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Judge Boyle signs the consent decree;
Beaches remain open but with more restrictions

April 30, 2008

U.S. District Court Judge Terrence W. Boyle today signed a consent decree that will settle a lawsuit by environmental groups over off-road vehicle use on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The seashore’s beaches will remain open to ORVs, though with more restrictions than islanders and visitors are used to.

And it won’t take long for beach drivers to notice the changes.   
Read more....
New on Island Free Press

  • Dare stays in top spot in North Carolina for seafood landings. Click on Fishing Page.
  • Chemicals in drugs and personal care products could impact fish.  Click on fishing page.
  • Hatteras Island Market at a Glance.  Click on Real Estate Page.
  • Hatteras Library will be closed for move to new quarters.  Click on Local News Page.
  • Fireman’s Ball will have Ocracoke rockin’ on May 24.  Click on Local News Page.
  • Background information on establishment of the national seashore.  Click on Beach Access Issues
  • New family medical practice is opening in Frisco.  Click on Local News Page.
  • Beach access maps…your guide to access to seashore beaches.  Click on Beach Access Issues Page.
  • Vandalism of resource protection closure signs results in expansion of buffer…Click on Beach Access Issues.
  • The Ocracoke Community Store has a grand reopening. Click on Local News Page.
  • State officials decide to delay new gear permits for striped bass.  Click on Fishing Page.
  • DMF wants to know about catches of Asian black tiger shrimp.  Click on Fishing Page.
  • National Park Service weekly resource management summary.  Click on Beach Access Issues Page.
  • Park Service closes more of the South Beach near Cape Point. Click on Beach Access Issues Page.
  • National Park Service weekly beach access report.  Click on Beach Access Issues Page.
  • A new feature:  Answers to your questions about beach access.  Click on Beach Access Issues Page.
  • Island Dining:  The Breakwater in Hatteras village.  Click on Island Life and Lifestyles.
Beach Access Issues
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New....05.12.2008 5:00 pm Background information on establishment of the national seashore
New....
05.12.2008 4:15 pm
Beach Access Maps….Your guide to access to seashore beaches
New....
05.11.2008 7:15 pm
Vandalism of resource protection closure signs results in expansion of buffer
New....
05.09.2008 1:30 pm
National Park Service weekly resource management summary 
New....05.08.2008 5:30 pm Park Service closes more of the South Beach near Cape Point
New....
05.08.2008 3:30 pm  
National Park Service weekly beach access report
New....05.08.2008 2:30 pm  A new feature:  Answers to your questions about beach access
Three popular areas closed to ORVs under consent decree 05.05.2008 7:30 pm
Seashore leader files information on the eve of hearing 04.29.2008 9:30 pm
National Park Service responds to judge’s second round of quest 04.25.2008 7:00 pm
A flurry of activity today in ORV lawsuit case in federal court. 04.22.2008 11:00 pm
Judge in ORV lawsuit orders more information from Park Service but cancels in camera review. ....UPDATED  04.21.2008 5:00 pm
Guest Column….ORV rulemaking was out of public sight, but the settlement is very visible. 04.18.2008 4:45 pm
Reaction to ORV settlement is varied 04.18.2008 4:00 pm
ORV access supporters are raising funds for legal fees 04.11.2008 4:15 pm
NC State study links beach driving to oystercatcher mortality  
04.11.2008 3:45 pm
Transcript of April 4 meeting in Boyle’s courtroom now available  04.09.2008 9:00 pm
Commentary…One more gathering to celebrate beach access  04.07.2008 4:30 pm
Surfers weigh in on threatened beach closures. ...WITH SLIDESHOW  03.31.2008 4:15 pm
More than 600 turn out to hear about looming threat to beach access.  ...WITH VIDEOS 03.28.2008 7:15 pm
New Web site focuses on Hatteras and Ocracoke beach access. 03.24.2008 5:00 pm
Rob Alderman, the “general” of the Hatteras Island Fishing Militia, rallies the troops  03.24.2008 4:45 pm
A roundup of filings, motions, and memoranda in the lawsuit  03.24.2008 12:15 pm
The fox on the beach: More public comment  03.24.2008 11:20 am
PLEASE HELP US!!! A message in the sand is a plea for continued beach access. ...WITH SLIDESHOW 03.22.2008 4:30 pm
What Island Free Press readers say about beach access issues. 03.21.2008 4:30 pm
Commissioner Judge challenges groups to drop the lawsuit and negotiate. ...WITH VIDEO 03.21.2008 4:30 pm
Islanders have lots to say to negotiated rulemaking committee members. 03.20.2008 7:30 pm
Threat of beach closures hangs over negotiated rulemaking meeting  03.20.2008 5:15 pm
Another celebration of beach access planned for Cape Point.  03.19.2008 7:15 pm
Attorneys for Dare, Hyde, and CHAPA weigh in on injunction request. 03.16.2008 3:30 pm
Park Service responds to request for injunction to close beaches 03.14.2008 9:30 pm
Several hundred people gather at Cape Point to celebrate beach access ...WITH SLIDESHOW 03.08.2008 2:30 pm
Read a transcript of Judge Terrence Boyle’s scheduling conference on ORV issues 03.03.2008 2:00 pm
Many on Outer Banks fear possibility of a ban on off-road vehicles 03.03.2008 9:15 am
Groups call for change in beach driving plan 02.21.2008 3:00 pm
Federal judge asked to restrict driving to save breeding season on Hatteras 02.20.2008 3:30 pm
The beach driving crisis and how we got here 09.05.2007 3:00 pm

