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Rachel Carson Estuarine Research Reserve

Rachel Carson Reserve Map

LOCATION:
Coast
Carteret County

SIZE IN ACRES:
2,675

INVOLVEMENT IN ACRES:
398


Yellow Crowned Night Heron
Yellow-crowned night heron (© TNC)
White Ibis
White ibis (© Robin Bjork)

TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP:
Beaufort, Harkers Island

Topographical maps are available by contacting:
NC Geographical Survey.
1612 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1612.
(919) 715-9718
www.geology.enr.state.nc.us/

ACTIVITIES & AMENITIES:
Birding / Hiking / Canoeing-Kayaking / Boat Ramp

OWNERSHIP & ACCESS:
N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve
Rachel Carson Component
P.O. Box 1040
Beaufort, NC 28516
(252) 728-2170

For guided tours, contact:
N.C. Maritime Museum
315 Front Street
Beaufort, NC 28516
(252) 728-7317

SITE INFORMATION:
This string of small islands is located across Taylor’s Creek from historic Beaufort and on the sound side of Shackleford Banks. A half-mile interpretive trail on the west side of the Rachel Carson Reserve highlights the area’s common species and special features. The trail meanders through mudflats, uplands, and salt marshes, illustrating the various unique environments found in estuarine systems. A small herd of feral horses roams the islands and over 200 bird species have been recorded here. Late summer through winter offers great birding for seabirds, shorebirds, marsh birds, and wading birds, including piping plover, oystercatcher, and terns.

You may go on a guided tour of the islands from the N.C. Maritime Museum on Beaufort’s Front Street, or you can kayak out on your own steam. It is only about a hundred yards across the narrow channel to the reserve.

CONSERVATION HIGHLIGHTS:
The Rachel Carson Reserve is part of North Carolina’s Coastal Reserve system, a program managed by the Division of Coastal Management to ensure the preservation of natural resources and threatened habitat in North Carolina’s 20 coastal counties. The sanctuary is also part of the N.C. National Estuarine Research Reserve. In the late 1970s the Conservancy protected 398 acres of Carrot Island to keep threatened wetland habitat from being developed.

DIRECTIONS:
There is water access from downtown Beaufort, reached by US 70. You may travel by private ferry or with your own boat. There is a public boat ramp with a parking lot and restrooms two miles east of downtown on Front Street.