The Willow Pond Project

A Harkers Island Tradition for a New Generation

photo: CSWM

"I've spent a many a-hour in this place. It used to be full of quawks, night herons, ducks and geese of all kinds..." remembers David Yeomans, Harkers Island native. "That place was full of life until the airstrip cut off the water. It was big place and we'd come down here at night just to hear the birds. There was not a boy-youngern' on Harkers Island that didn't spend time hunting in Willow Pond."

Work on the Willow Pond Project has given a new generation of young and old alike the opportunity to enjoy Willow Pond again, but for a much different purpose ... to learn!

photo: CSWM

Now, with increased appreciation for waterfowl and the changes in environmental conditions along the coast, the new focus for Willow Pond will be education, beauty, and providing a "safe harbor" for migrating waterfowl and shorebirds. This natural, freshwater pond will allow the museum's interpretive programming to include the complete story from live ducks to decoys, the importance of providing clean and safe areas for our wildlife, and work toward increasing knowledge and appreciation for our natural coastal communities.

This feature of the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum will give the museum facility a very important opportunity to carry the museum beyond the doors of the building and beyond collections of artifacts to the outdoors, where the story of waterfowling was --- and where the future of waterfowl is. Along North Carolina's coast, where a rapidly changing environment is threatening wetlands and reducing clean and safe habitat areas, restoring sites specifically for native wildlife is becoming increasingly important.

The Willow Pond project not only allows the ducks, geese, birds, and other species a place to rest and feed, but allows museum visitors the unique opportunity to see these beautiful creatures in their native habitat. Along with waterfowl, plans include nature trails through the dense maritime communities on the property. Ducks Unlimited's MARSH program gave the financial support for this project with museum volunteers providing the labor. Today Willow Pond is open to the public on a limited basis as work on the museum facility and site development continues. Hundreds from across the country have visited Willow Pond during 1997 and 1998, logging in many different species of birds and wildlife in this rustic maritime forest.

None of our work would be possible without the hard work of our volunteers and the generous support of the Partners, listed below.

Ducks Unlimited, NC Wildlife Habitat Foundation, USF&W, National Park Service, and NC Wildlife Commission.