Welcome Amber George

In 2006, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund added its first fulltime staff. By September of 2006 we had a fulltime Herd Manager and Executive Director, and a part-time Office Manager. In the last three and a half years, our budget has grown from in the red to $401,000.

A Wild Horse Museum was opened, two gift shops, and a nationwide membership program that now has nearly 2,000 members. Every Tuesday and Thursday from Memorial Day through Labor Day, we offer creative painting activities for kids of all ages and every Wednesday we bring a gentled wild horse that is now in our adoption program. An adoption program had to be created in 2006 for horses that had to be removed from the beach for one reason or another (36 have been placed from Texas to Maine). Our Herd Manager not only responds to emergencies on the beach, he educates visitors, has created a data base of horses that he regularly updates, takes soil, plant, and water samples, trains the wild horses that have been removed from the beach and attends to their health and farrier needs, takes our members for the Trip of a Lifetime, maintains our vehicles and trailer, takes horses to offsite educational events, and so on and on.

Our wild horses have gone from being demeaned as “backyard ponies gone wild” to registered colonial Spanish Mustangs – historic horses that were recently designated by the North Carolina legislature as the North Carolina State Horse.

In a nutshell – our responsibilities have grown exponentially but the size of our staff has not. We had quickly reached a point at which continued growth of services and programs was impossible without adding another position.

On June 29, we welcomed Amber George as our Program Coordinator. Her key duties and responsibilities include:
1. Oversees the day-to-day operation of programs by ensuring the necessary facilities, equipment, and supplies are in place and program guidelines are followed. This includes but is not limited to the CWHF membership program; children’s programs and activities; sanctuary patrol; volunteers; fundraising activities; adoption program.
2. Participates in the recruitment, selection, scheduling, and supervision of program volunteers.
3. Maintains any necessary financial records and adheres to program budgets.
4. Promotes public awareness of programs and creates support materials.
5. Assists with retail activities on an as needed basis.
6. Updating information and communicating it to webmaster of CWHF website.

Amber is infinitely qualified for the position with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and past experience as a research assistant in a law firm, manager of a large stable in Georgia, and a veterinary technician. She has had extensive public speaking experience and is proficient in several computer applications. Our plan is to move Amber from part-time status to fulltime status in six months.

Amber has made the transition from Georgia to North Carolina with ease and has completely immersed herself in her new position. We are so happy to have Amber George as a part of our efforts to care for, protect, and conserve the wild horses of the Currituck Outer Banks.

Our Fragile Home

The horrific oil disaster in the Gulf should be a wake up call for all of us who reside on a barrier island. According the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) geologically speaking, barrier islands are young features; the vast majority are less than 7,000 years in age, and most are probably less than 3,000 years old.

Barrier islands serve two main functions. First, they protect the coastlines from severe storm damage. Second, they harbor several habitats that are refuges for wildlife. In fact, the salt marsh ecosystems of the islands and the coast help to purify runoffs from mainland streams and rivers.

Distinct habitats exist on barrier islands. Generally they include beach, dune, barrier flat, and salt marsh. On our barrier island, we have beach, dunes, dry meadow, wet meadow, maritime forest, and marsh. Each habitat supports a variety of plants, birds, and wildlife.
Our island is unique because it also supports wild horses and has 3,090 platted lots with well over one third of them developed.

What would be the consequences of a similar situation to what is happening in the Gulf to our barrier island home? The economic and environmental consequences would be devastating to say the least. Almost everyone’s livelihood is somehow connected to tourism.

We are the guardians of this fragile land. Although we cannot control what is happening in the Gulf, we can control what happens to our island home. Development is inevitable. What does not have to be inevitable is development that disregards the impact on our ecosystems and habitat. Consideration of the impacts must be first and foremost before the first grain of sand is moved. Size and location must be carefully considered. Construction and the collateral effects such as septic systems and wastewater must be held to the highest standards. Commercial development in the RO2 district should never be considered.

We cannot afford to live only in the moment. What we do today, as well as what was done in the past, affects every habitat, every bird, every wild horse, and every human for years to come. Our island home is still unique and not developed to saturation – yet. It is up to all of us to protect it.

The North Carolina State Horse

It’s official! The Colonial Spanish Mustang has been designated as the North Carolina State Horse. These unique horses have been residents of our coast for nearly 500 years. With the help of nearly 1,000 school children from Currituck, Dare and Carteret counties, the wild horses of the Outer Banks and those living as domestic horses after being adopted have been elevated to the status they so richly deserve.

