Available Data

Reserve site features

• Site boundaries
• Hiking trails
• Kayak trails
• Points of interest
• Masonboro Island water quality monitoring stations

Habitat Maps

Habitat mapping is the process of using aerial photography and visual surveys to classify habitat types and distribution within a defined area. Habitat mapping was conducted at the four national sites of the N.C. Coastal Reserve (Rachel Carson, Masonboro Island, Zeke’s Island, Currituck Banks). The aerial imagery used to digitize the habitat maps is a 2010 statewide orthoimagery dataset managed by the N.C. Center for Geographic Information and Analysis. GIS specialists with the N.C. Division of Coastal Management used heads-up digitizing to assign polygons to specific habitat types using the ArcGIS software program. In the digitizing process, polygons are traced over the aerial imagery, with each polygon representing an area of habitat classified at the Subclass level. This process was also applied to our state sites using the best imagery that was available from 2012 (Bald Head Woods, Bird Island, Buxton Woods, Kitty Hawk Woods, and Permuda Island) and 2016 (Buckridge).

• Most Recent Habitat Maps for All 10 Reserve Sites
• 2006 Currituck Banks habitat map (PDF)
• 2006 Rachel Carson habitat map (PDF)
• 2006 Masonboro Island habitat map (PDF)
• 2006 Zeke's Island habitat map (PDF)