Beach driving on Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NC)
Conservationists, Park Service, Counties and ORV groups reach agreement to preserve wildlife and recreation opportunities on Hatteras
Driving on the beach along Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina is a longstanding tradition, with fishermen driving to remote spots to take advantage of the world-renowned surf fishing of the region. But it's a tradition that's gotten out of control, turning the beach into a virtual highway and putting wildlife and people at risk.
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As many as 2,200 vehicles per day litter Outer Banks beaches during peak season, threatening public safety as well as nesting shorebirds and turtles.
In addition to fishermen, daily beach goers are using their trucks and SUVs for convenient beach access. In their path are nests of species such as the threatened piping plover and loggerhead turtle whose existence on the Seashore is imperiled by hundreds of vehicles per day. As a result, these species have been declining at a rapid pace.
As stewards of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, it is up to the National Park Service to regulate beach driving. The Park Service is currently undertaking a process to develop future rules for driving at Hatteras. However, NPS admits the process will take at least three years to complete. Scientists and other experts agree that many species could be eliminated from the Seashore in that time.
To safeguard the natural resources of Hatteras in the meantime, SELC, representing Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society, and attorneys for the National Park Service, as well as local and recreational users of the Seashore proposed a consent decree, approved by U.S. District Court in April 2008. The agreement will protect wildlife at Cape Hatteras National Seashore while still allowing residents and visitors to enjoy fishing, surfing, beach driving and other activities at the Seashore. The number of birds nesting on Cape Hatteras National Seashore showed preliminary signs of recovery less than a month after additional sections of the beach were closed under a new management plan that provides additional protection.
The consent decree effectively ends the lawsuit SELC filed in October 2007 that sought to require the Park Service to implement a plan to manage beach driving that will also protect the resources of the region. Such a reasonable management plan will continue to allow access to Hatteras by vehicle, but will rein in out of control use that is threatening wildlife, safety and the future of the Outer Banks.
The legal responsibility of the Park Service to preserve natural resources on the Seashore and protect the area's wildlife or the safety of its visitors stems from both a 1973 Executive Order and federal regulations. More recently, a federal judge found the Park Service had failed to adopt required regulations to manage beach driving.
