A New Rule Balances Wildlife and Off-Road-Vehicle Use on a North Carolina Beach
Congressional legislation and a pending civil suit threaten the future of a new rule that protects wildlife and allows vehicles on Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Five years ago tire tracks carved by recreational off-road vehicles traced a path of destruction over dead birds and demolished eggs. Today least tern chicks, nesting loggerhead sea turtles, and piping plovers are flourishing at North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore. After a legal battle waged by Audubon North Carolina and Defenders of Wildlife, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, the National Park Service issued a new rule put into effect this past February that allows ORV access in certain areas within the seashore while also protecting sea turtles and birds. Yet despite this initial compromise, pending congressional legislation and civil litigation could negate the park service’s ruling, threatening bird species, other wildlife, and plants on the shore.
“Historically, Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been very important for birds that depend on the barrier islands for nesting, migratory stopovers, and wintering areas,” explains Walker Golder, Audubon North Carolina’s deputy director.
How to manage Cape Hatteras has been a conservation issue for decades. In 1972 President Richard Nixon issued an executive order requiring the Interior Department and the National Park Service to develop rules regulating ORV use on public lands for the purpose of protecting public safety, minimizing conflicts among land users, and protecting natural resources. President Jimmy Carter clarified the order five years later, saying federal agencies must close areas to ORV use whenever such use was adversely affecting natural resources.
In spite of the two executive orders, the National Park Service never finalized an ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras, relying instead on a draft interim plan developed in 1978.
But from what the Park Service has experienced in recent years, it is possible the draft was never finalized because of controversy and political pressure,explains Mike Murray, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. “ORV management at the seashore is a longstanding, emotionally charged, and highly polarized issue,” he says. “There was resistance to portions of the 1978 draft plan, such as a proposed ORV permit requirement, just as there’s resistance to the new plan and regulation. I can fully understand why it has been so difficult for the Park Service to complete an ORV management plan and special regulation at the seashore.”
As the years passed, growing numbers of people drove on the fragile shores. And more ORVs meant more people in remote areas. Protection for birds decreased, as did breeding productivity, while disturbance increased. The seashore’s bird populations began to decline. In 1992, 14 years after the NPS began managing the area based on the draft interim plan, only 12 piping plover breeding pairs made use of the shore. By 2003 that number dropped to two. Only one chick fledged that year (none fledged in 2002 and 2004). From 1995 to 2004 the number of common tern nests on the shore decreased 76 percent, from 739 to 180. By 2007 the number of terns and skimmers nesting on the seashore’s beaches had reached historic lows. Indeed, black skimmers and gull-billed terns were absent as a nesting species that year.
“When we began to see problems, we began to work with the seashore to raise awareness of the issues and the need to protect birds on the beach,” Golder says.
Because of this effort and to address a continuing decline in nesting bird populations, in 2006 the Park Service, after a yearlong feasibility assessment, issued an Interim Protected Species Management Strategy to provide resource protection guidance until a long-term ORV management plan and regulation could be developed.
“We commented repeatedly that the Interim Protected Species Management Strategy was inadequate,” says Golder. “They did focus on piping plovers in 2007 but ignored other birds, sea turtles, science, and the recommendations of the U.S. Geological Survey.”
“Unfortunately, the Interim Strategy did not even incorporate the measures that the government’s own scientists identified as necessary to protect wildlife at the seashore,” says Julie Youngman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “The natural resources of Cape Hatteras were not being protected for future generations.” Jason Rylander, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife, adds, “It was not a legally valid ORV management plan by any means."
On October 18, 2007, Audubon and Defenders of Wildlife, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, sued the National Park Service, arguing that its governance of ORVs was inadequate. The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance, a pro-ORV lobbying group, and Dare and Hyde counties, where the seashore is located, intervened in the suit. After several months the parties agreed to implement another temporary but stricter science-based plan regulating ORV use on Cape Hatteras until the National Park Service finalized a formal ORV management regulation. Under these stricter protections, rare wildlife began to rebound, with several species breeding in record-setting numbers. In 2010, for instance, the seashore had 15 fledged piping plover chicks, 26 fledged American oystercatcher chicks, and 153 sea turtle nests. The court agreement also set a deadline for the final rule to be adopted.