Their story is one of survival against some of the harshest odds. They have persevered through centuries of hurricanes, nor’easters, droughts, and floods. They have silenced their critics who refused to understand and accept the science proving their Spanish origin. They personify the rugged and determined spirit of the Outer Banks and its original inhabitants. The wild horses of the Currituck and Shackleford Banks are living history – a treasure chest of genetic events – an integral part of the history of our county, our state, and our country.

Our special thanks to the administration, teachers, and students of the Currituck County School District for taking an idea presented to them in March of last year and bringing it full circle. Thanks also to the students and teachers in Dare and Carteret County who participated as well.

I will never forget the thrill of reading the legislation for the first time and will be eternally grateful to Representative Bill Owens for taking the lead, and to Representative Tim Spears and Senator Marc Basnight for their support.

Let us all celebrate the North Carolina state horse by renewing our commitment to ensuring that they remain safe, healthy, wild, and free for generations to come.

Remembering Spec

We are fast approaching Memorial Day. At a vacation destination like the Outer Banks, Memorial Day weekend signals the kick off of what is known as high season. It is the return of business to those who depend on visitors for the bulk of their income. It is also the return of thousands of people driving on the north beach. The majority of those people act responsibly but each season the ones who do not, leave a lasting impression.

On May 24, 2009, the day before Memorial Day, a proud and beautiful stallion had to be euthanized after being hit by a vehicle and left to stand for hours with a leg so badly broken that only his skin was holding it on. I will never forget that sight. I will never forget the euthanization process or how hard Spec fought the drugs. I have also not forgotten that no one has been held accountable for their actions.

There is someone who knows. In fact, there are probably a few people who know who was responsible. Do they know or care that Spec suffered terribly and needlessly because that someone was too cowardly to call the Sheriff’s department and report an injured horse? Have they ever imagined what it must have been like for this horse to drag himself almost a mile through the sand and over a high dune in an attempt to get back to his home area?

Whether you drive the north beach daily or you are visiting, I beg you to remember that wherever you go, you are driving where wild horses live. They are on the beach and on the sand roads behind the dunes day and night. They are hard to see in the dark and they are unpredictable.

Please, obey the law. Drive the speed limit. Don’t drive drunk. Take responsibility for your actions and those who are with you. Our herd is already too small and critically endangered. They have managed to survive nearly 500 years of hurricanes, nor’easters, droughts, and floods. However, they are no match for a speeding vehicle with an impaired driver at the wheel.

HB 4867 - The Corolla Wild Horse Protection Act

On March 17, U.S. Representative Walter B. Jones (NC-3) introduced H.R. 4867, the Corolla Wild Horse Protection Act. The bill would require the U. S. Department of the Interior, the State of North Carolina, the County of Currituck and the Corolla Wild Horse Fund to craft a new herd management plan that would allow for a herd of no less than 100 horses. The current management plan calls for a maximum herd size of 60. The Corolla Wild Horse Fund has maintained that if the wild herd were managed at that level, the herd would be highly likely to have a genetic collapse and die out.
A preliminary report completed in the spring of 2008 by Dr. E. Gus Cothran, a leading equine geneticist and expert on feral herds, found high levels of inbreeding and low levels of genetic diversity at a herd size of 90. Dr. Cothran is currently completing more in depth DNA study, including a mitochondrial analysis. What he is finding is disturbing. “The Corolla herd has really low diversity. It is really going to be important that new genes are introduced. There is only one maternal lineage left. The Shackleford herd has 4 different types.”
Congressman Jones sponsored similar legislation that was enacted into law in 1998 to protect the wild horses roaming 3,000 acres of Cape Lookout National Seashore, Shackleford Banks, in Carteret County. That herd is managed at no less than 110 with a target number of 120 to 130. “These beautiful horses are an essential piece of eastern North Carolina’s heritage,” said Congressman Jones. “This bill will help protect the viability of the Corolla herd so people can enjoy them for years to come.”
An aerial count in October of 2009 revealed a herd size of only 88. The recent discovery of a dead stallion brings that official number to 87. According to CWHF Herd Manager, Wesley Stallings, “in addition to the damage done by excessive inbreeding, a small herd size leaves the horses extremely vulnerable to being completely wiped out by disease or hurricane.”
The wild horses of Northeast North Carolina have found a champion in Congressman Jones and wild horses all over the world have benefitted from the work of Dr. Cothran. We hope and pray that the United States Congress will put this bill through in a timely fashion. The lives of the Corolla wild horses literally depend upon it.

Horses or Hotel?

