NPS COMMENTS TO USFWS AND TO COURT ARE AVAILABLE

Date: August 3, 2007
Contact: Outer Banks Group, 252-473-2111

Superintendent Mike Murray announced that Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CAHA) has posted two recent letters on the  National Park Service (NPS) Planning, Environment and Public Comment system (PEPC) website.  The first letter provides the NPS comments to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife proposal to designate critical habitat for wintering piping plover at CAHA.  The second is a letter from Superintendent Murray to George E. B. Holding, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, regarding the current status of off-road vehicle (ORV) management at CAHA.  The latter letter is in response to the July 17, 2007 court order issued by U.S. District Court Judge Terrance W. Boyle.  On August 1, 2007 an assistant U.S. attorney presented the letter to Judge Boyle during a court session.

“There has been considerable interest in our comments on proposed critical habitat and our response to the court order, so we are making these documents available to the public,” said Superintendent Murray.  

The letters can be accessed on-line at: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/CAHA.  The letter to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is located under the Interim Protected Species Management Strategy Document List.  The letter to the U.S. Attorney is located under the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Off-Road Vehicle Negotiated Rulemaking and Management Plan/EIS Document List.

-NPS