Settlement in Beach Driving Lawsuit Reached

Official beach access reports are posted by the National Park Service regularly to the following website:
http://www.nps.gov/caha/parknews/newsreleases.htm.

The US District Judge has signed off on the settlement between the National Park Service (NPS) and the Defenders of Wildlife and National Audubon Society which will allow off road vehicle (ORV) use on Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke Island beaches.

The consent decree outlines temporary rules for ORV use in the interim while the Negotiated Rulemaking committee works towards a permanent plan.

The pre-nesting closures, established March 15th, 2008 are similar in location and area to the pre-nesting closures of 2007. The decree states that the closures will comprise of buffer zones for breeding activity of protected shorebirds, as well as fledgling chicks. These buffer zones range in diameter from 50m to 1000m for vehicles, and 50m to 300m for pedestrians, and can change dependent on the territorial movements of the protected birds. In several of these areas, vehicle corridors will be established so ORVs can access open beaches past the closures.

Additional closures may be established from the initial March 15th closure locations if a pre-nesting or breeding behavior is observed in a different area of the Cape Hatteras shoreline.

Unlike the 2007 closures, vehicle corridors will not be widened or moved to accommodate ORVs if the beaches shift or erosion occurs. If disturbance from vehicles or pedestrians occurs, as observed by National Park Service management staff, the buffer zones will be expanded by 50m increments until there are no further disturbances.

To increase the chances of successful turtle nesting, beach driving will be prohibited from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. from May 1st through September 15th. Between September 16th and November 15th, the NPS may issue night permits for authorized nonessential beach driving between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Once the piping plover chicks hatch, the chicks will be observed from dawn to dusk by trained NPS staff. Education materials on the protected shorebirds and sea turtles will also be available at all ORV access points, and the NPS will put forth an effort to develop educational programs on the protected shorebirds and turtles.

Click here to read the Agreement Reached to Preserve Wildlife and Recreation Opportunities on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

Click here to read the Consent Decree filed April 16th, 2008.

Click here to view the closure maps filed with the Consent Decree.

Click here to read Surf or Sound Realty's Official Position Statement regarding beach driving in Cape Hatteras National Seashore.