Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area is a North Carolina state park in

Carteret County Carteret County ( or )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carol ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Located on

Bogue Banks Bogue Banks form a barrier island off the mainland of North Carolina in Carteret County. The island, separated from the mainland by Bogue Sound, runs east to west, with the ocean beaches facing due south. Bogue Banks is the only island on the ...

, in the town of

Pine Knoll Shores Pine Knoll Shores is a coastal town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,388 at the 2020 census. One of North Carolina's state aquariums is located here. Geography Pine Knoll Shores is located in southwestern ...

, the natural area protects the

barrier island Barrier islands are a Coast#Landforms, coastal landform, a type of dune, dune system and sand island, where an area of sand has been formed by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of an ...

's only remaining intact

maritime forest A maritime forest is an ocean coastal wooded habitat found on higher ground than dune areas within range of salt spray. They can be found along the Atlantic and Pacific Northwest coasts of the United States. The maritime forests of the southeast ...

. It is bounded by

NC 58 North Carolina Highway 58 (NC 58) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of North Carolina that traverses the state's Coastal Plain. The route links many of the Crystal Coast communities along its eastern segment. Its southern t ...

to the south,

Bogue Sound Bogue Sound is a lagoon in the state of North Carolina separating the Bogue Banks, a barrier island, from the mainland. The sound is part of North Carolina's "Crystal Coast", a tourism marketing term that is also used interchangeably with the ...

to the north, and private development to the east and west. In 1971, it was donated to the state by the grandchildren of

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), also known as Teddy or T.R., was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Roosevelt previously was involved in New York (state), New York politics, incl ...

as a living memorial to the 26th President's dedication to

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and manage ...

. The nature preserve is most well known for the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, which it surrounds. The natural area is jointly managed by the aquarium and Fort Macon State Park, which is to the east. Most of the natural area is not open to the general public due to its fragile nature, but two

nature trails A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. How ...

allow for limited access to the area. All visitor facilities are accessed from the aquarium's

inholding An inholding is privately owned land inside the boundary of a national park, national forest, state park, or similar publicly owned, protected area. In-holdings result from private ownership of lands predating the designation of the park or fores ...

History

In 1917, Alice Green Hoffman, the daughter of a wealthy

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cred ...

family, purchased a large portion of Bogue Banks as a retreat. She moved there permanently, in 1938, staying until her death in March 1953. Having no children of her own, she willed the land to her niece Eleanor Butler Alexander-Roosevelt, who had visited her regularly. Later, Eleanor and her husband,

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. Theodore Roosevelt III ( ; September 13, 1887 – July 12, 1944), often known as Theodore Jr.,Morris, Edmund (1979). ''The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt''. index.While it was President Theodore Roosevelt who was legally named Theodore Roosevelt Jr ...

, left the property to their four children. In 1971, the grandchildren of Theodore Roosevelt decided to donate of Hoffman's property to the state of North Carolina, in honor of their grandfather. The donation stipulated that the acreage be "kept in its natural state, maintained as a nature preserve, and used for the primary purpose of nature and wildlife education, estuarine studies, with emphasis on marine life, ecological advances, environmental balance and research in the methods of conservation." Another provision allowed for the establishment of a "Marine Resource Center" on of the property. This center opened in 1976 and later became the North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores. The remaining were established as Theodore Roosevelt State Natural Area.

Ecology

The natural area is covered in a dense

which ranges form tall, on the ocean side, to tall, on the sound side of the island.

Live oak Live oak or evergreen oak is any of a number of oaks in several different sections of the genus ''Quercus'' that share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. These oaks are generally not more closely related to each other than they are to o ...

, laurel oak,

loblolly pine ''Pinus taeda'', commonly known as loblolly pine, is one of several pines native to the Southeastern United States, from East Texas to Florida, and north to southern New Jersey. The wood industry classifies the species as a southern yellow pi ...

and red cedar are the dominant species. American olive, bay tree,

wax myrtle ''Myrica'' is a genus of about 35–50 species of small trees and shrubs in the family Myricaceae, order Fagales. The genus has a wide distribution, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, and missing only from Antarc ...

and silverling also grow along the sound side of the forest. Cabbage palmetto also grow along the bay/ocean side of the forest. Additionally,

brackish Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuari ...

and

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

es are found in the preserve, which support communities of black needlerush,

salt grass ''Distichlis spicata'' is a species of grass known by several common names, including seashore saltgrass, inland saltgrass, and desert saltgrass. This grass is native to the Americas, where it is widespread. It can be found on other continents a ...

, smooth cordgrass,

eelgrass Eelgrass is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * '' Zostera'', marine eelgrass * '' Vallisneria'', freshwater eelgrass See also *'' Potamogeton compressus'', known as eel-grass pondweed {{Short pages monitor