For years folks have used off-road vehicles to negotiate some of the farther reaches of Cape Hatteras National Seashore. And for years the National Park Service failed to develop a management plan for those ORVers. And now it's time to pay the piper.
On April 3 a federal judge will consider a request by Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society to restrict ORV access to South Ocracoke, Hatteras Spit, North Ocracoke, Cape Point, South Beach and Bodie Island Spit for up to three years because of the presence of piping plovers, which have been considered a "threatened" species under the Endangered Species Act since January 1986.
The lawsuit contends the Park Service has run afoul of the National Park Organic Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the enabling legislation for the seashore, and the Park Service's own Management Policies by implementing an interim ORV management plan and failing to produce a long-term management plan.
The National Park Service’s Interim Plan and the ORV use it allows are substantially harming – and will continue to harm – important populations of endangered and threatened sea turtle species, threatened, special concern, or significantly rare bird species, and a threatened plant species, as well as other natural resources, serenity, and other recreational uses of the Seashore generally, reads one of the claims.
On Saturday, in a protest against the conservation groups, an estimated 200 ORV supporters showed up in a gale at Cape Point on the seashore to attend a rally.
In Sunday's editions of the Charlotte Observer, meanwhile, outdoors writer Tim Higgins satirized the situation by looking into the future to listen to a conversation between a young boy and his grandfather over why they no longer fish at Cape Point.
What's unfortunate is that the Park Service might have avoided this situation by acting sooner on developing a management plan for ORVs.
Comments
Snowbird06 sez;
If one considers that 90% of are beaches in the world today are slowing dying from of lack of conscientious environment care, then I consider Cape Hatteras National Seashore is surely one of them. Now, get those oil dripping gas guzzling ORV's off the beaches. We have enough human crap fouling up the oceans today. Just asked any competent marine biologist.
Do you live near any streams? Do you drive a car? Ever wonder where the water goes when it rains? Into the streams in many cases. Oil from your car (and millions of others) drips on the road and washes into the streams, streams go to the rivers, rivers to the sea. Which has more impact on the oceans? Trucks on the beach or cars on the road?
Dear Snowbird
I have sat here and read all of your comments...now you say "over here in California"....so you are on the other side of the country ,never been to Cape Hatteras, and have never seen the beauty we all cherrish here ....never met the wonderful people you are commenting on , calasly talking of destroying their lives....Well I am one of those people who will lose everything if the beaches are closed to orvs ....my business depends on it ..I will be forced into bakruptcy...My grandparents brought me here in the 60s..I have been coming here every since....I always wanted to live here , for the beauty , the incredible wildlife ,and ofcorse the fishing ....I saved and struggled to be able to do so .It took everything I had, to open my business ...I make an honest living, I am not getting rich by any means .But I am able to live in what I consider to be the most beautiful place in the world and have met some great people from all around the world....The DOW and the Audobaun are gonna end all of that ....I guess my concern is that the great people who ACTUALLY LIVE HERE ,don't count..it is sad that this country has come to this point , Thanks again Snowbird for confirming that ...Its a sad situation for all of us ,for I will not be alone in losing everything.
Snowbird,
You seem about as far left as it comes. So I must ask do you buy carbon credits? I suppose you drive an electric hybrid if you dont ride a bike.... those poor insects you must kil.. Do you walk to work? Are you a vegetarian? How dare you kill those plants then. Why are you using that terrible computer, don't you know that the production of plastics releases terrible toxins into the environment, and God knows its not all recycable? Speaking of God, are you him? you seem to know what is best for everyone else on earth, yet have shown zero knowledge other than your opinion, on quite frankly a place you only wished you could live in.
In case you did'nt know these disgusting dirty beaches, were rated #1 in the country two years ago (with the gas guzzling suvs).
And if you believe everything everyone tells you, including the Audobon society, and the DOW, I guess you also would agree with all the reasons we went to Iraq. And Everything Pres. Bush says must be fact.
There is a reason a food chain exsists, and like it or not we are on the top. Well most of us anyways.
Jimmy, Big Red,Big El, Reel Beach User, Justwannafish, 525Mag, Bird Dog, Hatteras Lady, Longcaster, Former Environmentalist, Hannibal...................
I wish I had your eloquence.........Anyone who cannot feel the passion of this group to preserve this perishable resource for all users and the users to come has missed the boat in more ways than one.
Snowbird, This group and thousands of users at Cape Hatteras are distinctly better stewards of the environment than many that oppose ORV access for this reason.....these folks are not paid to be stewards they do the right things for the right reasons out of their own pockets !!
NCBBA #5559 Life Member
Snowbird, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that you truly want free and open beaches for all with a balanced plan in place to allow for the native wildlife to flourish unfettered by human involvement.
If the course that we are currently on, with a judge who has shown that he leans one way more than the other, is seen through without some common sense applied to the situation. Access to all seashore in the Cape Hatteras Seashore Recreational area will be denied, at a minimum for the next three years. This is the projected time frame for completing an accepted and agreed upon management plan for the park.
In three years how much of the local economy do you think will have survived? Perhaps your thoughts are, the strong will survive or perhaps you think that it can't possibly suffer that much in just three years. This summer the tourist from all over North America will descend on the Outer banks only to discover to there dismay that they can't go to the beach driving or walking. This is what the Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit are after. They won't make return reservations for 2009. This fall the fishermen and wildlife enthusiast won't return. The local economies depend on these two events for their very survival. When the tourist industry on Cape Hatteras crashes it will open the door for whom. I can assure you it won't be tree huggers. It will be investors with an eye toward development. If you understand the politics and the economics of a state such as California perhaps you think that this would never be allowed. But this isn't California its North Carolina and this is not a rich state. Other than Charlotte and The triangle area the Outer banks provides a substantial part of the tax revenues for the state. Without this revenue the state will be desperate to replace these revenues. The investors with powerful political friends will have their way and the thing you claim to hate most will happen at Cape Hatteras. The unspoiled beauty of the Outer banks will be lost forever and it will become the next Myrtle Beach. Wonder what happened to the birds down there?
I respect your passion and this is not an attack, but don't become blinded to the reality of life in the 21st century.
I remember that! I picked up a bunch of those bags of Doritos and threw them in my truck and put them in the dumpster at the beach entrance. Thats a habit of all the fishermen I know, picking up trash found on the beach. I love going to the Outer Banks and using my truck to access the beach that is offered to me.
There are more animals killed in the Hatteras recreation area by natural predators or shotgun wielding park rangers than by fishermen using off road vehicles. It's ironic that Defenders of Wildlife rose to poplarity after their efforts to protect wolves. They didn't have much to say about the park ranger taking aim on this Hatteras wolf:
I agree, there is a food chain, then why does NPS shoot fox (see the pictures of the ranger taking a bead on a cute little fox with his shotgun), poison the fox, raccoons, cats, and other native wildlife in the Cape Point area in the guise of protecting the plover. I also agree that tire tracks have a tendency to ruin a pristine environment, so do the marks left by skiers on freshly fallen snow, I think we should stop all skiing so that I can enjoy the freshly fallen snow out west... from my NYC apartment window.