Cape Hatteras National Seashore - 2008 Consent Decree (U.S. National Park Service)

2008 Consent Decree Frequently Asked Questions and Answers - June 26, 2008 (pdf)

ORV Management Planning in Progress

For the past several years, the National Park Service (NPS) has been in the process of developing an ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. This will be the park’s first ORV plan. The plan will address resource protection (including protected, threatened and endangered species), visitor safety, and potential conflicts among various park users.

The plan will also ensure that ORV use is managed to satisfy applicable law and an executive order that has been in place since 1972, which requires the NPS to develop special regulations for parks that allow ORV use.

2008 Consent Decree

In October 2007, Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center (plaintiffs) filed a lawsuit against the NPS alleging inadequacies in management of protected species at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and failure of the park to comply with the requirements of the ORV executive order and NPS regulations regarding ORV use.

The species identified for protection included: the piping plover (federally-listed threatened), several species of colonial waterbirds (state-listed threatened and species of concern), the American oystercatcher (state-listed significantly rare), and several species of sea turtles (federally-listed threatened and endangered).

In April 2008, the U.S. District Court Judge signed a consent decree to settle the lawsuit. The consent decree was agreed to by the plaintiffs and the NPS; and by Dare and Hyde Counties and a coalition of local ORV and fishing groups (Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance) which participated in the lawsuit as interveners. The consent decree, which is enforceable by the court, provides for specific species protection mandates and requires the NPS to complete the ORV plan and required special regulation by Dec. 31, 2010 and April 11, 2011 respectively.

New ORV and Species Protection Requirements

To meet the legal requirements of the consent decree, the NPS must:

increase the frequency and degree of monitoring and protection of certain shorebird and all sea turtle species;
establish and enforce larger closures around nesting areas;
mark, monitor and enforce pedestrian and ORV corridors along the shoreline; and
enforce a prohibition of vehicles on beaches between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., May 1 - Nov. 15, with a permit system to be established for night driving Sept. 16 – Nov. 15.

Protected species closure violations that disturb or harass wildlife, or vandalizes fencing, nests, or plants are mandated to expand 50 meters for the first violation, 100 meters for the second, and 500 meters or more for the third. These violations may have up to a $5,000 fine and/or imprisonment up to 6 months.

Concerns and Consensus
The implementation of the consent decree means change in how local residents and park visitors can use the beach. Many business owners fear a negative economic impact from the loss of access to prime surf fishing spots. Residents are concerned about the loss of their traditional use of the beach. Protected species advocates fear loss of species without the intervention of the court.

The NPS is using a negotiated rulemaking process to draft the ORV Management Plan through a federal advisory committee of local community and national interest groups. By working together on this consensus planning effort, it is hoped that the committee and the NPS can complete a plan that not only complies with the law, but also brings to closure decades of conflict and uncertainty of ORV and protected species management at the seashore.