Cape Lookout Community Interviews

Cape Lookout National Seashore

Cultural Resource Values and Vulnerabilities

Community Member Representative Interviews

The following questions will guide semi-structured interviews with key informants from individuals with access to community groups with associations/ties to Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO). The questions are designed to be open-ended and for interviewers to follow-up at any time with questions such as, “Can you describe that in more detail?” “What did you mean when you said, xxx?” Additional probes for specific information are included below to elicit responses about specific subtopics if the subtopic did not arise during the initial response to the open-ended questions.

Paperwork Reduction and Privacy Act Statement: The National Park Service is authorized by 54 USC 100702 to collect this information. This information will be used by park managers to understand the perceptions of partner organizations concerning the cultural resources of Cape Lookout National seashore. Responses to this request are voluntary and anonymous. Your name will never be associated with your answers, and all contact information will be destroyed when the data collection is concluded. No action may be taken against you for refusing to supply the information requested. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number and expiration date.

BURDEN ESTIMATE STATEMENT: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 60 minutes per response. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this form to: pponds@nps.gov (email).

Interview Guide

Thank you for agreeing to participate in an interview about the cultural resources at Cape Lookout National Seashore. The National Park Service contracted with NC State University because managers are concerned about the vulnerability of the historic structures and cemeteries, particularly related to flooding, erosion and sea level rise. Specifically, managers would like to know more about the connections people have to Portsmouth and Lookout Villages and the types of changes to the Villages that have been observed overtime. They would also like to collect local insights on strategies for adapting to changing conditions.

I am particularly interested in knowing more about your connections to the historic structures and cemeteries located within Portsmouth Village on Portsmouth Island and within Lookout Village near and including the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, as well as your thoughts on the cultural landscape. By cultural landscape, I mean not only the historic buildings and cemeteries, but also the surrounding land, plants, wildlife and water, including fish.

I am also also interested in your family’s and your community’s connections to these cultural resources. When talking about your community’s connection, I mean the people of the “Down East” communities of North Carolina, as well as those in Beaufort and Moorhead City with ties these resources.

I’m also going to refer to Cape Lookout National Seashore as “Cape Lookout”.

As I indicated when we scheduled this interview, this study is voluntary and you are free to stop the interview at any time. There are no known risks or benefits to you for participating in the study.

I’m going to start the audio recorder now and begin the interview. At the end of the interview, I will ask you to recommend other community members with strong ties to the villages that you think I should also interview.

Theme 1: Connections to Place

1. How many years have you lived in the “Down East” community?

2. Can you please describe your connection with Cape Lookout National Seashore?

   1. [Probe]: Do you have personal connections to the history or culture associated with Lookout Village or Portsmouth Island?

3. What meanings does Cape Lookout hold for your family?

4. What meanings does Cape Lookout hold for your community?

5. How frequently do you visit Cape Lookout?

   1. Where do you go?

6. What benefits does Cape Lookout provide to you?

7. What benefits does Cape Lookout provide to your family?

8. What benefits does Cape Lookout provide to your community?

9. Have you or anyone in your family taken any actions to preserve the cultural resources at Cape Lookout (including passing down oral history, fostering historic designation, fundraising, or volunteerism)?

   1. If so, what actions and what were the results?

      1. How has this affected your connections to Cape Lookout?

10. Have members of your community taken any actions to preserve the cultural resources at Cape Lookout?

    1. If so, what actions and what were the results?

       1. How has this affected your connections to Cape Lookout?

Theme 2: Perceptions of Cultural Resource Conditions

10. When you think about the cultural resources of Cape Lookout, what first comes to mind?

    1. How would you describe the condition of those cultural resources?

11. When you think about the cultural landscape of Cape Lookout, what do you picture?

    1. What components of the cultural landscape mean the most to you? Why?

12. How would you describe the conditions of the cultural resources at Lookout Village?

13. How would you describe the conditions of the cultural resources at Portsmouth Island?

Theme 3: Perceptions of Vulnerability, Change and Cultural Resource Management

14. In the past 5 or 10 years have you seen any changes in the cultural resources or cultural landscape at Cape Lookout? Please explain.

    1. How have you seen the cultural resources or cultural landscape at Lookout Village change over time?

    2. How have you seen the cultural resources or cultural landscape at Portsmouth Village change over time?

15. Some people are concerned about the cultural and natural resources at Cape Lookout and their vulnerability to future threats. What is your perspective on the vulnerability of Cape Lookout to future threats?

    1. Would you describe the cultural resource or landscape as vulnerable? [Probe: If so, what makes the cultural and natural resources within the cultural landscape vulnerable?]

16. What are the greatest threats to the cultural resources at Lookout Village? [Probe: sea level rise, storm surge flooding and erosion]

    1. How will these threats impact cultural resources and the cultural landscape?

    2. How concerned are you about the threats you mentioned? [Probe: Why?]

17. What are the greatest threats to the cultural resources at Portsmouth Island? [Probe: sea level rise, storm surge flooding and erosion]

    1. How will these threats impact cultural resources and the cultural landscape?

    2. How concerned are you about the threats you mentioned? [Probe: Why?]

18. In your mind, what should be done to prevent the threats you've identified?

    1. If the threats you note are unavoidable, what strategies should be taken to adapt to the changes or impacts? (Provide examples, if needed, such as elevating structures, documenting then removing structures, and moving structures.)

Theme 4: Visions for the Future

19. Would changes to the cultural landscape affect your connection to Cape Lookout?

    1. How?

20. Protecting historic structures in changing environments, like barrier islands, is challenging. Do you have suggestions for managers on cultural resource management into the future?

    1. What structures, resources or landscapes are most critical to preserving cultural heritage?

       1. Why?

21. Current policy of the NPS is to prioritize management based on the vulnerability and significance of particular resources. Do you have any advice for NPS managers in their prioritization of cultural resources? (Probe: In other words, how should the National Park Service determine which resources are most significant? What other criteria do you believe the Park Service should consider when making prioritization decisions?)

    1. Is the age of a structure important when making management decisions?

       1. Why?

22. How would you characterize communication between the NPS and local communities?

    1. What’s working?

    2. What’s not working?