The Donal C. O’Brien, Jr Sanctuary and Audubon Center

Audubon Sanctuary Site

Top 2% of Climate Strongholds protecting ¼ of climate imperiled species in U.S.A.

Representative Habitats within 2,600 acres

• Needle Rush Marsh – extensive Giant Cord Grass fringing marsh, and forested islands (1,800 acres)

• Evergreen Maritime Forest • Deciduous Swamp Forest • Stable Dune Barren • Red Bay Shrub Swamp • Open Fields • Freshwater ponds • and • Extensive SAV beds

Currituck Club • Hold conservation easement of 1,600+ acres • PI + CC + Public Trust waters = 14,000 acres in conservation in heart of Currituck Sound

Current Facilities supporting Research and Education

Dock and boathouses Pavilion

Current Facilities supporting Research and Education

Historic Lodge sleeps 17 Research Cottages

$40/person/night

Future Facilities supporting Research and Education

Great Hall Science Workshop

The Alliance for Currituck Sound

a community based

collaborative of diverse

stakeholders restoring the

health of Currituck

Sound

College Programs and Research

Universities onsite in 2017 Duke – Masters project NCSU – PR Undergrad UNC – Erosion intern Wake Forest – Climate Change class Chowan – Field Ecology Class Eliz. City State –a developing partnership

Research Duke – Historic marsh loss and socio-economic impacts Davidson – Tree Swallows UNC CSI – Low Cost Erosion Control, Coastal engineering Chowan –sediment behavior In marsh, amphibian survey, Marsh/Swamp/Upland maps WRC – Herp surveys

Marsh Mapping and Restoration Duke/ UNC -CH

• Duke Master Project Mapping Historic Shoreline Changes and Marsh Loss • UNC Undergrad doing experimental low cost erosion reduction techniques

Currituck Sound loses 72 acres of Marsh per Year

Biota Studies –

• Davidson – Tree Swallow Nesting and Range Expansion • NCSU – Online Herbarium of Pine Island

• NC Botanical Garden (BLM) – Seeds of Success – Local Genotype Seed Bank • NY Botanical Gardens – Lichen Biodiversity

• William and Mary – Black Rail Survey • Chowan University – Amphibian Calling, Night Flying Insects, etc.

• NC WRC – Herp Surveys

Chowan University – supported by SeaGrant

• Mapping boundaries between Marsh, Swamp and Upland for long-term change monitoring • Studies of Above and Below ground biomass (Phragmites vs. Spartina) • Study of Sediment deposition on marsh

Living Shoreline Demonstration Project

Clean Water Management Trust Fund Grant applied for:

CWMTF Planning Grant applied for: • To develop a long term protection plan and pilot restoration techniques for southwest facing marsh islands exposed to high erosion from long fetch • Explore solutions from highly engineered to less so.

A Conservation Plan for Currituck Sound and The Donal C. O’Brien Audubon Sanctuary

At Pine Island

The Donal C. O’Brien Audubon Sanctuary at Pine Island will be a primary catalyst for a healthy greater Currituck Sound ecosystem with diverse habitats sufficient for the long-term sustainability of populations of birds and other wildlife.