PrintCongressional Sportsmen's Caucus members, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr and U.S. Rep. Walter Jones have introduced legislation in the Senate and House of Representatives in the wake of a consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, that prevents off-road vehicle and citizen access, including recreational fishing, to a significant portion of this National Seashore to protect endangered shorebirds and sea turtles. The legislation would reinstate the Interim Management Strategy governing off-road vehicle use on Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS). The reinstatement of the original Interim Management Strategy (IMS), issued by the National Park Service (NPS) on June 13, 2007, would set aside the mandates and requirements established by the consent decree.
CSF has been meeting with members of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus. NASC is working with the North Carolina Legislative Sportsmen's Caucus. Both groups seek to encourage solutions that would restore much needed reasonable public access while still providing necessary and adequate protections for the threatened shorebirds.
"I share the concerns of many North Carolinians about the negative ramifications that severely restricting off-road vehicle use at CHNS will have on the local community and economy," said Dole. "Beach users and members of the local community deserve to have their voices heard to ensure the development of a long-term plan that protects the natural habitat of the Seashore while maintaining its economic and recreational benefits."
In a recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Survey on recreation fishing participation, North Carolina ranked as the number two destination state in the country, only behind Florida. Annually, recreational fishing in North Carolina supports more than 20,000 jobs, with a spending impact on the state's economy reaching over the $1 billion mark. Hatteras is one of the top fishing destinations in the state.
"The consent decree has once again shown that managing the Seashore through the courts - without public input - is always a bad idea," said Jones. "This bill would restore reasonable public access and would bring the public back into the process on a level playing field by reinstituting the Interim Management Strategy until the Negotiated Rulemaking Committee can produce a final rule."
If enacted, the National Park Service's Interim Management Strategy will go into effect immediately and end upon the National Park Service establishing a long-term off-road vehicle management plan for the use of CHNS by the public.
Update: July 30, 2008 Committee Hears Hatteras OHV Restrictions Should Stay
Recreational anglers in Hatteras, North Carolina will continued to be stymied by an Off Highway Vehicle (OHV) management plan that went into effect on May 1. A consent decree filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina prevents off-road vehicle and citizen access, including recreational fishing, to a significant portion of this National Seashore to protect endangered shorebirds and sea turtles. No OHVs are allowed access to the beach from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. - prime surf fishing time - through November 15.
In a recent Senate National Parks Subcommittee hearing, the committee heard testimony from Daniel Wenk, Deputy Director of the National Park Service, that the plan for the regulation of OHVs initiated by the consent decree is best option to protect the seashore until a long-term plan can be completed by the Park Service. Wenk also stated that the legislation, S. 3113, introduced by U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC), Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC) to reinstate the interim management plan put forth by NPS for OHV use would be detrimental to the seashore.
Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), said the settlement's management plan was reached without public input. She stated that NPS could take two to three years before it completes a permanent solution.
Read the testimony of Dare County Commissioner Warren Judge
Background
In 1972, President Richard Nixon issued an Executive Order that required all federal parks, refuges and public lands that allow off-road vehicles access to develop and implement a detailed management plan to regulate and assess environmental impacts. CHNS never developed a management plan, and as a result, Cape Hatteras has been out of compliance for over three decades.
In December 2005, the NPS developed a three-phase plan to begin the negotiation process and create regulations that would allow CHNS to meet compliance standards; however, on July 17, 2007 an injunction was filed by the Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society to prevent off-road vehicle use until a management plan is established and approved. A settlement negotiation process ensued, and on April 30, 2008, a federal judge approved a consent decree, proposed by the plaintiffs and agreed to by the parties involved in the case - the National Park Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The settlement, which went into effect on May 1, 2008, requires that all seashore ramps be closed to ORVs from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. through November 15, 2008, that buffers for nests and chicks are clearly defined and in some cases more restrictive, and that deliberate violations of the buffers will result in an expanded restricted area.
Read more at North Carolina's Island Free Press
