It is imperative that Wrightsville Beach Aldermen are concerned about the quality of the beach. Nature doesn’t fool around with poor maintenance. Residents have already polluted Banks Channel. We need to wake up before it’s too late to what’s already happened. In sum Walter DeVries and Bill Sisson are the defenders of what is left of nature.

Dorothy Nesbitt, North Channel Drive

 I attended last week’s public meeting held at UNCW’s Center for Marine Science regarding future management and access to Masonboro Island. I was disappointed to not see surfers at this meeting.

As a user group of this pristine reserve, surfers should have been at this meeting en masse. During the public comment period, a number of individuals identified themselves as using Masonboro to fish, camp, surf and hike. However, not one person drew attention to the island’s unique surfing breaks and how valuable these are to the local surfing community.

I was pleased that representatives from the Cape Fear chapter of the Surfrider Foundation spoke on behalf of continued public access to the island but this group does not solely represent the interests of surfers.

While officials from the Division of Coastal Management and NCNERR stated that closing the island was not an option, surfers would be very frustrated if that were to happen. Aside from the obvious, of being angry, many surfers would then be relegated to surfing at Wrightsville Beach which could in turn cause overcrowding at surf spots along the beach.

Regardless of reputation or ability, if surfers want to be heard they need to express themselves in these public forums. If they don’t, their voice may be lost in the decision-making process.

 Sincerely,