HOMEPAGE  -  THERE ARE MANY RELEVANT LINKS TO READ

AN OUTER BANKS CITIZEN LETTER:

For decades Cape Hatteras National Recreational Seashore existed without an Off Road Vehicle (ORV) plan.  Under President Richard Nixon an executive order was passed requiring anything under the Dept of Interior to manage and have an ORV plan.  Twice since the early 70's National Park Service (NPS) and my community have created a plan only to never have the plan so listed in the federal register.  Hence we are out of compliance.  At the highest level of The Department of the Interior, we were persuaded that a plan through a Negotiated Rulemaking (Neg Reg) process sanctioned by congress was the right way to achieve what is mandated.

Of course times have been quite controversial down here but still with a really great pick for a superintendent, Mike Murray, by Fran Mainella, National Park Service director, we have pushed forward.  At the Neg Reg table are a great many players including many of the top environmental groups from around the land.  At the outset of this very complicated process which demands consensus by all on every issue, we all were asked to withdraw our talons and make this process the main focus of our lobbying effort and so on.  Also, we agreed not to sue during the process.  Mike Murray, the new supt., accorded all a place at the table.

Through out the early stages of meeting while we were waiting to be formally appointed we were constantly attacked through magazine articles or lawsuits or whatever by the National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife, and Southern Environmental Law.  These three groups have never yet come to the table to negotiate but sit there as if they were the lord God of all.

Through out this process, with the three of them already filing lawsuits there has been a Federal District Court Judge in Elizabeth City. For 20 years or so he has heard every single civil and criminal case for NPS Cape Hatteras.  Last August, he ruled against a reckless driving case and made note that ORV's were illegal to drive in Cape Hatteras National Seashore since there was not an ORV plan in place.  Of course, this was noted by the other side who immediately filed suit to close the Seashore. 

Finally we were formally appointed and the Reg Neg process is on.  These three groups cannot stand not to sue and so they do.  They asked for basically an injunction which would mandate a set of protocols issued by the USGS (United States Geological Survey) and say the protocols are in fact NPS science.  What they don't say is that they, Audubon and Defenders, hired a guy and moved him here 8 years or so ago.  This man became the main person in local resource management with park service and of course requested the very rigorous closures and of course influenced the protocols.  Derb Carter, SELC lawyer representing the other side, acts as if this very biased science was created by National Park Service and no one else.  The injunction wants the beaches closed year round at all three inlets, Oregon, Hatteras, Ocracoke and Cape Point...  Take Cape Point, closed 2 miles north and 3 miles south; Oregon Inlet from the Campground and south; Ocracoke from the Airport; Hatteras Inlet from ramp 55 and you take in the gist of it, it is the primary access areas used by our tourists and residents.  Cape Point has to be the top recreational fishing spot in the world and it is to be closed year round.  While the other side acts like pedestrian access would be allowed they are also demanding that it be a resource closure and under National Park Service everyone is banned. 

The so called reason for the injunction is that the birds are just not here and the level of ORV use has reduced populations in Cape Hatteras National Seashore to 20% of past populations and two species no longer nest here at all.  This is just not true because most of the birds are colonial which means they nest as a colony and if you look at CHNS and the dredge islands and take the NC Wildlife Commission bird counts for last year for our area. the bird count is up 20% and not down 80% as the other side has said.  The other side says they just don't have time to wait for the REG Neg process to be completed because of their hysteria over the loss of two birds in the seashore.  That both of these species are up in population when you add in the dredge islands created by dredging the inlets and channels and so on is absurd.  An example of bird nesting is the Least Tern which has quite a few numbers and when the bird nests it does so by colony.  The three largest sites in North Carolina are three different roofs of Food Lion grocery stores.  The numbers of course are up in the state but down in the seashores This is a great bird that knows how to adapt.

The really bad news for us is that the lawyers representing the NPS have just not participated.  They have recommended settling this and of course we will not.  They have not even bothered to do anything except sit there in front of the judge.  The positive thought process is that both  NPS and USFWS agreed on an Interim Plan while Reg Neg was going on which would afford suitable protection for the resource and allow fishing to go on.  The bad news is that the other side has made it quite clear that they will block consensus on anything which affords access.  Already they have argued against increased parking areas and every thing else which would let the American public go to the beach.

It is unbelievable that my community can be asked to accord the other side respectability and try to work with them.  They have done everything they can to make us abort the process.