Portfolio Sugarloaf Island Restoration

• Historical Use and Naturalization: Initially a coastal marsh used for dredge disposal, Sugarloaf Island has transformed over time into a diverse coastal environment with habitats like tidal flats, maritime forests, and oyster beds.
• Erosion and Importance: The island has been eroding rapidly, threatening its wide range of coastal habitats and its role as a protective barrier for Morehead City’s waterfront.
• Shoreline Protection Efforts: The Town of Morehead City, in collaboration with several organizations, has implemented a comprehensive Shoreline Protection and Restoration Plan, including environmental monitoring until 2028.

Sugarloaf Island is a small island in the downtown harbor area of Morehead City on Bogue Sound. Historically, Sugarloaf Island was a coastal marsh island that was used as a dredge disposal area in the 1920s and 1930s, and perhaps on occasion afterward up through the 1950s.

The island has naturalized and hosts a broad range of coastal environments, such as tidal flats, sand spits (east and west ends), maritime forest, an embayment, peat beds, erosion escarpments (south side), heavily rippled sand bottom, tidal creek, coastal wetlands, low dunes and ridges and oyster beds (north side). Sugarloaf Island is adjacent to the Federal Navigation Channel on its north and east sides.

Sugarloaf Island was eroding at an alarming rate because of common wind and wave forces, tropical storm events, sea-level rise, strong tidal flow, and boat generated wake.

The island not only supports a wide variety of coastal habitats that are being threatened, but this island has become an important protective barrier for the harbors, businesses, residences and the downtown waterfront area in Morehead City as a whole. Rapid loss of the island exposed portions of the downtown to direct wave impacts and would continue to do so (if no action was taken) until the island is gone and the waterfront completely exposed.  Sugarloaf Island also offers recreational opportunities for locals and visitors.

The island is owned by the Town of Morehead City which allows and supports passive recreation. Boaters enjoy tying up on the island to spend the day or to fish.

Quible & Associates, P.C., (now WithersRavenel) worked closely with the Town, North Carolina Coastal Federation (NCCF), Sea and Shoreline and University researchers throughout this project that is being completed in 2025. Environmental monitoring and reporting will occur through 2028. We designed, permitted and implemented a robust Shoreline Protection and Restoration Plan for Sugarloaf Island. This included shoreline reclamation, erosion protection and restoration of beach/dune areas, coastal wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation and maritime forest.