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Surviving the Storm CARTERET COUNTY was devastated by Hurricane Florence. Cape Lookout, adjacent
to Shackleford Banks, bore the brunt of the strongest winds for hours. Harkers Island,
where the Cape Lookout National Seashore headquarters is located, suffered significant
damage.
“A skeleton crew is working within the park to assess and address the damage; how-ever,
it will be some time before they resume normal operations,” Margaret Poindexter,
president of the Foundation for Shackleford Horses, said a couple of days after the
storm. “Equipment necessary to survey horses on Shackleford was moved out in advance of the storm
and will not be available for several days. Approximately 30 horses have been spotted thus far by park
staff during the course of conducting other business, and all appeared to be healthy and acting nor-mally.
We are working with the park to formulate a plan for a formal survey. Please know that we and
the park staff are as anxious as anyone to put our eyes on horses and count noses. Since the passage
of the Shackleford Banks Wild Horses Protection Act 20 years ago, the Foundation and the park have
worked cooperatively to preserve and protect the wild herd on Shackleford, including through hurri-canes
like Floyd, Isabel, and Irene. We are handling this storm no differently.”
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place, as much as the
lighthouse and fishing
and the beaches,” she
says. “It’s important to
preserve these living
legacies. I think a lot
of things are drawing
people to the island
and it’s been that way
for many years. We try
to turn the challenge
of increased visitation
into an opportunity.
It’s an opportunity to
educate more people
about what makes
these horses unique
and what everyone
can do to help pre-serve
and protect
them.”