The issue of access on Cape Hatteras National Seashore is among the most contentious in the National Park System. The presence of species that are recognized as threatened by both the federal government as well as the state of North Carolina requires the National Park Service to manage the seashore in such a way that protects and benefits these species.
Unfortunately, that management approach has not been welcomed or supported by all. There have been reports of harassment of seashore personnel, vandalism on the seashore, economic hardship, and long-time beach-goers who are finding it more and more difficult to reach long-treasured spots on the cape.
Traveler's attempt on April Fool's Day to take a pause from the heated atmosphere that has swirled about the seashore fell flat with some readers, including those at the Park Service. Recognizing those concerns and objections, the story has been taken down.
While the intent was not to further aggravate the situation, it regrettably appears to have done just that in some corners.
Traveler has long served as an open forum for the exchange of information and opinions about this controversy, and will continue to do so.
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Comments
Kurt...
I missed yesterday's story and am sorry to see you have to wade through this kefluffle today.
Mort Sahl, National Lampoon, Mel Brooks, Lenny Bruce, and more all leave a fine tradition of sinking to low standards nobly.
You have a year to prepare for next year's April Fool's story and hopefully it will be a more satisfying experience for you.
The Miss Grundy's of the world need to add more fibre to their diets and get over it.
For all those who do not know and understasnd the history of the CHNSRA here it is. This seashore is a recreational area is not a refuge or sanctuary. This is why people are fighting mad over the closers including myself. This seashore is the PEOPLES SEASHORE.
June 23, 1936 Passage of the Park, Parkway and Recreational Area Study Act
August 17, 1937 Act of Congress establishes the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to provide recreational access to the general public
June 29, 1940 Congress amends the authorizing legislation to permit hunting. At the same time the term “Recreational Area” was added to the park’s name to address NPS sensitivity to the issue of hunting and to further emphasize the “RECREATIONAL” nature of the seashore as a destination for beachgoers and fishermen.
May 10, 1954 NPS determines administratively that the name “Cape Hatteras National Seashore” may be substituted in all but the most formal memoranda and legal documents for the cumbersome “Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area”
James,
It wouldn't really matter if it was Disneyland. The government has got to follow the mandates and laws prescribed for government property in the system.
02-02-1972 Executive Order 11644 President Richard Nixon signs order requiring (ORV) management plan for National Park
1977 President Jimmy Carter signs Executive Order #11989 Amends and broadens Executive Order 11644 requiring National Park Service to manage ORV use within the National Parks.
1977 Cape Hatteras National Seashore presents its ORV Management Draft Plan.
1978: Outer Banks Preservation Association is formed and writes an alternative ORV management plan.
1999 Bluewater Network files petition with the NPS to ban all ORVs from all National Parks.
18-10-2007 Lawsuit brought against NPS and others The Defenders of Wildlife, National Audubon Society, and Southern Environmental Law Center sue the National Park Service, Dare County NC, and the Department of the Interior for failure to produce an ORV management plan.
Humm! It would be great if the government did follow the mandates and laws especially the NPS. They have failed to recognize that that the CHNSRA IS A RECREATIONAL AREA!!! Have you ever been to the CHNSRA? Do you know its history? The NPS will not even put RECREATIONAL AREA on the signs leading into the CHNSRA or on the closer signs.So technically the closers are not legal since all closer signs are missing Recreational Area. That is mandated by Congress. Yet the locals have stayed out of the closers. Guess they do not want everyone to know they are being kept out of a Recreational Area! Funny how they only follow the mandates they choose to.The Alligator River Wildlife Refuge has more access than the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. They are both in Dare County, one is a Refuge and the other a Recreational Area. Now which one should have more access? So why are they only the laws they want too?
Questions: Where do these groups get their funding and is it their business model to profit from these lawsuits? Who pays the attorneys? Shouldn't Congress be making some of these decisions instead of unelected agenda driven entities that have grown so prevalent in the last few decades. What direction are they headed and what are their ideal outcomes. What is their end game and do they really hate their fellow man as it seems? April Fools day is over and I do LOVE satire so in the spirit of good will and problem solving what could be the answers to questions many in the population would like to know.
With Superintendents being so connected to these groups with their retirement plans and philosophy you think they might be contributing to the litigation against their own benefactors?
James,
Again, it doesn't matter what you want to call it. Laws and mandates prevent the NPS from allowing the free-for-all that has been the case for the past ~30 years. They must protect the resource - which includes the biotic and abiotic - for future generations.
Like more satire,
If there are no laws or precedents backing the lawsuits, the attorneys get nothing. Your problem should be with Congress and the Executive branch, which passed the laws and handed down the executive orders, not with the attorneys, the groups they represent, and the NPS who attempt to follow the law.