://www.fws.gov/nc-es/edout/albewhatwrong.html
 http://www.coastalreview.org/2016/01/taking-the-pulse-of-currituck-sound/
 http://nc.audubon.org/news/new-alliance-addresses-health-currituck-sound
 http://www.slideshare.net/KellaRandolph/nc-estuaries
 http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/544?ref=search
 http://www.outerbanks.com/currituck-sound.html