On February 9th, the Currituck County Planning Board denied a request by Swan Beach Corolla LLC (owned by developer Gerald Friedman) to rezone 37.36 acres in Swan Beach (the 4 wheel drive area where the wild horses live) from residential to general business. Currently there is no commercial development or businesses permitted in what is known as the RO2 district.

On May 3rd, Mr. Friedman and/or his representatives will present their case to the Board of Commissioners at a public hearing. This is not the first time Mr. Friedman has made this request. In 2004, he requested that 18.88 acres be rezoned to general business. When he was denied the last time, Mr. Friedman stated “The horses have 12,000 acres (actually they have 7,257) and I only have 25.”

What Friedman is proposing for his 37.36 acres is an inn and accessory uses to include a wellness center, indoor and outdoor pools, fishing pier, stores, a helipad, a chapel, fire and rescue station, and most disturbing of all – a corral for the wild horses. The proposal for the inn “limits” the density to 302 units! The proposed name of the inn is Swan Beach Preserve. By definition, preserve means to protect; conserve; safeguard; defend; save; care for. The antonym? Destroy.

Mr. Friedman contends that when he bought the property in 1969, a portion of the tracts were zoned for business. In 1975, the Currituck County commissioners rezoned the entire off road area for residential use only, and now 35 years after that, Mr. Friedman feels that it isn’t fair that he can’t develop his land for business.

The off road area is one of the last underdeveloped areas on the east coast. That doesn’t mean houses aren’t being built, they are. But the north beach is not built to saturation and there is still plenty of land and forage for the wild horses and other wildlife. It is the areas of undeveloped, rugged, unspoiled beauty, frequented by our historic wild horses, that separate this beach from all others. It is up to all of us – residents, visitors, and government to fiercely protect what is left. We must work together to see that every house built is constructed in a manner and size that is respectful of the available resources, eco-system, wildlife, and residents.

A hotel does not belong in the RO2 district. Not now. Not ever. Mr. Friedman has developed a significant amount of Corolla south of the horse fence and still owns a considerable amount of undeveloped property in Corolla. He has made quite a nice living from building hundreds of houses on the northern Outer Banks. When is it ever enough?

A Rightful Place

photo by Rich Sigal

The Horse of the Americas registry says they are Colonial Spanish Mustangs eligible for registration papers. DNA testing supports it – once in 1992 and again in 2008. And now, we are “this close” to the resilient, powerful, intelligent, and athletic horses that grace our northern beaches and Shackleford Banks taking their rightful place as a North Carolina state symbol – our state horse.

On January 22nd, nearly a thousand letters were presented to Representative Bill Owens during a very special event at Shawboro Elementary School. Students from Currituck, Dare, and Carteret Counties asked their state legislators to support their request to designate the Colonial Spanish Mustang as the North Carolina state horse.

In addition to Representative Owens, attendees included Representative Tim Spear; Secretary Dee Freeman (NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources); Katie Hall (for Senator Marc Basnight); Steve Windham, Chairman of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission; Betty Jo Shepheard (for United State Senator Richard Burr); Carolyn Mason and Anita Kimball, President and Vice President of the Foundation for Shackleford Horses; CWHF staff and Board President, Kimberlee Hoey; Currituck County Commissioners and members of the Board of Education. Governor Bev Perdue supports the effort and letters from the Governor, Lt. Governor, and United States Congressman Walter Jones were read.

In March of last year, as part of their state mandated writing assessment, the entire fourth grade in the Currituck County School District participated in an effort to designate the state’s two historic wild herds of Colonial Spanish Mustangs as the North Carolina State Horse. Students in fourth and second grade as well as kindergarten took part in an educational program presented by the Corolla Wild Horse Fund that also included a rescued and once wild horse on site. They conducted research on other state symbols, studied North Carolina and local history, and wrote individual letters based on what they had learned. The program then expanded to include additional grades in Currituck, Dare and Carteret counties.

In her letter of support, NC Governor Bev Perdue wrote, “They have graced our shores for generations, bringing visitors from across our state and beyond, to North Carolina’s outer banks to witness this marvel. We are privileged to have these horses as part of our heritage . . . Long after they arrived in the 16th century, they continue to thrive and inspire writers young and old with their tale of survival.”

We are thrilled beyond description at the prospect of North Carolina becoming the tenth state to have a designated horse – but most of all – that it is the Colonial Spanish Mustang. House Bill 1251 is scheduled to be presented in May.

Whether they are wild or domestic, this is a noble breed on the brink of extinction. Recognition as our state horse will be the lifesaver that they so richly deserve.