BEACH DRIVING ISSUES TAKE CENTER STAGE !
A variety of issues concerning driving on Hatteras Island beaches and a surprise ruling by a U.S. District judge have taken center stage in local news reports during the past week.
There are three main topics that are the focal points of the discussions:
- On Friday, July 13th, a new interim protected management plan for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore was completed. The plan identifies the Park Service’s strategy for managing piping plovers and other protected species. The piping plover is a species of shore bird that is protected under the Endangered Species Act. As we understand it, the management plan contains a proposed critical habitat designation for piping plover wintering areas that could result in the closure to beach driving during certain times of the year of areas at the south end of Bodie Island at Oregon Inlet, at Cape Point, at Hatteras Inlet, and in areas on Ocracoke Island. Several groups that are advocates of recreational beach driving have lobbied for the Cape Hatteras National seashore to be exempt from the proposed critical habitat designation. Public comments on the proposal can be made through the end of July. For further information on the plan and to submit comments, please go to - http://www.fws.gov/nc-es/piplch/piplch.html
- In a separate action a few days later, the National Park Service temporarily closed the spit at the southern end of Bodie Island to off-road vehicular traffic in order to protect piping plover chicks that have recently hatched. Simultaneously, the Park Service opened an additional half mile beach north of Oregon Inlet to compensate for the closure. The temporary closure is expected to last about a month.
- On Tuesday, July 17th, while hearing a case involving reckless driving on the beach near Oregon Inlet, U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle observed that the Cape Hatteras National Seashore “does not have regulations in place to govern ORV (off-road vehicle) traffic.” The judge’s order indicated that, in the absence of an off-road vehicle management plan and specific authority from the Department of the interior or its designee, it was a violation for anyone to be driving on the beach! It remains to be seen how the National Park Service will ultimately respond to the judge’s ruling. For now, the Park Service appears to be taking the position that the order is not an injunction against beach driving, and tickets will not be issued for responsible driving on the beach.
Driving on the beach is an important part of Hatteras Island’s attractiveness, and if the beaches were to be closed to off-road vehicle use, it would have a significant impact on the economy of the island. Our hope and our expectation is that compromise and reason will prevail, resulting in a solution that protects endangered species while allowing acceptable access to the beach for those who want to drive on it.