Opponents of the planned relocation of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse say the $12 million price tag for the move is too expensive, and that the National Park Service should instead opt for a $6.4 million groin and beach nourishment project designed to halt the advancing ocean. But supporters of the move say relocation foes such as Hugh Morton need to check their calculations if they want taxpayers to get the most for their money.

The relocation of the lighthouse will preserve the famous landmark for at least 100 years. A fourth groin, with an estimated cost that has climbed from $2 million in April of this year to a current $6.4 million, is only designed to protect the light for a maximum of 20 years. Following that, groin proponents admit the lighthouse will have to be relocated, with an inflationary price tag well above the current move costs.

The cost per annum for relocation is $120,000 per year, with no adjustment necessary for inflation since the money will be spent within the next fiscal year. By comparison, the cost for the groin project is $320,000 per year PLUS a minimum of $10 million (at current values) for relocation once the new groin fails.

Morton's critics say the fourth groin proposal is a "pig in a poke" for taxpayers. Not only is the groin illegal under state and federal law, but it constitutes a retreat from North Carolina's prohibitions against beach hardening that will have far-reaching effects.

Dr. Stanley Riggs, an expert on the geology and ecology of the Outer Banks at East Carolina University, says construction of a groin along the fragile barrier island beachfront will lead the state down a slippery slope.

"Have we not learned anything from the ongoing loss of structures and miles of coastal highway each winter when numerous nor'east storms take their toll?" Riggs asked in a recent article for the Charlotte Observer newspaper. "The lessons of hurricanes Fran and Bertha have already been forgotten as our leaders follow their politcally expedient path paved by funds of the wealthy pursuing their uninformed personal agendas."

But experts on coastal geology and the powerful forces mustered by the sea aren't the only ones opposed to construction of more expensive band-aid fixes for the lighthouse. The state coastal management division has consistently opposed calls for construction of a fourth groin, and environmental groups promise a lengthy court battle if Buxton property owners and other developers try to change the current regulations against beach hardening.

"In reality, a [fourth groin] would never be built, since these structures are illegal under State law; instead the whole matter would simply be tied up in the courts until a storm claimed the lighthouse. In addition, the Congress has also made it clear that it will not fund activities, such as a groin, which are inconsistent with state and federal laws," said a spokesman for U.S. Sen. Lauch Faircloth, a firm supporter of the lighthouse relocation plan.

Those close to the issue wonder privately about the motives of individuals, such as Morton, who would spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, some of which was contributed by North Carolina school children, in an effort to force the National Park Service to accept an illegal plan no qualified scientific experts support.

Morton's call for construction of the fourth groin is only the latest scheme he has proposed to save the lighthouse. In the past, he advocated the use of artficial seaweed, claiming at the time that the idea would halt the advancing ocean. Not only was the seaweed a complete flop, it was also an eyesore as tattered shreds of the seaweed fabric littered the beaches near the lighthouse for months afterwards. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers panned Morton's seaweed scheme, saying it was ineffective against the ocean's powerful tides near the lighthouse and Cape Point.

Experts are also pointing to harshly critical reports and reviews of Morton's latest idea, the use of underwater "speed bumps" he says will create huge sand deposits that will save the lighthouse. Officials in Florida and Michigan, where the idea has been tried in the past, say the efforts were fruitless, and in some cases actually increased erosion rates. The speed bumps also disintegrated under the relentless pounding of the waves, littering the sea floor with debris and threatening to repel sea turtles returning to the beach to nest.

History has shown that Morton has a myopic view of the future when it comes to heritage tourism. The battleship U.S.S. North Carolina, another of Morton's schemes, sits rusting at its berth, the victim of Morton's short-sightedness and lack of understanding about the long-term costs of maintaining historic artifacts.

A state-wide effort is now underway to bail Morton's battleship out of hock before it slips under the water. Fortunately for the battleship, continued funding may keep it afloat until a more permanent solution can be found.

But, as the experts continue to say, the lighthouse simply doesn't have time to wait. More than $17 million has been spent over the years trying to protect the lighthouse in its current location -- more than double the amount that it would have cost to move the lighthouse in 1989, when Morton began his crusade against the park service. The federal government has pumped millions of cubic yards of sand, made repeated repairs to the existing groins, and even piled sandbags around the base of the light, and still the sea continues to advance.

The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, and the American taxpayers, deserve the most economical and feasible solution to the plight of the light. As study after study continues to show, that solution is the safe relocation of the lighthouse away from the advancing ocean and back to its original historic context 1,600 feet from the Atlantic.

For more information about what's being said about the relocation of the Hatteras light, check out the Raleigh News & Observer newspaper's electronic archives. Access the paper's web page at: http://www.news-observer.com/, once you're there, look on the left said of the page for a small box with "news archive" as an option. Highlight "news archive," type the word "lighthouse" as the search word, and then click the "start" button just below. The archives provide an excellent look at how the park service is working to move the lighthouse out of harm's way, and some of the rhetoric and misinformation others are using to try to force the construction of a groin and sand replenishment project.