COASTLINES Fall 2025
ISLANDS WE LOVE (AND HAVE PROTECTED)
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here’s something timeless and wild about an island. The way it’s shaped by wind and water, the solitude it offers, the life it sustains. At the Coastal Land Trust, we’ve always loved islands. Over the years, we’ve protected more than 10,500 acres of island habitat across coastal North Carolina, from iconic barrier islands to quiet riverine and marsh islands that few people will ever set foot on. Most of our supporters know about our recent campaign to save the South End of Topsail Island. A community came together to permanently protect
COASTLINES FALL 2025
this beloved and ecologically important place from development, preserving its beauty and wildlife habitat forever. This success joins a long legacy of island conservation, including the protection of Hutaff Island, Masonboro Island, and many more.
least terns, and Wilson’s plovers. Estuarine marsh islands are nursery grounds for fish, shrimp, and crabs, and support thousands of birds. Riverine islands offer rich forest and wetland habitats, often with strong ecological links to nearby land and waterways.
Why focus so much effort on islands? Because they are vulnerable, ecologically significant, and irreplaceable. Each island type plays a different role in the health of our coast. Barrier islands act as buffers during storms, protect the mainland from rising seas, and provide nesting grounds for sea turtles and birds like red knots,
And together, they store carbon, absorb floodwaters, and help North Carolina’s coast adapt to changing environmental conditions. “Undeveloped islands are some of the most valuable and vulnerable habitats left on our coast,” ISLANDS, cont’d. on page 12 CoastalLandTrust.org