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Cape Hatteras National Seashore To Adjust Wildlife Boundaries

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Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff have decided that boundaries around nesting shorebirds and sea turtles can be reduced somewhat/Kurt Repanshek file photo

After reviewing the need for wildlife boundaries around nesting shorebirds and sea turtles, the staff at Cape Hatteras National Seashore has decided that the boundaries can be reduced in size a bit.

However, with nesting seasons under way, and the need for additional staff to monitor the nest sites, some of the reductions won't occur this year, seashore spokeswoman Cyndy Holda said Tuesday.

"There are aspects of this new plan that we may be able to implement in the 2015 season, but many of the aspects will require intensive monitoring and additional staff and will be implemented in the 2016 wildlife breeeding season. There are a few things that we can tweak," she said. "We're not able to change buffers on bird breeding protection areas this year because we're trying to decrease any chance of human impact disturbance." 

Three years removed from what seemed to be a settled approach to managing wildlife, off-road vehicles, and pedestrians on their beaches, Congress directed the Park Service to re-examine aspects of that plan.

A provision in the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act passed by Congress in December and signed by the president gave the Interior Department, "in coordination with the State of North Carolina and accordance with applicable laws," 180 days to review and, if applicable, "modify wildlife buffers and designate pedestrian and vehicle corridors around buffers to allow access to areas that are open in the Seashore."

A lawsuit brought by the Southern Environmental Law Center had forced the Park Service in 2007 to craft an off-road vehicle management plan. The one finally adopted by the national seashore in 2012 was seen as meeting both the National Park Service's legal requirement to adopt an ORV management plan at the seashore, and its mandates under the Endangered Species Act to protect endangered and threatened species, such as the piping plover and five species of sea turtles that might come ashore to nest.

Under the seashore's adopted approach to ORV management, areas along the 70-odd miles of beach are either closed, seasonally open, or open year-round to ORV use; the Park Service intends to build new parking areas along Highway 12, as well as new access ramps to the beach, and; a new trail is to be built to allow pedestrians to walk down through the dunes to the beach.

The plan also provides for a "seasonal night-driving restriction ... established from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. during turtle nesting season, although areas with no turtle nests could open to night driving from September 16 through November 15." Additionally, it calls for an "alternative transportation study and would encourage the establishment of a beach shuttle or water taxi."

Overall, the approved plan allows for 27.9 miles of year-round designated ORV routes on the seashore, 12.7 miles of seasonal routes, and 26.4 miles of vehicle-free miles. The rules also outline vehicle requirements, permit requirements, nightly ORV restrictions, speed limits and more.

After conducting an environmental assessment of the existing boundaries, the seashore's staff came up with the following decisions:

* For American oystercatcher: There would be an ORV corridor at the waterline during nesting, but only when (a) no alternate route is available, and (b) the nest is at least 25 meters from the vehicle corridor. Buffers for nests and unfledged chicks would stay the same as they are now.

* For piping plover: The buffer during nesting would be reduced from 75 meters to 50 meters for both pedestrians and ORVs. For unfledged chicks, the buffer would be reduced from 300 meters to 100 meters (pedestrians) and from 1,000 meters to 500 meters (ORVs). Where the standard 500 meter buffer blocks ORV access, the buffer may be reduced to no less than 200 meters to allow an access corridor along the shoreline.

* For Wilson’s plover: The buffer during nesting would be reduced from 75 meters to 50 meters for pedestrians and ORVs. The pedestrian buffer for unfledged chicks would be reduced from 200 meters to 100 meters, the same as for piping plovers. The ORV buffer for unfledged chicks would increase from 200 meters to a standard 500 meters. However, where an ORV corridor does not exist, the buffer may be reduced to no less than 200 meters to allow an access corridor along the shoreline.

* For least tern: The buffer for unfledged chicks would be reduced from 200 meters to 100 meters for both pedestrians and ORVs. The buffer for nests would stay the same.

* For common tern, gull-billed tern, and black skimmer: The buffer for these species during nesting would be reduced from 200 meters to 180 meters for both pedestrians and ORVs. For unfledged chicks, the buffer would be reduced from 200 meters to 180 meters for both pedestrians and ORVs.

* For sea turtles: The expansion buffer would be reduced to 30 meters (15 meters on either side), and, when light filtering fencing is installed, 5 meters minimum behind the nest. This buffer would be the same for vehicle-free areas, village areas, and ORV routes. Visitors would be able to walk behind the buffer or in front of a nest, walking as close as practicable to the surf line. For ORVs, visitors would use an existing corridor around a nest, if available. In the absence of an existing corridor, the shorter buffer behind the nest would allow ORVs to travel behind a nest where sufficient beach width exists. Where a turtle nest blocks access from one ORV area to another and no way around the nest exists, visitors could drive in front of the nest if NPS resources exist to monitor the nest and remove ruts.

For nests laid prior to June 1, the Seashore would retain the option of not expanding the buffer until day 60, unless signs of hatching prior to day 60 were detected. For nests laid after August 20, the Seashore would retain the option of not expanding the buffer for nests that block access to ORV passage. Nests laid after August 20 would be monitored daily for signs of hatching and managed appropriately to avoid impacts if signs of hatching are observed. Where signs of hatching are observed (e.g., depression), buffers would be expanded as outlined for nests laid prior to August 20.

"The buffers and corridors proposed in alternative B are contingent on NPS having the resources (funding and staff) to do intensive or increased monitoring to protect species," the staff said. "In cases where resource management personnel document adverse impacts to resources greater than those described in this EA, the Seashore would retain the discretion to revert to the resource protection measures in the ORV FEIS.

Comments

Just testing...

Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country...


This is a good start, but I think the NPS are purposely making this more complicated than it needs to be. The excessive closures and buffers are still not making any significant difference. I hope we can eventually revert to more simpler measures that used to provide reasonable access.


Or their seashore.


I expect there will be some problems allowing vehicles along the ocean shoreline with unfledged chicks.


Never was a problem before, what problems do you expect?


The usual, chicks being run over by vehicles when they try to hide in the ruts. Birds run off their nests by vehicles that sort of thing. It will eventually get docummented if these regs stand.


I guess it's like the old story of "how long is too long depends on which side of the bathroom door you're on".

What's a problem for a chick trying to live is different from what's a problem for a guy driving on the dunes.


It looks like the the staff caved in here, I hope that is not the case. It is important that the that the endangered species of the area are not compromised.


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