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 UPDATE: Bill to overturn ORV plan brings “spirited” discussion to the Senate
A
bill that would overturn the National Park Service’s off-road vehicle
management plan at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore was to subject
of “spirited” conversations among U.S. senators today. But most of the
discussion was before a scheduled meeting of the Senate’s Energy and
Natural Resources Committee at which the bill was to be considered for
a markup.
When
the meeting, scheduled for 10 a.m., finally got started at about 10:50,
chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., announced that S 486 and two others bills
were being removed from the list of 30 that the committee was scheduled
to consider.
“Almost overnight the bill has become a bit more controversial,” Wyden said. Read more
UPDATE: Bill to overturn Park Service’s ORV plan will go to House for a vote
The
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources today
favorably reported H.R. 819 to overturn the Park Service’s new off-road
vehicle plan on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The
vote was 24 to 17 in favor of sending the bill to the House floor for a
vote, with Republicans favoring the bill and Democrats opposing it.
Read more
Senate subcommittee hears testimony on bill to overturn ORV plan
The
Senate Subcommittee on National Parks accepted testimony today on 13
pending pieces of legislation, including Senate Bill 486 to overturn
the Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s off-road vehicle management plan
that became effective in February 2012.
And in a repeat of his
questioning at a hearing last June, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., heavily
criticized the ORV plan and the National Park Service for not listening
to members of the community on Hatteras and Ocracoke when it was
formulating the plan. Read more
House subcommittee hears testimony on Jones bill
The
U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation today heard testimony on a bill introduced
last month by Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., to overturn both the
National Park Service’s final rule for off-road vehicles on the Cape
Hatteras National Seashore and a court-approved consent decree that
settled a lawsuit filed against the Park Service by environmental
groups. Read more
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 Climbing fee for Cape Hatteras Lighthouse increases
Beginning
Saturday, April 20, the climbing fee for Cape Hatteras Lighthouse will
increase for the season. Climbing tickets for Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse will be $8 for adults and $4 for senior citizens (62 or
older), children 11 years of age and under, and those holding a
National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Access Pass. Read more
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 Cape Point closes to off-road vehicles
Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials today closed Cape Point to off-road vehicles.
Deputy
Superintendent Darrell Echols made the announcement, which he termed a
“temporary” ORV access closure of the popular Cape Point area in
accordance with the requirements of the ORV management plan that became
effective last year. Read more
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 Park Service begins repairs on some parking areas and access ramps
National
Park Service contract crews have begun repair work on several popular
oceanside parking areas and beach access ramps on Hatteras and Ocracoke
Islands this week. Read more
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 Park Service campgrounds will open April 19
The National Park Service Campgrounds at Oregon Inlet, Frisco, and Ocracoke will open to the public on Friday, April 19.
The
opening was expected to be April 5, but was delayed two weeks by forced
federal budget cuts, also known as sequestration. Read more
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ORV routes on village beaches close on April 1
The
annual closing of seasonal off-road vehicle routes in front of village
beaches will begin on Monday, April 1. In accordance with the ORV
Management Plan for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the seasonal ORV
routes close annually to vehicles from April 1 through October
31. These areas remain open to pedestrian use. Read more
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 UPDATE: Seashore will hire seasonal workers after all
Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials got good news last week.
Darrell
Echols, the seashore’s deputy superintendent, said Friday that the
Outer Banks Group learned that the freeze on hiring seasonal workers
was being lifted for parks that managed to meet their forced cuts under
sequestration by other means. Read more
More details on impacts of forced spending cut on the seashore
Deputy
Superintendent Darrell Echols today filled in some of the details of
the effects that forced federal spending cuts, also know as
sequestration, will have on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The
spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect on Friday, March 1, if
Congress cannot make a deal by then, and the possibilities of a
last-minute agreement now seem remote. Read more
National Park Service preparing for sequestration cuts
The
National Park Service has been planning for months for cuts to the
parks’ budgets if mandatory across-the-board spending cuts in federal
funding, called sequestration, become effective on Friday. The cuts are
expected to happen unless Congress passes legislation before Friday
that would stop them. Thus far, neither Congress nor the President seem
inclined to stop the process.
The
Outer Banks Group, which includes the Cape Hatteras National Seashore,
is facing slashing its $9.5 million budget for 2013 by $477,000. Read more
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 Park Service establishes prenesting areas for shorebird breeding season
Between
Jan. 28 and Feb. 8, National Park Service NPS Resources Management
staff conducted an annual assessment of breeding habitat for piping
plovers, Wilson’s plovers, American oystercatchers, and colonial
waterbirds in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
During
this assessment, preferred habit was located and prenesting areas for
piping plovers, Wilson’s plovers and American oystercathers, weather
and shoreline conditions permitting, will be installed by March 15.
Prenesting areas for colonial waterbird sites will be installed by
April 15. Read more
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 Court approves scheduling on CHAPA lawsuit to stop park’s ORV plan
The
parties to a lawsuit filed a year ago by the Cape Hatteras Preservation
Alliance against the federal government to stop the seashore’s new
off-road vehicle management plan and final regulation have agreed to a
schedule for proceeding, which has been approved by the court. Read more
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 NPS releases 2012 protected species reports
The
National Park Service has released its 2012 reports for protected
species of birds, turtles, and plants in the Cape Hatteras National
Seashore.
Separate
reports were issued for piping plovers, sea turtles, seabeach amaranth,
American oystercatchers, and colonial waterbirds. Read more
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 Public comment is open on tour fees for Bodie Island, Hatteras lighthouses
The
National Park Service is accepting public comment for 30 days on the
proposed fee for guided tour climbs of the Bodie Island Lighthouse and
for the proposed fee increase for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse in Cape
Hatteras National Seashore. Read more
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 Boyle’s status conference on new off-road vehicle plan is uneventful
At
the Jan. 23 conference at the federal courthouse in Elizabeth City, the
bailiff called out “All rise” when federal Judge Terrence Boyle entered
the courtroom as the court reporter clicked away on her shorthand
machine. At that point, the conference became a forum for all
plaintiffs’ attorneys and the judge to be certain that the official
court record documents show how right they’ve been all along in a lawsuit
against the National Park Service over its lack of an off-road vehicle
plan and protections for birds and turtles. Read more
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 2013 annual ORV permits go on sale Dec. 1
The
Cape Hatteras National Seashore off-road-vehicle permit offices will
begin issuing the 2013 annual ORV permit on Saturday, Dec. 1.
The
2013 annual permit will be valid from the date of purchase through Dec.
31, 2013 at a cost of $120 per permit. The ORV permit offices are
open seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. year round, closed
Christmas Day. Read more
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2012 Archived Beach Access Information
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2011 Archived Beach Access Information
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2010 Archived Beach Access Information
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2009 Archived Beach Access Information
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2008 Archived Beach Access Information
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