Legislature intervenes in Jockey’s Ridge controversy, would provide interim protections

Jockey’s Ridge State Park, embroiled in a dispute between the Coastal Resources Commission and the Rules Review Commission, would be protected, at least temporarily, under House Bill 426, introduced today.

The legislation, taken up by the Senate Agriculture, Energy and Environment Committee, would direct the CRC to designate the park as an “Area of Environmental Concern” until permanent rules are adopted.

Located in Dare County, Jockey’s Ridge is known for its breathtaking 100-foot sand dunes. The U.S. Department of the Interior has designated the park as a National Natural Area. The Parks Division wrote in 2017 that Jockey’s Ridge “provides an important and increasingly limited habitat for native plants and animals,” including dune grass, maritime evergreen forests and brackish marshes.

State rules had classified the park as Area of Environmental Concern, which protected it from development. However, the Rules Review Commission nullified that rule, along with nearly 30 others, stripping the park of environmental protection. Yesterday, the CRC sent an amended rule, along with findings from the state geologist, back to the Rules Review Commission in hopes it would reverse its decision.

The 10 members of the Rules Review Commission are appointed by House and Senate leaders — Rep. Tim Moore and Sen. Phil Berger, both Republicans.

Jockey’s Ridge has been targeted for development before. A Newsline investigation in 2022 found that the Rogallo Foundation, a fledgling nonprofit wanted the state to lease — for free — it a slice of the park to build museum to honor the inventors of the “flexible wing” that made hang gliding possible. The foundation had proposed a 99-year lease, whose terms would have been confidential. The state rejected the request.