Hatteras off road policy

[Fishing Report]

Initial response to Final Environmental Impact Statement is muted

By IRENE NOLAN


The initial response to the National Park Service’s Final Environmental Impact Statement on ORV regulation on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been muted so far.

That is predictable when the document involved runs more than 1,000 pages and comes in two volumes. The main document runs more than 700 pages with 427 pages of appendices.
Most people, including advocacy groups on both sides of the issue of resource protection versus access to the seashores beaches, are trying to mine what exactly is in the document that will guide the National Park Service off-road vehicle regulation for decades.

The environmental groups – National Audubon Society, Defenders of Wildlife -- that filed a lawsuit in October, 2007, against the Park Service over what they see as inadequate resource protection, along with the Southern Environmental Law Center that represented the groups, said in a media release today that they are evaluating.

The Outer Banks Preservation Association and other groups that advocate for more “reasonable” access are evaluating.

Dare County, which as a defendant-intervenor on the side of the National Park Service in the lawsuit, is also evaluating.

Online message boards and forums have even been fairly quiet, considering the importance of the document.

“I knew all along it wouldn't be good, but thought it would be at least a little better than this,” one person posted on the Red Drum Tackle Shop’s online forum.

“It looks like the fat lady has sung,” said another in a post. “Thanks, NPS, for listening. Your approval rating is ZERO!”

The Island Free Press has received a few responses already to an article about the FEIS, which was posted yesterday afternoon.

“Let's not mince words,” wrote one reader from Maryland. “Alternative F violates the charter that created CHNRA. Mike Murray should be put in jail and the so called ‘National Park Service’ should be disbanded for this conversion of public parkland into a special interest refuge. How can this be allowed to happen in a democratic society?”

The release from the environmental groups noted they “will evaluate the plan to ensure it balances the interests of all seashore users and fulfills the park service’s responsibility to preserve the seashore’s natural resources, including rare sea turtles, birds, and their young, for present and future generations.”

However, the groups also made it clear that they were not totally happy either in their release, which was headlined, “Preferred alternative plan falls short.”

“The preferred alternative announced yesterday falls short of the U.S. Department of Interior’s own scientists’ recommendations regarding the measures needed to protect wildlife within the national park,” the release said.

“The Park Service’s final rules must provide adequate vehicle-free space and protections for both pedestrians and wildlife, while still allowing responsible beach driving in some areas,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. “We look forward to working with the Park Service to build on the success of this record-breaking year.”

The release notes that Alternative F allows ORV use on the “majority of the seashore” – 28 of 67 miles – and that “only” 26 miles are designated as year-round vehicle-free areas “for pedestrians, families, and wildlife.” The remaining 13 miles of seashore are seasonally open to ORVs.

And the environmental groups again point to record numbers for nesting sea turtles and fledged piping plover chicks on the seashore this year, along with facts and figures showing the Dare County occupancy and sales taxes were up this summer, including a record-setting July.

“As demonstrated by record numbers of visitors and wildlife this year, it is entirely possible for Cape Hatteras to be responsibly shared and enjoyed,” said Jason Rylander, attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “We hope the Park Service’s final plan will strike an appropriate balance that meets the needs of the seashore’s many users.”

“Numbers since 2008 demonstrate that under science-based wildlife management, nesting birds and turtles can rebound, tourism can thrive, and wildlife and people can share the beach at Cape Hatteras,” said Walker Golder, acting executive director of Audubon North Carolina. “The Park Service’s plan currently falls short of providing adequate science-based, year-round protections for the seashore’s natural resources.”

John Couch, who is president of the OBPA, said about the FEIS that “no one has a clear idea of the big picture yet”

At last night’s regular OBPA board meeting, the group began preparing to tackle the document and provide its members an update on what they can expect under the Park Service’s preferred alternative.

In general, Couch said, the National Park service has responded only too well to its mandate of providing resource protection but has failed miserably into its mission to provide for public recreation.

“They have just chosen to ignore the recreation part of their mission,” Couch said.

What has the Park Service done recently, he asked, to further its mission of providing recreation, such as fishing or swimming or surfing?

“Look at the East Coast Surfing Championships at the Lighthouse,” he said. “(The Park Service) has almost single-handedly run them out of there.”

Allen Burrus, vice-chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, was more cynical in his response to his initial look at the FEIS.

