Located near the Point of Cape Lookout, a sandbar has begun to connect, known as Shark Island, which lies outside of Cape Lookout's jurisdiction. The sand in this region is soft, making it difficult to navigate, increasing the risk of becoming stuck.
Due to high fire danger throughout the park, a fire ban has been put into place. As a result, the lighting of campfires is not allowed at this time. Charcoal grills are permissible as long as the charcoal is attended during use.
The islands are more than a place to enjoy a warm summer’s day. For sea turtles and many shore birds, the beaches are a nursery for their young. Some endangered plants, such as Seabeach Amaranth, only grow on specific areas of the dunes. The wild horses of Shackleford Banks depend exclusively on the resources of their island to survive.
The National Park Service must balance the needs of those who use the islands for recreation with the needs of those who use them for survival. For this reason, the park’s resource management staff spends most of the spring and summer monitoring and marking the areas needed by nesting shore birds and sea turtles as well as endangered plant species. The Shackleford horses are monitored all year.
Below are links to reports that tell us how we are doing in sharing the islands with those who need them for survival. These reports are available for download in pdf format.
NPS Photo/Brit Brown
Shorebird Monitoring Report
2023 Annual Report for piping plover, red knots, American oystercatcher, & colonial nesting shorebirds 2022 Annual Report for piping plover, red knots, American oystercatcher, & colonial nesting shorebirds (pdf, 1.25 MB) 2021 Annual Report for piping plover, red knots, American oystercatcher, & colonial nesting shorebirds (pdf, 7.54 MB)
2018 Annual Report for piping plover, red knots, American oystercatcher, & colonial nesting shorebirds (pdf, 6.03 MB)
These reports are available in pdf format and are listed in tables. This part of the website is best accessed by computer rather than mobile device or screen reader.
Note:The individual report files for all but the sea turtle reports have been updated to be compliant with 508 requirements. The sea turtle reports are still being worked on and will be reposted soon. Contact us for more information.
