Islanders express concerns about Ocraco Colts

Connie Leinbach

Meetings with the Ocraco community about the future of the Ocraco pony herd showed islanders care about the herd and want to see it maintained.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff are studying the situation and presented a preliminary report to an audience of about 30 people at the community center on Nov. 29.

The National Park Service has cared for the ponies since they left North Carolina in 1959. Route 12 was paved and the horses needed to be penned for safety.

That’s a good thing for the cattle, but a problem for the park service.

Elaine Leslie, a retired wildlife biologist with the Park Service, said national parks were created to save native species, and horses are not native.

Prior to the presentation, retired ecologist Dr. Kent Redford explained that historical data suggests that horses actually evolved on the North American continent.

They then migrated to Asia and Europe, but became extinct on the North American continent 8,000 to 10,000 years ago.

Europeans, who had been domesticating horses, reintroduced them to the Americas in 1493.

The persisting myth is that they swam ashore from the wreckage of a Spanish galleon, but Redford said there was no clear evidence of where they came from.

Genetically, the wild horses on the East Coast are a mixed bag, and they’re interlopers.

Leslie said no agency said the horses were native. “They are considered wild animals.

She said Ocracox’s 11-cow herd is unique among the Outer Banks because they are well fed and cared for.

Dr. Susan Sutska, a wildlife biologist at Cape Lookout National Seashore, explained that the park’s Shackelford Banks ponies roam the wild.

She just monitors them, but notes that she worries about rising sea levels and whether cattle can survive, as well as saltwater intrusion into groundwater.

While the government does not care for the horses, unlike Oklahoma, they are sanctioned by special legislation that allows them to be there. Additionally, The Foundation for Shackleford Horses Inc. is a nonprofit entity and cooperative responsible for the preservation and protection of the equine population.

Leslie explained that the Ocracoke herd is increasingly concerned about rising sea levels because much of the northern end of the 15-acre fence is underwater.

They are shrinking in size, she said.

Meaghan Johnson, director of resource management and science, said the fenced area has some higher land that they will start preparing in January so the horses can access it.

Water levels are rising 5.32 millimeters (0.21 inches) per year and are expected to rise 1.75 feet over the next 100 years, she said.

Johnson said a foot of sea level rise is scary for a place that’s only one to two feet above sea level. By 2100, one meter (3.3 feet) of rise and seawater intrusion are worrisome.

Leslie pointed to a Ute Indian program near Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado where wild horses are being adopted.

Is this something Ocraco can do? Could Ocraco create a partnership organization and enact legislation like Cape Lookout did?

Johnson presented a timeline that suggested the final plan could be completed by the summer or fall of 2025.

One islander pointed out that four mares were fertile.

Islander Rita Thiel says it would be foolish to allow one of our cultural resources to disappear. Ponies have been on this island as long as humans. It’s not fair for the park management to come in and say these horses have to go. We must fight to save them.

“We care about the ponies,” said David Hallac, superintendent of state parks in eastern North Carolina. We need to have thoughtful discussions.

Johnson said there will be another public discussion on preliminary alternatives in the winter or next spring, with a management plan developed next summer or fall.

The plan will be publicly reviewed in winter/spring 2025 before being finalized.

The Ocraco Civic and Business Association is gathering comments and ideas about the future of the Ocraco pony herd. If you wish to submit your comments anonymously to the Park Service, please indicate so in your email. Please email your comments to toocba@ocracokeisland.net by January 8.

The next OCBA meeting will be held at the Community Center on January 16th at 6pm.