2012.02.15
New Outer Banks beach driving rules hit today
As I wrote about in my column yesterday in The Roanoke Times, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore implements its new beach driving plan today.
Among the highlights (or lowlights, depending on your perspective) are access fees that range from $50 for a week to $120 for a year, as well as various permanent and seasonal closures.
There’s a coded map on the park’s website, and that will give you an idea where you’ll be access and drive on the beach, and when. Another option is to use Google Earth to access a map showing up-to-date access and closures.
Even though the Outer Banks is six hours (or more) from the Roanoke area, it remains a popular vacation destination, and a favorite among surf fishermen. Many are bummed, to put it lightly, about this plan.
I have not been to the Outer Banks since this whole thing blew up a few years ago and, while I’ve read a lot about the situation, I really want more insight and information.
For those of you who do get down there to fish, what impact do you see the new plan having? Is it better or worse than the interim plan that was in place for the past three years? Is there a different approach that would meet legal requirements (for dealing with endangered species such as the piping plover, the bird responsible for much of this hubub) while still providing a more reasonable level of beach access for drivers?
Of course I also welcome input from those who support the closures, or even feel like this plan doesn’t go far enough.
My understanding is that this rule pretty much codifies the interim plan that has been in place, with a few changes. One of those changes appears to be to make certain areas pedestrian-only year round, that in the past have had at least seasonal ORV access. I’m not that familiar with the situation on Hatteras but we go to Ocracoke at least once a year and under this plan the areas near and fronting on Hatteras Inlet (at the N end of Ocracoke) and Ocracoke Inlet (at the S End of Ocracoke) that are marked as pedestrian-only, used to have ORV access if they weren’t closed down for the birds.
Those areas are generally the prime fishing areas on the island, and used to be where you’d find the vast majority of anglers. The tidal movement of water in and out of the inlets with the waters of the Pamlico Sound colliding and mixing with the surge of the Atlantic, acts like a buffet conveyor belt of baitfish, shrimp, etc. and acts as a magnet to fish seeking food – anyone familiar with fishing moving water for trout or smallmouth should get the principle of why a place with that kind of deep current is a good place to fish. Plus the fact that the inlets are the highways through which the drum migrate seasonally (into Pamlico Sound in the spring, out of the sound to their offshore wintering grounds in the fall) should make it obvious why fishermen congregate there.
In addition to the color coding on the maps you linked to, Mark, the language: “Areas and Routes may be subject to temporary closure or
restriction to protect park resources” are yet another “devil in the details.” What they mean on Ocracoke is that in addition to the already marked-off areas, if nesting behavior by a protected species of bird is spotted, an enormous buffer zone is erected that in most cases closes off the entire stretch of beach. For example, due to nesting behavior of birds near the dunes (way back from where vehicles would drive) last year, the whole last mile or so of Atlantic beach and the entire inlet shore at the south end of Ocracoke was closed to vehicle access from mid spring through early August. In addition to being key fishing areas for the spring and fall fish migrations, the inlets are also the best places to cast lures (metal spoons like Hopkins being a favorite) for spanish mackerel in the summer. Again, even though it looks like you could get to some of those places on the published map, the enormous buffer zones that get posted when birds nest, end up closing the ends of the island from April/May through August/September.
The arguments I’ve heard against the restrictions are not (for the most part) from people who don’t care about the birds and turtles. They are rather from people who have coexisted with the birds and turtles for decades in some cases, and who feel like the size of the buffer zones and the extent of the restrictions are way overkill. I don’t have numbers but my understanding is that the overwhelming majority of chick and baby turtle mortality is due to predation (by seagulls and land-living predators) and due to inclement weather/storms. Any human impact is way, way down the list. And the fact that the numbers have been better over the past couple of years probably has more to do with good luck with the spring/summer weather, and the massive trapping effort that has gone on simultaneously, to remove (actually to kill, I think) large numbers of foxes, raccoons, otters, feral cats and other land-living predators that ordinarily prey on the baby chicks.
Bottom line: for an area set aside as a “recreational area” (the official name is the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Recreation Area”) these restrictions are having a disproportionate impact on one of the prime types of recreation, fishing, while being far more extensive than is needed in order to achieve whatever minimal impact (if any) they might have on the bird population. It’s a governmental version of the lower Jackson River King’s Grant issue IMO, where a small special interest group uses the courts to keep the public from enjoying a resource that most feel should be (if responsibly used) available to all. Saying “well look at the stretches of beach in the middle of those islands where you CAN still drive your ORV” provides scant comfort if the reason you’re driving your ORV is to access good fishing spots and the best spots are now closed. Not that no fish can be caught mid-island. But the prime areas for fishing are also close enough to the places where the birds like to nest that they are exactly the spots that the heavy handed and disproportionately extensive restrictions close down. I’ve spoken mainly about Ocracoke here b/c it’s what I’m familiar with but my understanding is that the same issues exist with regard to the closed areas on Hatteras Island.
