More Access problems

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More than 600 people packed into the Fessenden Center in Buxton on March 27 to learn more about future public access to six popular beach areas on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Rob Alderman, owner of Hatteras Island Fishing Militia, a surf-fishing guide service, organized the meeting to provide residents and visitors with information on an April 4 court hearing that could result in the closure of areas at Oregon Inlet, Cape Point, South Beach, Hatteras Inlet and Ocracoke Island.

Another informational meeting will be held tonight, Wednesday, April 2, at 6:30 p.m. at First Flight High School. "To think that this will only impact ORV [off-road vehicle] use just isn't true. People won't be allowed to walk in these areas either" explained Dare County Commissioner Allen Burrus.

On Friday, April 4, Judge Terrence Boyle of the US District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina will hear arguments in a request for a temporary injunction against beach driving on the seashore.

In February, the Southern Environmental Law Center, representing the National Audubon Society and the Defenders of Wildlife, requested the injunction until their lawsuit against the National Park Service is resolved.

The lawsuit contends that the park service has failed to manage beach driving in ways that protect shorebirds and sea turtles.

The park has used an interim plan to temporarily protect endangered or threatened animals and plants until a long-term management plan for ORV use is in place.

In 1972, Richard Nixon signed an executive order requiring the National Park Service and other federal public land managers to develop policies controlling ORV use, but the long-term ORV plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore is still several years from completion.

"It's not the public's fault that the park service didn't do their job for the past 30 years. I only hope Judge Boyle will have mercy on the public" said John Couch, president of the Outer Banks Preservation Association, Thursday.

Bobby Outten, attorney for Dare County, told the audience at the Fessenden Center that the interim plan adequately controls beach driving while protecting shorebirds and other natural resources.

"But, the signals we are getting is that the judge is still attached to the presidential executive order" explained Outten.

Outten said Dare County, as one of the interveners in the lawsuit, could appeal the court's decision on the temporary injunction, but that an appeal might take anywhere from six to 18 months.

"So even if we were to appeal a decision we didn't like, we clearly would be impacted this season and most likely next season" he said.

Frank Folb, a member of the stakeholders committee helping to develop an ORV plan, showed maps of the pre-nesting closures going into effect under the interim plan this spring. Folb noted that the closures were larger than last year.

"But, here's the depressing part" he said as maps of closed areas under a temporary injunction were shown to the audience. "These areas would be closed year-round to vehicles and pedestrians for the next three years. There'd be nothing left for humans. You couldn't even take a boat into the beach" he said.

Couch reminded the audience that the official name of the seashore is the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area.

"It's not called a wildlife area, but what is happening today is that the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Defenders of Wildlife and Audubon are carving out six more wildlife refuges on our island" he said.

Warren Judge, chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, urged people to contact their federal representatives.

"Congress has intervened before, and we need Congress to act now. We have just seven days from tonight to make a difference" he said Thursday.

NC Senate President Pro Tempore Marc Basnight has asked the state's Congressional delegation to pass legislation "as soon as possible to clarify the Park Service's previously expressed intent to maintain public access, particularly vehicle access, to the Seashore".

Chris Dillon, Basnight's special projects director, said Congress had taken similar action over the use of snowmobiles at Yosemite National Park.

NC Representative Tim Spear has also weighed in on the issue, asking the state Attorney General to consider intervening on behalf of the citizens of North Carolina.

"The citizens of our state stand to lose a fundamental right of access to publicly owned lands in one of the most beautiful and most sought after recreational areas in our state" wrote Spear in a March 18 letter to Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Spear also said the beach closures would harm the economies of not only Dare and Hyde counties but also the state.