“(SELC attorney) Derb Carter could have written it in ’05 and saved us a lot of time and energy.”


http://islandfreepress.org/2010Archi...ntIsMuted.html

[Fishing Report]

Preferred alternative plan falls short

CHAPEL HILL, NC (November 16, 2010) - After a record-breaking year for wildlife at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and visitor occupancy in Dare County, NC, conservation groups are studying the Final Environmental Impact Statement released yesterday by the National Park Service as its latest step in the process of establishing rules for managing beach driving within the seashore. The groups will evaluate the plan to ensure it balances the interests of all seashore users and fulfills the park service’s responsibility to preserve the seashore’s natural resources, including rare sea turtles, birds, and their young, for present and future generations.

The preferred alternative announced yesterday falls short of the U.S. Department of Interior’s own scientists’ recommendations regarding the measures needed to protect wildlife within the national park.

As a unit of the National Park System, Cape Hatteras has been required for decades under federal law to establish guidelines for the use of off-road vehicles (ORVs) in the seashore to minimize harm to the natural resources of the seashore in accordance with the best available science.

“The park service’s final rules must provide adequate vehicle-free space and protections for both pedestrians and wildlife, while still allowing responsible beach driving in some areas,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center. “We look forward to working with the park service to build on the success of this record-breaking year.”

The park service’s preferred plan in today’s statement allows ORV use on the majority of the seashore. Twenty-eight of the seashore’s 67 miles are set aside as year-round ORV routes, with only 26 miles designated as year-round vehicle-free areas for pedestrians, families, and wildlife. The remaining 13 miles of seashore are seasonally open to ORVs. The plan also proposes new parking facilities, ORV ramps, and water shuttles to increase visitor access.

“As demonstrated by record numbers of visitors and wildlife this year, it is entirely possible for Cape Hatteras to be responsibly shared and enjoyed,” said Jason Rylander, attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “We hope the park service’s final plan will strike an appropriate balance that meets the needs of the Seashore’s many users.”

2010 was a record-breaking year at Cape Hatteras for wildlife and visitor occupancy under similar, temporary rules for off-road vehicle use within Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Those rules were implemented in April 2008, and include wildlife protections similar to the ones proposed today by the National Park Service.

According to numbers from the National Park Service, sea turtles laid a record 153 nests on the park’s beaches, the most nests ever documented at the seashore and a substantial increase over previous years. Additionally, a record 15 piping plover chicks survived to fledge or learn to fly, the highest number ever documented since record-keeping began in 1992 and a substantial increase since an all-time low when no chicks survived to fledge in either 2002 or 2004.

At the same time, Dare County’s visitor occupancy through August 2010 exceeded prior years for the same period. In addition, according to press reports, the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau reported that Hatteras Island visitors spent a record-setting $27.8 million on lodging during the month of July, which was an 18.5 percent increase over July 2009 and exceeded all preceding years.

“Numbers since 2008 demonstrate that under science-based wildlife management, nesting birds and turtles can rebound, tourism can thrive, and wildlife and people can share the beach at Cape Hatteras,” said Walker Golder, acting executive director of Audubon North Carolina. “The park service’s plan currently falls short of providing adequate science-based, year-round protections for the seashore’s natural resources

http://www.defenders.org

[Fishing Report]

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document...cumentID=37448

http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document...cumentID=37451

[Fishing Report]

NPS releases Final Environmental Impact Statement on ORV plan

By IRENE NOLAN


The National Park Service has released the Final Environmental Impact statement (FEIS) for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan.

The final plan/EIS evaluates two no-action alternatives and four action alternatives for managing ORV use and identifies their potential environmental consequences.

The Park Service has chosen Alternative F in the FEIS as its preferred alternative.

“Alternative F is designed to provide visitors to the seashore with a wide variety of access opportunities for both ORV and pedestrian users,” according to an NPS media release.

The FEIS comes 8 months after the Park Service issued a draft version of the plan in March. The public had an opportunity to attend public hearings to give comments or to submit them in writing to the Park Service.

The Park Service says that after the public comments were considered, Alternative F was revised to provide more pedestrian access adjacent to resource closures, where possible, and a more balanced approach to ORV routes and vehicle-free areas than Alternative F provided in the DEIS.

