Bluff Island Botanical Research Revisited After 50 Years
Bluff Island Botanical Research Revisited After 50 Years
I began my Master’s in Botany at UNC Chapel Hill in 1971. That year, my advisor, Dr. J. Frank McCormick, took his students on a field trip to Bald Head Island, where he and some of the students were studying the vegetation. We traveled to Bald Head in Boston Whalers and docked at a small wooden dock large enough for three small boats. We stayed in one of the old life-saving buildings and explored the island. It was largely untouched except for locals who came to camp and fish. From 1972 until 1974, I researched seashore elder (Iva imbricata) on Bluff Island. I visited my research site 33 times to study population dynamics of the plant in five distinct habitats on Bluff: upper beach, foredune, swale, hind dunes, and upper marsh, where Iva imbricata was a significant part of the vegetation.
Another graduate student (who was studying poison ivy) and I traveled to Bluff from Southport in a Boston Whaler. We camped along the salt marsh creek and walked to the beach on a trail along the freshwater pond. We usually stayed one night. Bald Head Island was uninhabited at the time.
Joe on Island with fellow graduate student, early 1970s
As for my research findings, I found that nearly all the seed production of Iva imbricata was by foredune plants. Seedlings experienced very high mortality, but they survived better in the high salt marsh, swale, and beach than in the dune habitats due to the low soil moisture of the dunes. The plants changed a lot from year to year in this dynamic ecosystem. It seemed to me that the two species of Iva – Iva imbricata and Iva frutescens (restricted to the high salt marsh) – had hybridized in the high salt marsh. I published a paper on this research in the Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club.
A corporation was planning to develop Bald Head but had not yet begun construction. There was controversy about developing a pristine, beautiful, fragile, and even magical place. I had set up transects with wooden stakes so I could monitor the growth, reproduction, and death of Iva imbricata over the two-year study period. Some young adults who visited saw my transect stakes and thought they were property boundaries of housing lots and ripped them out to try to stop the development. Somehow, I encountered one of the vandals, and he returned later to help me replace the transect stakes.
Joe’s camp, early 1970s
The sand bars in the creek constantly moved, and on several occasions, we broke a propeller when we hit one. One time, I hit a sand bar and broke the propeller, but we did not have a spare. I pulled the boat to the edge of the creek with the anchor and walked through the Spartina to our campsite to tell my colleague the bad news. There were no cell phones then, so we had no way to call for help. We walked to Bald Head, and luckily for us, some workers were there, and they radioed the Coast Guard, who towed our boat back to Southport.
Bluff Island, 1971
Southport was much smaller then. I remember eating often at a small restaurant near the much smaller marina. The restaurant had a sanitary rating of “C.” The food was tasty, but we always wondered if we would remember that meal for a long time afterward.
This year, 2025, I decided to return to Bluff Island to see how it has changed after more than 50 years. I discovered the Bald Head Island Conservancy and contacted Beth Darrow, who was very helpful in planning our visit. Beth was at a meeting when my wife, Nancy, and I arrived on November 12, but she had arranged for Jennifer Wiggen to meet us at the visitor center. Jennifer was gracious and made sure we would not be stranded there after the last ferry departed. From the visitor center, we walked along the beach to Bluff, where we spent about three hours.
I felt disoriented at Bluff. It looked generally the same, but it was also different. I could not find the path along the freshwater pond to our old campsite along the creek. The foredune seemed to be higher than I remembered, and it was continuous. In the 1970s, the foredune had high areas interspersed by low areas. The swale was much more vegetated than I remember. The wooden structures that local fishermen had built were gone, and I could not find any of my transect stakes except for maybe one in the foredune. The shrub thicket seemed to be about the same. The biggest, most shocking change was that I could not find Iva imbricata, not even one plant! It was a major part of the vegetation in the 1970s. I have no idea why it has disappeared. Iva frutescens was still in the high marsh, but not one Iva imbricata. We made our way back to the visitor center and took the tram to the ferry. We were back home in Pennsylvania the next day.
Bluff Island, early 1970s
My impression from our visit is that the development that I was opposed to in the 1970s has been good for the island. There are no recreational vehicles on the beach, the foredune is respected, the marsh is preserved, a large area of the forest is preserved, many donors have preserved beachfront properties that were slated for houses, and the development has enabled, supported, and promoted the Bald Head Island Conservancy. It is doing outstanding work in studying and protecting the sensitive habitats and flora and fauna of this remarkable place. More importantly, the Bald Head Island Conservancy is educating adults and children about this environment and how critical it is that we are good stewards. I have joined the Conservancy and will continue to support it.
Joe, with wife Nancy, on Bald Head in 2025
The ferry that makes it possible for people to visit was an interesting experience. We spoke to several people who work on the island. The development has provided labor opportunities for many people. Other areas of the U.S. coast have been developed without conserving critical habitats and without educating people about their features and importance. Bald Head Island is a positive exception.
I am so happy to have been able to visit a place that is very dear to me and a major part of my life’s experience. I hope to return soon.
Dr. Joseph C. Colosi, Ph.D.
