Beach Access Issues
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March 3, 2008
Read a transcript of Judge Terrence Boyle’s scheduling conference on ORV issues
- The
Outer Banks message boards have been busy with chatter about the a
motion filed on Feb. 20 in the lawsuit brought by Defenders of Wildlife
and North Carolina Audubon that challenges the National Park
Service’s interim plan to protect threatened and vulnerable
species of shorebirds that nest on the seashore. The groups
contend that the plan does not go far enough to protect the birds,
which include the threatened piping plovers, as well as black skimmers,
American oystercatchers, and gull-billed and common terns.
On Feb. 20, the environmental groups, represented by the Southern
Environmental Law Center, filed a request for a preliminary injunction
that asks Boyle to replace the interim plan with more restrictive
measures until after the lawsuit is settled. Specifically, the
plaintiffs are asking Boyle to stop ORV use year-round at the most
environmentally sensitive areas of the seashore – Bodie Island
spit, Cape Point and part of the South Beach, Hatteras Inlet, and the
north and south points of Ocracoke. These are also the areas that
are most popular for recreation, especially fishing.
Dare and Hyde counties and the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance have intervened in the lawsuit.
Boyle met with attorneys for both sides in his Raleigh courtroom on
Friday, Feb. 22, for a scheduling conference on the October lawsuit
that had been set before the request for the preliminary injunction.
However, the request for the preliminary injunction was discussed.
Three groups of lawyers were present. The plaintiffs were
represented by attorneys for the environmental organizations and
SELC. The defendants, the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, were represented by attorneys for the U.S.
Department of Justice. In addition, attorneys from Washington,
D.C., and Elizabeth City represented the intervenors in the lawsuit
– Dare and Hyde counties and the Cape Hatteras Access
Preservation Alliance (CHAPA).
We found the transcript on the Red Drum Tackle Shop forum (http://reddrumtackle.com),
posted by OBX Blondie, and interesting exchanges about the legal
activity can also be found on other boards, including the Outer Banks
Connection (http://obxconnection.com) on the local issues board.
Click below to read the transcript of what the judge had to say in the scheduling conference.
Status Conference Transcript
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