Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Defenders of Wildlife v. National Park Service


Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups are asking a federal judge to suspend beach driving on portions of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore that have been identified as being most critical to threatened and endangered shorebirds.

Hatteras Beach Driving Negotiations Successful

April 30, 2008 - A consent decree filed in U.S. District Court that has resolved the lawsuit challenging an interim National Park Service plan to protect wildlife from the impacts of beach driving along Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been signed by Judge Boyle. Read the press release.

On February 20, 2008 the groups filed for a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court requesting that beach driving be halted along approximately 12% of the shoreline to allow birds to nest and raise chicks. The requested closures were recommended by the Park Service’s own scientists and are vital to a successful breeding season in 2008. Importantly, most areas would still be open to pedestrian access, allowing Park visitors to continue using these areas.
See a map of the proposed closure areas.

A number of local newspapers support the move to suspend beach driving in certain areas in order to save shorebirds and other wildlife:

ORV fight is no place for Congress, The Virginian-Pilot, June 16, 2008
Drive on?, The News & Observer, June 15, 2008
A good deal on Hatteras beach, The Virginian Pilot, May 7, 2008
Driving a hard bargain, The Charlotte Observer, May 5, 2008
Hatching a plan, The News & Observer, May 4, 2008
Seashore solution, The Fayetteville Observer, May 3, 2008
Hatteras has room for access compromise, The Virginian-Pilot, April 4, 2008
A break for birds, The News & Observer, March 18, 2008
Beach Traffic, Winston-Salem Journal, October 25, 2007
To save a beach, Fayette Observer, October 21, 2007
Beach Boost, The News & Observer, July 23, 2007

Background: Off-Road Vehicle Usage

Cape Hatteras National Seashore was authorized in 1937 as the nation’s first national seashore, under the management of the National Park Service. It consists of approximately 30,000 acres along approximately 64 miles of shoreline in the North Carolina Outer Banks.

In recent years, off-road vehicle (ORV) use has increased exponentially at the Seashore, with as many as 2,200 vehicles traveling on the beach in a given day. This increase in ORV use has coincided with a steady decline in the numbers and breeding success of numerous protected species of shorebirds and sea turtles – some rare, endangered, or threatened – that live and breed at the Seashore. 

The Seashore provides important habitat for numerous wildlife species, including the piping plover, a bird listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and numerous other waterbirds, shorebirds, and sea turtles.

High volume ORV usage deters birds and turtles from nesting in prime areas of their habitat, crushes nests, eggs and chicks, and prevents hatchling turtles from reaching the ocean. A recent study by North Carolina State University shows that beach driving has contributed to a 49 percent decline in American oystercatcher numbers at Cape Hatteras over the last decade. Beach driving also contributes to pollution in the area, the compaction, erosion and displacement of sand, and the degradation of the overall habitat.

Case Background:

Since 2005, Defenders of Wildlife has encouraged the National Park Service to implement a responsible ORV management plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore. 

For more than 35 years, federal law and presidential executive orders requires that all federal parks, refuges and other public lands that allow ORV use have detailed management plans in place through regulation.  Despite these clear and longstanding legal requirements, the National Park Service has failed to prepare and implement an ORV management plan at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.  Although a federal judge declared beach driving without a management plan illegal at Cape Hatteras in July 2007, the Park Service continues to allow it.

As a result of Defenders’ efforts, the National Park Service agreed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on protections for federally-listed species in areas where the Park Service continues to authorize ORV use at the Seashore.  But the National Park Service then developed an interim species protection plan in 2007 that elevates ORV use over wildlife protection and fails adequately to protect wildlife at the Seashore. 

In October 2007, Defenders filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service challenging the agencies’ failure to regulate beach driving in a manner protective of the piping plover, loggerhead sea turtle, and other species.  That suit, which alleges violations of the Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act and other federal laws and regulations,  is pending in federal court in North Carolina.  Defenders staff are also working as part of a negotiated rule-making team to develop a long-term ORV management plan for the seashore.

Related Documents:

Press Release: Federal Judge Approves Agreement (4/30/2008)
Press Release: Beach Driving Negotiations Successful (4/16/2008)
Consent Decree
Consent Decree Fact Sheet
Press Release: Federal judge asked to restrict driving on Cape Hatteras National Seashore (2/20/2008)
Memo for Preliminary Injunction
Motion for Preliminary Injunction
Notice of Intent to Sue
Judge Boyle's Federal Court Order concerning beach driving
Five Things You Should Know about Beach Driving at Cape Hatteras

Status:


Concluded

Co-filers:


National Audubon Society, Southern Environmental Law Center

Updates:

4/30/2008
Consent decree signed by Judge Boyle. Press release

04/11/2008
The three parties involved in the lawsuit to regulate beach driving along Cape Hatteras National Seashore have agreed in principle to a settlement of the case. A consent decree is expected to be filed the week of April 14. Read their settlement statements.

02/20/08
Defenders and involved groups filed for a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court requesting beach driving to be halted along 12% of the shoreline to protect shorebird nesting habitat.