After several years of study, research, and public participation, the National Park Service put its final regulation into effect this past February. The rule allows for year-round ORV beach access on 28 of the shore’s 67 miles while simultaneously protecting birds and other wildlife.
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There is a growing battle on the coast of North Carolina where special interest groups look to close miles of shoreline for less than one dozen pairs of birds.
The National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service claiming that four wheel drive access has led to the destruction of habitats for birds of interest at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. The CHNSRA represents a stretch of barrier islands that span from the town of Nags Head to Ocracoke Inlet, which is over seventy miles of coastline.
Traditionally, this area has been known for its pristine ocean waters that have been consistently ranked in the top five beaches throughout the world. Another aspect of CHNSRA is the fact that it holds one of the best surf fishing opportunities throughout the world. Here, anglers can catch fish, such as citation red drum and cobia, which normally require the use of boats in all other waters. However, this traditional past time has come under fire from special interest groups such as the Defenders of Wildlife and The National Audubon Society, as they claim that the use of four wheel drive vehicles on the seashore inhibits breeding and nesting of certain birds; mainly, the Piping Plover.
The Piping Plover is a migratory bird that ranges from Canada to Florida and has started using the coastline of North Carolina as a breeding ground. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has the Piping Plover listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act and requires that special attention be given to this particular avian species when breeding behavior and nesting are observed (www.fws.gov). Other birds also inhabit the North Carolina coastline although none are listed as threatened or endangered. It should also be noted that due to these few Piping Plovers, an estimated 60% of shoreline at the CHNSRA was closed to both four wheel drive and pedestrian access in the summer of 2009.
The lawsuit enforcing these closures is based upon a consent decree negotiated between environmental groups and NPS for four wheel drive use within the recreational area. There was a plan for CHNSRA created in 1978, and the park operated under this plan for almost thirty years although it was never officially registered with the federal government (www.nps.gov). Hence, in the mid 2000's, The Audubon Society partnered with Defenders of Wildlife to bring suit against the NPS, which has resulted in a consent decree that has lead to the closure of miles of beach until NPS can come up with a complete plan. However, many do not consent to this decree at all.
As a result, these closures have cut off access to the main areas used by both visitors and fishermen (and women) of the park. Cape Point, one of the most popular areas of CHNSRA, was closed in the spring of 2008 and did not reopen until late in the fall. This has led many to wonder how two birds can constitute a closure of miles of coastline, as Cape Point is not the only area to experience this type of access issue.
CHNSRA allows access by four wheel drive to areas of the beach through the use of ramps, which are trails that lead from the main highway (Hwy. 12), to areas of beach that are undeveloped. Although the National Audubon Society and Defenders of Wildlife have stated that there are very few miles closed to four wheel drives or pedestrians, the closures erected near ramps have also closed the access ramps themselves. This leaves no way to access these points of the beach unless one walks through the dunes, which is sometimes illegal and levy's a hefty fine for violations. This means that although there may be strands of sand that are open, there is no legal access to these areas, which basically means they are closed as well.
This is a growing concern for the residents of Cape Hatteras, as much of the economy depends on tourism from visitors and fishing. With a decrease in the amount of accessible shoreline, many have decided to re-think their annual trips to the seashore and vacation elsewhere. In a phone interview with Bob Eakes, owner of the Red Drum Tackle Shop in Buxton, North Carolina, he estimated that after the consent decree, their spring revenue dropped 40% in the '08-'09 year, and is off by up to 50% during the present 2010 season. The effects of the closures are being felt by many who depend on these annual tourist dollars, and local businesses have been fighting this decree although they do not have unlimited coffers of money at their disposal.
On a final note, it should be stated that there have been no known occurrences of bird deaths attributed to four wheel drives in the park by its visitors or residents in the years that these birds have nested along CHNSRA. Also, the local residents and fishers regularly organize efforts for beach clean up and restoration projects when other environmental groups are nowhere to be found. Protection of our natural resources is important for future generations but certain actions by special interest groups may render some of the country's greatest treasures off limits if they get their way. National Parks and recreational areas were created for use by all citizens and visitors of the United States, not just a select few.