Alternative F in the FEIS designates one fewer mile for ORV routes year-round than the draft version – 27.9 miles, compared to 29 in the draft. (ORV routes are still subject to closure for resource protection during the pre-nesting and nesting seasons.)

It designates fewer miles – 12.7 – for seasonal ORV routes than the draft, which proposed 23 miles.

Areas designated as vehicle-free year-round increased by about 10 miles – from 26.4 in the FEIS, compared to 16 in the DEIS.


Some major areas closed to ORVs year-round include:

* Eight-tenths of a mile at Bodie Island spit
* From Ramp 23 south for 1.5 miles
* Ramps 27 to Ramp 30
* New Ramp 32.5 to Ramp 34
* The area from 1.5 miles south of Ramp 38 to four-tenths of a mile north of Ramp 43
* From three-tenths of a miles west of Cape Point to 1.7 miles west of Ramp 45
* One mile of shoreline at the Hatteras Inlet spit
* The North Point of Ocracoke to new Ramp 59.3
* New Ramp 63 to one mile northeast of Ramp 67
* Ramp 68 to four-tenths of a mile northeast of Ramp 70 (day-use area)
* Inlet shoreline along South Point


For a more detailed chart of off-road vehicle routes and areas, click here.

To support access to both vehicle-free areas and designated ORV routes, Alternative F would involve the construction of new parking areas, pedestrian access trails, ORV ramps, and improvements and additions to the interdunal road system.

For a detailed chart of some of the details in Alternative F – such as permits, pets, and night driving – click here.


A few of the highlights are:

* All village beaches will play by the same rules. All village beaches will be open to ORV use from Nov. 1 until March 31. All village beaches will be closed to ORVs from April 1-Oct. 31. Currently Frisco and Hatteras village beaches are closed year-round, and the other village beaches are closed to ORVs for a shorter period -- from May 15 until Sept. 15.
* Permits will be required to drive on the beach. Seven-day and annual permits will be available. A short education course will be required. There will be no limit on permits, and permit fee will be based on cost recovery.
* Night driving prohibited from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m.
* Vehicle carry capacity is established – the linear distance of the route divided by 20 feet per vehicle. That about the equivalent of 260 vehicles per mile.
* Vehicles can be parked only one deep. Stacking of vehicles in more than one row will be prohibited.
* Pet regulations will be similar to what they are now – except they will not be allowed in pedestrian access areas seaward of bird pre-nesting areas.
* Beach fires will be allowed only in front of the village beaches, Coquina Beach and the Ocracoke Day Use Area. Beach fires will require a non-fee education permit and are prohibited from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m.


The FEIS is another very, very large document. It’s in two volumes – one about as long as the DEIS, which was 800-plus pages-- and one somewhat shorter than that. It’s more than an armful to carry.

The NPS will execute a Record of Decision no sooner than 30 days from the date of publication of the Notice of Availability (NOA) of the FEIS in the Federal Register by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The notice is expected to be published on Friday, Nov. 19.

“The release of the final ORV management plan/EIS is an important step toward completion of the required ORV regulation at the seashore,” seashore Superintendent Mike Murray said in a media release. “We greatly appreciate the level of public interest and participation in the planning process.”

Murray said in a meeting with reporters last month that he expected the Record of Decision to be issued on the FEIS by the end of the year.

Shortly after Jan. 1, he said, the Park Service will publish a proposed ORV rule that will spell out the nuts and bolts of off-road vehicle use on the seashore and will begin a 60-day public comment period. After those comments are reviewed, a final regulation will be published, followed by a 30-day waiting period.

According to the terms of a 2008 consent decree, agreed upon by parties to a lawsuit by environmental groups and signed by a federal judge, the Park Service must finish the final special regulation by April 1.

Electronic copies of the document are available for public review online at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/caha.

For a direct link to the FEIS:
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document...cumentID=37448

For a direct link to the red-lined version of the FEIS (with additions and deletions from draft plan highlighted in red:
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/document...cumentID=37451


Hard copies or compact disks (CDs) of the FEIS are being mailed to those who have previously requested them. A limited number of CDs and hard copies of the FEIS are available at the Seashore headquarters, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954. You may also request a hard copy or CD by contacting Mike Murray, Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954, (252)

http://islandfreepress.org/2010Archi...OnORVPlan.html