The Latest News

Groups are studying proposed rules to govern off-road vehicles within national park

added 3.5.10

Conservation groups are studying proposed rules released today by the National Park Service to govern off-road vehicle use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The groups are examining the document to see if the rules balance the interests of ORV enthusiasts with the park service’s primary responsibility to preserve the seashore’s natural resources, including rare sea turtles, birds, and their young, for present and future generations. As a unit of the National Park System, Cape Hatteras has been required for decades under federal law to establish guidelines for off-road vehicles (ORVs) that minimize harm to wildlife and natural values of the seashore in accordance with the best available science. More details are in the news release.

Previous Case Activity

CHAPA and Dare and Hyde Counties say Consent Decree is an important protection

added 2.11.10

While seeking to overturn it through a bill in the US Senate (S. 1557), the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance (CHAPA) and Dare and Hyde Counties extolled the protections afforded piping plovers by a 2008 Consent Decree on managing off-road vehicle (ORV) use on Cape Hatteras National Seashore in a public legal brief filed on February 4, 2010 in the federal District Court for the District of Columbia (click here for legal brief). The legal filing is part of their lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s decision to designate certain areas of the Seashore as critical habitat for piping plovers which are protected as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

In the filing, CHAPA (a coalition of ORV advocacy organizations) and counties argue that:

• Measures in the Consent Decree to manage ORV use provide “important biological benefits and protections” to piping plovers on the Seashore, and additional protection that would be afforded by critical habitat designation is unnecessary.


• Provisions found in the Consent Decree provide “assurances that the conservation management strategies will be implemented to accomplish the objectives” of protecting piping plover habitat on the Seashore.

CHAPA and Dare and Hyde Counties, along with the National Park Service and environmental organizations, entered the Consent Decree in April 2008 to provide protections to piping plovers and other wildlife on the National Seashore. After recommending to the federal court that it approve the Consent Decree, CHAPA and Dare County subsequently criticized the measures in the Consent Decree to protect threatened piping plovers and other wildlife. They have supported proposed legislation in Congress to overturn the wildlife protection measures in the Consent Decree while at the same time now arguing it provides “important biological benefits and protections” to threatened piping plovers that replace the need for critical habitat designation on the National Seashore.

2009 good year for birds, turtles in Cape Hatteras

added 10.5.09

As the 2009 nesting season ends at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, National Park Service reports indicate rare birds and sea turtles benefited in the second breeding season after an April 2008 consent agreement increased park protections for baby birds and sea turtles endangered by off-road vehicles. The park has also attracted more visitors during the same months in 2009 despite the nationwide recession. More details are in the release.

Charts showing species population numbers before and after the April 2008 consent decree can be viewed here.

Tourism spending up in Dare County

added 8.13.09

The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau announced today that domestic visitors to and within Dare County spent an estimated $777.41 million dollars in 2008, an increase of 1.9 percent from 2007, according to a North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development county-by-county report. The increase comes with beach driving restrictions in place  to protect wildlife within Cape Hatteras National Seashore. More details are in the visitors bureau press release.
Wildlife numbers also reversed their downward trend and showed signs of recovery under the consent agreement according to National Park Service reports.

National Park or Parking Lot? Senators Re-introduce Bill

added 8.11.09

U.S. Senator Hagan (D-NC) joined U.S. Senator Burr (R-NC) in a legislative move to withdraw national park protections for baby birds and sea turtles endangered by off-road vehicles. The bill, S. 1557, seeks to subvert a consent decree for ORV management at Cape Hatteras National Seashore agreed to as “fair and just” by all parties—including ORV enthusiasts and Dare County, N.C.--before U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Boyle on April 30, 2008. More details are in the release.

Watch our new video: ‘Turning the Tide’

added 6.19.09

SELC’s efforts to rein in excessive beach driving have led to a resurgence of nesting shorebird and sea turtle populations on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Get the inside story from SELC attorney Julie Youngman.