So, back in the day, as mentioned before, the residents of the islands were justifiably concerned as to their future were the Seashore to actually come about. Yes, there was an "if" involved because Congress only gave the Department of the Interior (DOI) ten years to acquire the needed land to form this place else they would lose all claim to the land in question. They failed but kept the land anyway. Eventually a fellow by the name of Conrad Wirth enters the picture as director of the National Park Service.(NPS) Among his various responsibilities was to foster the inception of the nations first National Seashore which Congress had renamed Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. (CHNSRA) Mr Wirth understood what Congress intended this place to be and also understood the impact that it would have on the villages and residents. His letter to the residents, published in the Coastland Times,(still in print) outlines some of the concerns and the way that NPS and DOI were going to alleviate those worries. Among the notable parts of his letters, he discusses expanding the boundaries around the villages to allow for further growth necessary to accommodate future visitors, the continued right for residents to hunt and the constructon of beach access ramps that would allow everyone vehicular access to the beaches in such a way that the dune line would not be damaged. That's right folks, so that people could drive their vehicles onto the beach; something that the environmentalists hate. Excepting themselves of course. But more on that later. He also promised that "we the people" would always have access to these beaches.
And so eventually the Seashore was "developed" for recreational activity and dedicated for that purpose and "we the people" began to arrive and view this place and share in it's wonders.

Tight Lines,

Wheat