BUXTON, N.C. — For the Buxton Civic Association, besides the formerly used defense site, their fight has been a push to have the jetty system repaired, feeling it’s vital to the future of the area's challenge of a rapidly eroding shoreline.
“My kids might be able to live on the island now, whereas before it was like, I don't know if the island's going to be here for the next generation," said Jeff Dawson.
Jeff Dawson’s roots to Buxton go back generations.
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“I'm an eighth generation native. My family was shipwrecked there in 1628," said Dawson.
Jeff is also a member of the Buxton Civic Association, which has been pushing to have the jetty system repaired. At a recent Dare County Board of Commissioners meeting, they got the good news.
“We have a path forward there that for a longest time we didn't have, we have a funding source for it, because the cost of doing this is about $3 million, we just saved," said Dare County manager Bobby Outten, at the March 3rd Board of Commissioners meeting.
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“That is the most exciting thing, beyond my children or anything personal, that I've heard about the island, possibly my whole life," said Dawson.
One cause of the erosion is also part of the reason the project can move forward. Year's of storm impacts on the shoreline mean the county will get credit for sand loss. That credit could potentially fund the jetty repairs. Outten said engineers also discovered that more of the structures are intact than they had previously known.
“They believe that they can meet the 50% rule, which was the rule that was preventing us from repairing those groins or jetties that are there," said Outten.
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The county continues to work on finding a way to make this happen, including obtaining the permits needed for it. But for locals like Jeff, seeing a path forward for the future of the area is uplifting.
“People come here for a reason. It's worth protecting, and it sounds like we're actually going to do that. That's phenomenal," said Dawson.
Buxton will also receive beach nourishment in 2026, it's unclear if a jetty repair project could be completed before that. But either way, repairing this system would be a game changer in the fight against the threat of erosion.