Unfortunately I think the ship has sailed and the regs are unlikely to be overturned or amended. Fishermen will still fish there – though maybe fewer will make the trip – and will have to adjust to fishing the areas that are available to them. Just like the lower Jackson.
Comment by Karl — February 15, 2012 @ 2:50 pm
“Piping Plovers” are not “Endangered” in North Carolina, they are currently on the “threatened” list.
The restrictions imposed on the beach are not to protect the birds in my opinion. If that were the case, no traffic at all would be allowed. Closing off particular sections and limiting the number of vehicles on the beach at any given time is pure control, and will lead to complete banning of off road driving on the Hatteras beaches in the future as far as I see it.
I have been in this fight since the beginning, and hope it isn’t over. This is our National Park, and we deserve to access it forever. This is overkill in management of the resource in my opinion, and special interest groups with deep pockets have won the battle so far. Support OPBA, NCBBA and CHAPA, they are the one fighting this in the courts now to overturn this rule.
I have been visiting the Outer Banks of NC for well over 20 years, and have spent countless hours and dollars in the area. These rules will breakdown the small economy that exists there.
Respectfully
Chris Jones
Roanoke, VA
Comment by Chris Jones — February 15, 2012 @ 2:52 pm
Thanks, Karl and Chris, for the quick and thorough responses.
Karl – I noticed that language about areas being subject to “temporary closures.” Indeed, that’s a worrisome wildcard.
Chris – Thanks for the clarification the status of the piping plover. Please keep me posted (via email or here) with any thing you hear regarding last week’s lawsuit.
Comment by Mark Taylor — February 15, 2012 @ 2:59 pm
Mark, that’s not just a theoretical wildcard either. That language is what shut the whole last mile+, all the way to the south end of the island down from May through August last year, when the maps of what is available to the public showed that the same corridor was supposed to be available for driving. The key is the huge size of the buffer zones. If vehicles drive near or below the high tide line, they are way, way far away from where any birds are actually nesting. But in most parts of those narrow islands, if a bird is nesting even up near or in or even behind the dunes, the buffer zone is so big that it extends into the Atlantic and shuts off the rest of the beach from there.
We were there in early August last summer and when we arrived the last mile of beach and the entire south end of the island was closed due to that exact “resource protection” catch-all language + buffer zone, and about Wednesday of our week’s stay the chicks finally fledged and left the nest and it was opened up again for the first time since May. After experiencing poor fishing the first half of the week in the too-warm surf of the mid-island beaches, we were able to drive to south point and surf fish there in the deeper cuts where the churning Pamlico-Atlantic collision gouges out the beach front, and to also drive down the point’s inlet shore a ways and cast for spanish mackerel and small to medium sized blues with metal casting spoons, and had a great time catching fish those last few days. If the timing had been different (if we’d come in July or if the birds didn’t leave until later in August or early September as is sometimes the case) we’d have been out of luck and probably would have had no good fishing at all.
Comment by Karl — February 15, 2012 @ 3:14 pm
This didn’t happen over night. It started a long time ago. But in the last 6/8 years it reared it’s ugly head when the government got into it. DOI, DOW, NPS, and SELC caught the ear of a so called federal judge in Raleigh Nc. by the name of Boyle and he issued a decree intended to shut down the banks. It goes back years, but the Bonner Bridge brought it to the front burner. Too lengthly to post, but if you would like to get an education in the power of your government, do some research. Never was or has had anything to do with the birds or turtles, only strangling to economy of the ouer banks so they could march in and take it. Each and everyone reading this owns the national parks and rec areas, so it’s time to get involved. You say, well, I’ll just go to the Smokies this year. The same crew will take that to if you roll over and play dead. An excellent source of info than goes way back is the following: islandfreepress.org. Do yourself a favor. Do your own research on what has been going on down there. And none of this is confined to NC. It will be coming to your neighborhood eventually. David Downer.
