To: The United States Senate
Senators Hagan and Burr: Stop sponsoring S486 -a BAD bill for Cape Hatteras National Seashore
We call on Senator Kay Hagan and Senator Richard Burr to drop their sponsorship of S486 and support the National Park Service's fair, balanced and reasonable Final Rule for off-road vehicle (ORV) management in Cape Hatteras National Seashore. ORV advocates are demanding unrestricted driving access to beaches on a National Seashore that was established to preserve wilderness. The Final Rule provides a balanced approach to Seashore visitation that provides ORV access AND protections for wildlife that the Interim Rule lacks. The final rule designates 41 of the Seashore's 67 miles of beaches for ORV use (28 year-round and 13 seasonal); that's over half of the Seashore! Only 26 miles of beaches are designated as year-round vehicle-free areas for wildlife and for use by those who prefer a vehicle-free beach. Tourism and wildlife numbers have increased during the year of management under the Final Rule and there is no evidence that the local economy is harmed by the current, reasonable restrictions to ORV use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Why is this important?
You should be concerned about this issue because this bill is an unfair and outrageous gift to the off-road vehicle (ORV) lobby. The bill would abolish the National Park Service's Final Rule to manage ORV use on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. In the one year of management under the Final Rule, visitation to the Seashore increased, tourism set record highs, and wildlife in the Seashore continued to rebound. The Final Rule is fairer to all parties than the Interim Rule; the public process informing the National Park Service’s Final Rule management plan included numerous public meetings and a negotiated rulemaking process that included opportunities for public comment. Most of the over 20,000 comments received supported even more stringent restrictions than those included in the Final Rule. This bill could threaten to overturn reasonable restrictions on ORV use that protect wildlife, landscapes, and people in other National Parks and Seashores because it would set a precedent. To read more about wildlife in the seashore and how opponents of unrestricted ORV use have been threatened, see: http://www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/conservation/battle-over-north-carolina-beach-continues