To the Land Rover ORV community -
You may or may not have heard, but the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area, which comprises all Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island beaches, both ocean and sound side, has been severely affected by a federal judge's consent decree and following changes in regulations by the National Park Service regarding access for ORV vehicles. The NPS has imposed draconian restrictions on access by ORVs, and closed large portions of the beach permanently, converting recreational access to refuge purposes. While this may seem noble in intent, it is a completely unnecessary and unbalanced response to a decree that was based on junk science, where bird counts were falsely limited to beaches and did not take into account sound-side bird nesting areas on dredge islands created by channel clearing that were intended for the very purpose of increasing habitat areas. The birds moved from one location to another, barely a mile away, and were treated as non-existent.
Obviously, these new limitations on access are having a devastating affect on local island villages, with business and jobs losses escalating, just when these communities were recovering from Hurricanes Earl & Irene, as well as the financial crisis and Great Recession of 2008-09. To get a more first hand feel for what's going on, we recommend that you view the excellent documentary shot by Kevin Hicks on the Outer Banks Preservation Assn. [OBPA] website,
http://obpa-nc.org/joomla/ in 2010. Unfortunately, the situation has gotten worse for many folks on the island, who are now struggling to survive or have been forced off the island entirely. Some of these folks are fourth or fifth generation natives who are being displaced by these totally unwarranted federal government actions.
The good news is that a NC Congressional representative, Walter B. Jones, has submitted a bill in the House of Representatives, HR 4094, that resets permanently NPS management rules to the 2007 Interim Plan, itself a flawed management document, but preferable to the current bureaucratic overreach. You can help by contacting your congressional representatives in the House and Senate and telling them you support the bill. Also, OBPA has challenged the current plan in appeals court, as outlined on their website, under the auspices of the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance [CHAPA], and could use financial help for legal fees if you are so inclined to donate.
Other groups on the island, including the North Carolina Beach Buggy Assn. [NCBBA] and Cape Hatteras Anglers Club [CHAC], local businesses, and Dare County Commissioners, are donating resources and money to support this effort, and the newly formed Hatteras Island Musicians Guild is putting on a concert May 5 at the Fessenden Center in Buxton, NC to support the effort as well, for those who may reside in the mid-Atlantic region. Remember, all of these groups are fighting for your rights of use as well as their own interests. This is a historic taking, originating from two extreme environmental groups, who were not content with the balanced approach of a negotiated set of regulations supported by other environmental groups like the Nature Conservancy, as well as the aforementioned groups above and others, to respect the original intent and federal promises made to local communities when the national seashore recreation area was established. By contacting your representative, both as individuals and as groups you can send a message, loud and clear, as the fall elections approach.
Another way you can show your support is to sign the online petition urging Congress [and especially the Senate] to support HR 4094 and restore access as intend by the original enabling act of Congress to all US citizens. Stand up and be counted...sign here.
https://www.change.org/petitions#search/orv%20rule Thanks!
Mike Fahey
NCBBA/OBPA member/supporter
Hatteras Island, NC
Subject: Surfing/fishing weekend in April 
Mon Mar 12, 2012 3:59 pm