Comment by wdbrand — February 15, 2012 @ 7:10 pm
As a side note: Suppose you purchase the weekly permit and go down the weekend end of July 4th. You’re go to go, except for one little thing. There is also a restiction on how many ORV’s are allowed on the beach at any given time. Would you like to spend your 1 week vacation sitting in your car, with several screaming youngens and waiting your turn to be able to get the use out of your 50 buck weekly permission slip to drive on something you already own? If so, go for it and post back around the middle of July. How was your vacation?
Comment by wdbrand — February 15, 2012 @ 8:02 pm
I live in Hampton Roads so OBX isn’t too far for my family to travel. I don’t think the permit costs would deter too many from driving on the beaches, but I think the limited access will be a great deterrent. I remember when “the point” at Oregon Inlet used to be stacked with vehicles and the camp ground ‘FULL’ all summer long. I am not against protecting animals and appreciate the ideas being implemented to do so. No one has ever complained about the turtle areas being flagged off and having to drive around them. I don’t know every detail of the situation or every creature affected by ORV use, but I think this is a bit overkill.
On vacation this past summer we discussed with the pool attendant at the development we stayed in and she informed us that the state approves unemployment for 7+ months a year so local workers can afford to stay and maintain continuity in the vibrant tourist economy. Otherwise no one could afford to stay year round and man the jobs in the peak season. This sounds like something that will only serve to slice a few more cuts into something that is fragile. It just takes a few to ruin it for the masses. Good for Chris for taking a stand and remaining involved.
Comment by bird_dog07 — February 15, 2012 @ 8:17 pm
i have been surfing and fishing the outerbanks for over 30 years and will purchase the yearly permit.nothing better than packing up the truck finding a good break and having a great beach day with friends and family.i make a minimum of 10 trips a year to the salvo area and hope to continue.maybe some of the money from permits should be put back into the local economy that suffers due to the closures.
Comment by bill john — February 16, 2012 @ 8:10 am
Like Bill John, I will also continue to go to the OBX and will buy the permit. But there’s no denying that the new regs will significantly effect the quality of the experience for me, given that the areas I most enjoy accessing and where the best fishing often is, are now off limits to ORV’s for much of the year, and year-round in some instances.
ESPN.com has an article up covering the permit issue from the perspective of the surfing community.
http://espn.go.com/action/surfing/blog/_/post/7577679/hatteras-beach-driving-restrictions
Comment by Karl — February 16, 2012 @ 9:47 am
I too will buy a permit, but will be very disappointed if I am turned away at the ramp due to “full capacity”. I don’t mind paying to play, but I should have access and upgraded amenities with the extra funds being provided by users. The NPS is providing nothing new with the extra regs, only less. Pay for what was free, and get less for the money. Doesn’t make sense to me.
And yes, I keep blaming the NPS, because they dropped the ball many years ago, and did not implement an ORV plan. The special interest groups found a loop hole, and exploited it to the max. Now we are left with the aftermath of another Government let down.
Comment by Chris Jones — February 16, 2012 @ 11:30 am
What a lot of people don’t understand is a lot of the large areas closed to ORV’s are also closed to humans. No walking, no shell collecting, no boogie boards, no nothing.
Is it a coincidence that some of these closures are the most popular fishing spots?? I think not.
Comment by BG — February 16, 2012 @ 12:28 pm
Well said Chris.
Comment by Chuck Sharp — February 16, 2012 @ 12:45 pm
Here’s a blog entry by an OBX local describing the permitting process.
When you read it, imagine what the process that he describes is going to look at during the height of tourist season, on a Saturday when all the vacationers have arrived and everyone wants to get their permits for the week.
http://wheatseyeonhatterasislandnc.blogspot.com/2012/02/well-today-i-went-and-saw-elephant.html
Comment by Karl — February 16, 2012 @ 12:59 pm
Here is the petition going on now, please look at it and sign if you like the OBX the way it has been forever.
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-us-senate-remove-the-orv-rule-and-provide-free-and-open-access.
Mark, if this isn’t allowed, please remove.
Thanks
Chris Jones
Comment by Chris Jones — February 22, 2012 @ 10:37 am
Thanks for posting the link, Chris.
Comment by Mark Taylor — February 22, 2012 @ 10:43 am
Park Compendium
http://www.nps.gov/caha/parkmgmt/upload/2012-Cape-Hatteras-NS-Compendium.pdf
more restrictions long load time
Comment by Raincoat — February 26, 2012 @ 8:26 pm
Here is an FAQ page presented by the organization that is the plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging the new regs:
http://ncbbaonline.com/news/354-february-25-ncbba-chapa-lawsuit-faqs.html
Comment by Karl — February 27, 2012 @ 10:58 pm