Alex Palmer's Natural History Notes and Thoughts

Environmentalists can be such pessimists.  They can (and often are) sheer "Debbie-downers" in their outlook on life and the environment - sometimes to the point of excess.  I can name more than a dozen moments within the last few months where I have been with a friend or family member out on a park or trail, where even at the happiest moments of our outdoor adventure I decide to bluntly bring up the problem of invasive species within the park, or how surrounding development is impacting bird populations, or how large predators have been eliminated from the region and how budget cuts may necessitate the closure of the park and how- well need I say more? I ran into this problem with myself again when I took some friends from out-of-town to the Outer Banks of North Carolina (see map below). The Outer Banks are a long, nearly continuous stretch of barrier islands composed of sand that run the length of North Carolina's coastline on the Atlantic Ocean. View Larger Map