Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance (CHAPA) filed a lawsuit Thursday, February 9, seeking an Injunction stopping the implementation of the ORV Rule at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. The Cape Hatteras Anglers Club (CHAC), as a charter member of CHAPA, supports this action 110%. The complete 43-page filing can be found at this web site: http://www.obpa-nc.org/Rule/CHAPA-complaint.pdfIncluded below is the CHAPA press release. Local Community Group Challenges New National Park Service Off-Road Vehicle Restrictions at Cape Hatteras Proper review of alternatives and socioeconomic impacts required, says group’s filing. Buxton, NC (February 9, 2012) – The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance (CHAPA) today filed suit challenging the National Park Service’s (NPS) issuance of a new management plan and special rule regulating off-road vehicle (ORV) use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. The lawsuit seeks to prohibit NPS from imposing severe new restrictions on ORV use within the Recreational Area in accordance with the agency’s recently released Cape Hatteras ORV Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement and Special Regulations governing ORV management at the Recreational Area. Since before the establishment of the Recreational Area, ORV access to and over the beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks has been fundamental to the use and enjoyment of the area by residents, visitors, and local businesses. “The Park Service’s new ORV management plan and rules, if implemented, will have a devastating effect on our unique, local shore-oriented culture and economy,” said John Couch, President of the Outer Banks Preservation Association (OBPA). “The OBPA and CHAPA have fought to keep the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area beaches free and open to residents and visitors since 1977. OBPA and CHAPA continuously have maintained that reasonable ORV access and bird and turtle species protection are not mutually exclusive. Unfortunately, the Park Service overlooked reasonable recommendations and information that OBPA and CHAPA put forth during the planning process that would have resulted in an ORV management plan and rules that both protect wildlife resources and ensure reasonable ORV access to and over the area’s beaches.”Throughout the ORV planning and rulemaking process, CHAPA’s goal has been to work with NPS to develop a comprehensive ORV use and management plan that will meet the concerns of protecting the Recreational Area’s resources without compromising the distinctive lifestyle and economic health of the islands that make up the Outer Banks. CHAPA has advocated the protection and preservation of Seashore beaches within a framework of responsible and meaningful access to the ocean beaches and sound for all users, including pedestrians and properly licensed drivers and their vehicles. According to the complaint filed by CHAPA in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the imposition of new, severe restrictions was “foreordained from the time that NPS began its planning process.” As set forth in the complaint, the Park Service’s planning and environmental review process under the National Environmental Policy Act was plagued by a series of failures. These include, among others: a failure to give meaningful consideration to views, data, or information that were contrary to NPS’s desire to impose more severe restrictions on ORV access and use; a failure to look at reasonable alternatives, including smaller and more flexible buffer and closure areas; and a failure to properly assess impacts on the local economy. The complaint asks the court to determine that NPS acted improperly and to prevent NPS from implementing its final ORV management plan and rules.###The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance (CHAPA) is a project of the Outer Banks Preservation Association (OBPA), which is dedicated to preserving and protecting a lifestyle historically prevalent on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, and specifically at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area (CHNSRA). With over 10,000 active members (representing over 38 states and Canada), OBPA and CHAPA work to protect and preserve local beaches within a framework of free and open beach access for all users, including properly licensed drivers and vehicles. Contacts:John Couch President OBPApresident@obpa-nc.org Jim Keene Director, North Carolina Beach Buggy Associationcontactus@ncbba.org David Scarborough Treasurer OBPA
treasurer@obpa-nc.org
TONIGHT ON TVPlease watch on WAVY Channel 10 today, Friday February 10, 2012 at both 5:00pm and 6:00pm. Art Kohn did interviews with our Islanders about the Park Service’s ORV Plan and final rule.
Here is a letter prepared by David Joyner, President of North Carolina Beach Buggy Association (NCBBA). The Board of Directors of the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club (CHAC) endorses the position taken by NCBBA regarding the NPS ORV Final Rule as expressed in this letter. This letter has been reproduced by CHAC with permission of NCBBA.A Message to the MembershipIn March, 2010 I addressed the membership regarding NCBBA’s & CHAPA’s lack of open communication regarding the FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Study). I find myself in the same situation now that the National Park Service released the ORV Final Rule on January 20th. The fight for reasonable vehicular beach access has entered a dark new chapter now that the final rule is out and the outrageously priced hard to obtain permit structure has also been made public. NCBBA faces many challenges in dealing with this plan. Very little changes were made from the FEIS to the Final Rule. The public comments were virtually ignored. The Final Rule is 82 pages long, 59 of which explain why your comments were ignored. How the National Park Service sees the future of vehicular beach access is far different than how the NCBBA Board of Directors (BOD) and membership sees it. The membership has questioned NCBBA’s silence over the last 3 weeks and rightfully so. The Final Rule has now been released and I as NCBBA President have yet to make an official statement. The BOD understands that you want to know what the future holds. I want to assure you that much is being done in trying to determine the best avenue that will give us the best chance for success with the funds we have available. The decisions currently facing this board are difficult and require a great deal of research and contemplation. We are at a delicate final stage in this struggle and there is no room for error. On the surface, it may look like NCBBA isn’t busy and has given up, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. We (Past President Jim Keene & I) are working all avenues looking for the correct course of action. We are currently engaged in sensitive discussions with our legal team. We need to make correct decisions, not quick ones. This is not TV where legal proceedings take place overnight. Unfortunately, we are unable to wage this war in public. It would be a poor strategy to let our opponents know what we are doing before we do it. We will not expose sensitive, current actions. We are being frugal with your donations and membership fees by doing most of the legwork ourselves with Jim Keene and a small group of dedicated CHAPA volunteers. Legal fees are expensive, usually around $550 an hour. With the NCBBA annual memberships running $25 and renewals $20 per year, the bank account can be drained quickly if we aren’t careful. Several of you have been generous with donations and we hope this will continue. Your BOD will spend every dollar NCBBA has to fight this travesty, but we will not spend it foolishly. As your President, I ask for your trust and support. Now more than ever all access minded individuals need to stand together. This is not the time for finger pointing, second guessing or throwing in the towel. (This is why I made the decision to run again for President.) We are all working hard for access. When the time is right, our course of action will be made public. The NCBBA BOD and CHAPA volunteers are working very hard to protect what we believe is rightfully ours.Sincerely, David K. Joyner, NCBBA President
