Big NC Names Lobby for Overturning NC Jetty Ban

A letter recently sent around by some owners of homes on Figure Eight Island includes some very recognizable names – like Dean Smith, Parker Overton, Bill Cavanaugh, and Hadley Callaway. These prominent North Carolinians are asking others to join them in a very controversial endeavor – an attempt to overturn NC’s longtime ban on hardened structures, like jetties, on NC beaches. As anyone who’s been to a New Jersey beach can attest, such jetties can stop erosion directly behind the jetty, but simply cause more serious erosion down the beach for those not so fortunate to have their own jetty.

Immediately after the letter was sent around, the NC Coastal Federation sent its own email to Figure Eight homeowners. It notes that the science behind building such jetties is not encouraging. In addition to potentially damaging beaches down from the jetty, the building cost can run millions of dollars and does not negate the need for beach nourishment and millions in ongoing maintenance. The federation encourages homeowners to actually read the latest scientific report on jetties before allowing their names to be used to lobby against the jetty ban.