The towns of Southern Shores and Duck will host a community seminar tomorrow, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the Pitts Center about the noxious problem of soundside seagrass accumulation, which has caused a foul odor to infiltrate the air on South and North Dogwood trails in Southern Shores for months (and months).
Sean Charles, Ph.D., a scientist, researcher, and assistant professor with the Coastal Studies Institute, and other experts will speak, after which a moderated panel discussion with environmental, scientific, and state regulatory experts and a community Q&A session will occur, according to a news release by the Town that we are just learning about.
There has been no mention of this event in the Town’s most recent newsletters, nor did The Beacon receive a press release about it, otherwise we would have promoted it sooner. Notice of the event has just hit the Town website news page. (We check it every day.)
Southern Shores Town Manager Cliff Ogburn apparently sent emails to people who attended a previous meeting about the seagrass problem and signed a contact list, notifying them about tomorrow’s seminar. They were able to submit questions in advance—the deadline was May 27—for the panel to consider.
This is insufficient notice. We did not attend the previous meeting because of insufficient notice, and the Town has repeated this failing.
It is past time for the Town to bring this foul predicament out of the closet so that all residents can understand why it has occurred and what can/will be done about it.
Many residents take advantage of Soundview Park and the soundside marinas, which are owned by the Southern Shores Civic Assn., and walk on North Dogwood Trail. (The stench can be smelled on South Dogwood Trail, too, but not with the same potency as the stench on North Dogwood Trail, especially when the wind blows off the Currituck Sound.)
If the SSCA is tasked with cleaning up the beach at Soundview Park (above, as pictured today), all members of the SSCA will be financially affected. Members who have rental properties in Southern Shores and pay for SSCA memberships for them have lost an asset that is popular with vacationers.
No one with roots in Southern Shores can feel good about what has happened to David Stick’s soundfront park, which was once known quaintly as the Bathing Beach, because you could swim there!
According to the Town’s news release, “The seminar will feature scientists, environmental experts, and regulators discussing the causes, impacts, and environmental significance of increasing seagrass accumulation along the soundside. Following the presentations, Southern Shores Town Manager Cliff Ogburn and Duck Planning and Permits Manager Cross will lead a panel discussion and community Q&A session.”
Regretfully, we cannot attend the seminar. Had we known earlier about the event, we might have changed our schedule, but we cannot now.
We ask members of the community who can attend the seminar to send reports of the proceedings, especially news of any proposed solutions, to Ann Sjoerdsma at ssbeaconeditor@gmail.com.
Thank you.
[PLEASE NOTE: We had planned to post a preview today of the Town Council’s Tuesday meeting, which will be held at 10 a.m. in the Pitts Center. To give this post its due, we will postpone that post until tomorrow. For the meeting agenda and packet of materials, see https://mccmeetings.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/soshoresnc-pubu/MEET-Packet-014d3bf7204d423a9bcd7b9987c85b0c.pdf.]
THE SOUTHERN SHORES BEACON, 5/31/26
The Southern Shores Beacon 