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Seashore
Map With Numbered Ramps Click Here
NPS/Google
Earth map of resource closures Click Here
Frequently
Asked Questions: Beach Access Click Here
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 Park Service releases annual reports for protected species on the seashore
The
Cape Hatteras National Seashore 2009 annual reports for protected
species and a report on the status of off-road vehicle management plan
and negotiated rulemaking were released last week and are available to
the public on the Park Planning (PEPC) Web site under the Interim
Protected Species Management Strategy project. ....Read more
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 U.S. Geological Survey coastal erosion study is coming to Cape Point
There
will be many interesting pieces of equipment and plenty of activity on
the Cape Hatteras National Seashore beach near Cape Point next month.
It will all be part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s ongoing
research on Carolina Coastal Change Processes.
You
can find out more about the project at a special National Park Service
Know Your Parks citizen science program series presentation by the
researchers on Thursday, Feb. 4, at 7 p.m. at the Avon Fire Station.
....Read more
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 Audubon Society solicits scientists to support beach closure
Approximately
five dozen scientists have signed on to a letter drafted by Audubon
North Carolina which solicited signers to add their support in asking
the National Park Service to adopt the "highest degree of protection"
listed in the US Geological Survey's management protocols that include
full year round closure to all recreation - both ORV and pedestrians -
of Bodie Island Spit, Cape Point, South Beach, Hatteras Spit, North
Ocracoke and South Ocracoke.
This is an article by Sandy Semans, editor of The Outer Banks Sentinel.
Read the story at http://obsentinel.womacknewspapers.com/articles/2010/01/27/top_stories/tops339.txt
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Cape Hatteras National Seashore is being considered as a marine protected area
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National
Marine Protected Areas Center, in cooperation with the Department of
the Interior (DOI), has created a first-ever inventory of the
nation’s marine protected areas. This unique, comprehensive
inventory catalogs and classifies marine protected areas within U.S.
waters.
Thirty-two
sites, including 21 units of the National Park system and several
national wildlife refuges, have been nominated to join the national
system of marine protected areas (MPAs). Cape Hatteras and Cape
Lookout National seashores are among the national seashores listed in
the Federal Register last week. ....Read more
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 Ocracoke Lighthouse gets some ‘cosmetic’ work
It's short and rather stout, has no fancy markings and can't be climbed.
But
the Ocracoke Lighthouse, the state's oldest continuously operating
beacon, is beloved among the Outer Banks lighthouses for its simplicity
and its charming village location.
And it's getting some work done.
Rehabilitation
of the 1823 tower's interior, which began recently, will include
replacing cast iron railings on the balcony, repointing the brick
mortar, replacing rotting window frames and repainting.
By Catherine Kozak from The Virginian-Pilot.
http://hamptonroads.com/2009/12/ocracoke-nc-lighthouse-undergoes-repairs
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 Coastal storm causes some problems for seashore beach access
The
strong northeaster that swept up the East Coast over the weekend has
left impressive aftereffects in its path on the beaches of Cape
Hatteras National Seashore. Park visitors and ORV users will
encounter noticeable differences in ocean beach and dune conditions and
caution is advised. ....Read more
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State Sen. Marc Basnight urges support of bill to overturn consent decree
In
an attempt to gain more Democratic support for a bill to set aside a
consent decree that now dictates off-road vehicle access to the Cape
Hatteras National Seashore, state Sen. Marc Basnight has sent a letter
to members of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation.
In
the letter, dated Oct. 28, Basnight, a Democrat from Manteo who is
President Pro Tempore of the state Senate, urged the state’s
Democrats to support H.R. 718 that would set aside the consent
decree and would return management to the National Park Service’s
Interim Protected Species Management Plan. ....Read more
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 Volunteers needed to help stranded sea turtles this winter
Cape
Hatteras National Seashore is offering two volunteer training sessions
for the Sea Turtle Stranding volunteer program’s fall/winter sea
turtle season. Under the direction of Sea Turtle Biological
Technician Michelle Bogardus, the goal of the Sea Turtle Volunteer in
the Park (VIP) program is to respond to “cold-stunned”
stranded sea turtles along the ocean and soundside beaches of the
seashore and adjacent communities. ....Read more
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 Turtle season 2009 brought a light study, volunteer program, and a few surprises
With
104 sea turtle nests laid on the beaches of the Cape Hatteras National
Seashore, this year’s nesting season fell just short of
2008’s record-setting 112 nests, but it’s been an exciting
and important season nonetheless, one filled with some new developments
and a few surprises -- both pleasant and unpleasant.
Two
of the biggest developments this year have been the start of a
three-year, grant-funded study aimed at analyzing how different types
of artificial light affect hatchling orientation and the introduction
of a “nest watch” volunteer program. ....Read more
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 Bodie Island and Ocracoke lights will be turned off for renovation work
The
National Park Service will temporarily turn off the familiar blinking
lights of Bodie Island and Ocracoke lighthouses in Cape Hatteras
National Seashore, beginning Monday, Sept. 28, until renovation work at
the two sites is completed. ....Read more
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Is Bodie Island spit owned by the Park Service – or not?
Who
owns Bodie Island spit? Most people would answer that the National Park
Service owns the spit of land on the north side of Oregon Inlet. But
that is not the answer according to Dare County records. ....Read
more
NPS issues 2008 reports on birds
and turtles and status of ORV rulemaking
Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s 2008 annual reports for
protected species and a report on the status of off-road vehicle
management plan and negotiated rulemaking have been released and are
available to the public on the park’s planning Web site under
the
Interim Protected Species Management Strategy.
....Read
more
Jones re-introduces bill to set
aside consent decree on ORV access
U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., re-introduced legislation in the House
of Representatives yesterday that would set aside a consent decree and
reinstate the National Park Service’s interim strategy to
govern
ORV use on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore until there is a
long-term rule.
....Read
more
Beach
access group and Dare and Hyde counties plan to sue over piping plover
habitat designation
Cape
Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance (CHAPA) and Dare and Hyde
counties have notified the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that they
intend to file yet another lawsuit over the issue of the designation of
critical habitat for the piping plover. In their Dec. 2 notice of their
intent to sue, the parties claim that the designation violates the
Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
and other federal environmental laws.
....Read
more
 Park
Service releases its management alternatives for ORV use on the seashore
The
National Park Service has released its management alternatives for
off-road vehicle use on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Park
officials hope that the negotiated rulemaking committee will add one
more alternative. The Park Service’s management
alternatives would normally not be released to the public until next
fall when the Draft Environmental Impact Statement will be ready for
public review. However, the seashore superintendent said that he thinks
releasing the alternatives almost a year early will benefit the
negotiators.
Read
more....
 Beach-driving
advocates wary of new rule on critical habitat for wintering plovers
After seven years of court fights and compromise, more than 2,000 acres
of seashore along the Outer Banks were deemed critical wintering
habitat for piping plovers, a rare shorebird.
Beach drivers now wonder how the designation will affect them, and
groups that oppose it want federal regulators to reconsider the move.
Article by Catherine Kozak in The Virginian-Pilot.
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/10/outer-banks-beach-driving-advocates-wary-rule
FOR
MORE INFORMATION ON CRITICAL HABITAT:
Guest column: A critical look at designating critical habitat for
wintering piping plovers
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has given notice that it intends to
designate four popular areas of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore as
critical habitat for the wintering piping plover. Dr. Mike
Berry
writes that this designation has some significant implications for the
national park, the public, and the villages on the Outer
Banks. ....Read more
http://islandfreepress.org/2008Archives/06.02.2008-GuestColumnMikeBerryCriticalHabitat.html
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