Though it's been a mostly quiet winter on the coast of North Carolina, things might get a bit testy in the coming weeks as Cape Hatteras National Seashore releases its pre-nesting closure plans to protect piping plovers, a threatened species.

There was an essay recently that brought to my attention a startling figure: Even though there are nearly 1,700 marine protected areas in U.S. territorial waters, 99.9 percent of all our territorial waters were open to fishing in 2008.

Today the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands is scheduled to consider HR 6233, a bill that would reinstate the Interim Management Strategy for ORV beach use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore. There are heated arguments on both sides of this issue, which has strong implications for wildlife management, beach access, and tourist spending.

Tropical storm Hanna's approach to the Carolinas has forced some evacuations and closures at Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras national seashores, and more steps could be taken depending on the severity of the storm.