Local News
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New....05.14.2008 2:00 pm Hatteras Library will be closed for move to new quarters
New....
05.13.2008 5:00 pm  
Fireman’s Ball will have Ocracoke rockin’ on May 24
New....
05.12.2008 5:00 pm
New family medical practice is opening in Frisco
New....
05.09.2008 4:30 pm
The Ocracoke Community Store has a grand reopening
Students’ video brings home the Bonner Bridge controversy 05.05.2008 12:30 pm
New book on Blackbeard aims to dispel myths about the pirate 04.29.2008 4:15 pm
Dare and Hyde counties make plans for re-entry after evacuation. 04.29.2008 3:45 pm
Hatteras Island’s Board of Education seat is only one contested in primary 04.29.2008 3:30 pm
Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station Historic Site is open for 2008 04.25.2008 12:15 pm
Homecoming:  A return to Portsmouth Island….WITH SLIDE SHOW  04.21.2008 4:30 pm
Coastguardsman gets medal for ocean rescue in Frisco  04.09.2008 5:30 pm
ISLAND PEOPLE….Todd Phillips is the man who envisions island-wide recycling by 2009 04.08.2008 1:15 pm
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse opens for climbing on April 18 04.07.2008 5:15 pm
The highway is open, and life is back to normal on Ocracoke 03.07.2008 7:30 am
Students and parents succeed in a scientific treasure hunt  02.15.2008 3:45 pm
ISLAND PEOPLE….Nicholas Bibbey’s Journey  01.24.2008 3:30 pm
Remodeling at Hatteras Community Center will expand island’s library
Adrift on Bonner Bridge…State and federal governments try to agree on a replacement bridge
Plans for replacing the Bonner Bridge are moving forward - for now
Should these bridge pictures make you nervous?
The Only on Hatteras or Ocracoke Photo Corner  12.04.2007 2:00 pm  

Community News
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News and Events
National Park Service News
Obituaries
Engagements and Weddings
Celebrations
Free Classified ads

Commentery and Letters to the Editor
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Commentary
Commentary…One more gathering to celebrate beach access  04.07.2008 4:30 pm
We are thankful for . . .WITH SLIDESHOW
The Island Free Press is Here


Guest Columns
ORV rulemaking was out of public sight, but the settlement is very visible. 04.18.2008 4:45 pm
Reaction to ORV settlement is varied 04.18.2008 4:00 pm
Guest Column …An open letter to all juniors and seniors – and their parents.  04.08.2008 12:26 pm


Letters to the Editor
New....05.12.2008 9:30 am
Readers write about the issues facing Hatteras and Ocracoke
        
More Letters

Reader comments on The Island Free Press

Island History
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PRECIOUS MEMORIES....A collection of stories about spending summers in Hatteras in the late 1940s. . . . WITH PODCASTS
Now you can listen to the children’s classic, ‘Taffy of Torpedo Junction’ 02.12.2008 12:30 pm
The story behind 'Taffy of Torpedo Junction,' and the Buxton girl who was the real-life Taffy  02.12.2008 12:30 pm
A Fishing Trip to Remember ….A stormy night and a dash over the Bonner Bridge – before it was finished
Solving a wartime mystery:  The search for the SS Chester Sun

The Battle for Torpedo Junction
     
Fishing
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Fisheries News
New....05.15.2008 1:00 pm  Dare stays in top spot in North Carolina for seafood landings
New....
05.15.2008 1:00 pm
Chemicals in drugs and personal care products could impact fish
New....
05.09.2008 3:00 pm
State officials decide to delay new gear permits for striped bass
New....
05.09.2008 2:30 pm
DMF wants to know about catches of Asian black tiger shrimp
New....05.01.2008 12:30 pm Commercial fishermen question king mackerel data
New....05.01.2008 12:30 pm  Council looks at allocations that could further reduce catch limits
Scallop boats are shelling out a lot of money for observers. 04.24.2008 4:00 pm
Recreational fishing group calls for net ban. 04.11.2008 11:45 am
Two Dare projects get waterfront access funding.  04.11.2008 11:45 am
Debate focuses on allocating fish between commercial and recreational fishermen  03.24.2008 4:45 pm
Council to decide who can sell snapper-grouper species  03.24.2008 4:00 pm
Another bill in Congress would give more flexibility in rebuilding stocks 03.13.2008 12:10 pm
Right whale death last year off Hatteras still a mystery.  03.12.2008 6:45 pm
No Hatteras Island projects go forward for waterfront access funding 03.12.2008 4:45 pm
Fisheries advisory committee says no to keeping big, red drum 03.12.2008 3:15 pm
National Marine Fisheries withholds documents on right whale death 03.06.2008 3:30 pm
Flounder size limit increases for recreational fishermen 02.29.2008 8:30 am
A lower king mackerel quota would hurt Dare commercial fishermen 02.25.2008 11:30 am
North Carolina is getting the short end of the stick in dogfish fishery 02.25.2008 11:30 am
Federal plan for allocation of fisheries resources moves forward  02.15.2008 10:15 am


Recreational Fishing Features
A guide to the top rigs and lures for surf fishing 04.25.2008 2:45 pm
The sound and ocean offer many options for good catches on spring charter fishing trips 03.13.2008 1:30 pm
It’s time to renew recreational fishing licenses  01.08.2008 3:30pm 
Changes planned for North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament  12.05.2007 9:30pm
Baits for surf fishing
Recreational size and catch limits
25th Annual Hatteras Surf Fishing Tournament.....WITH SLIDESHOW
Cape Hatteras Anglers Club Tournament celebrates 50 yearsWITH SLIDE SHOW

Commercial Fishing Features
Fall brings busy days and good times to a working waterfrontWITH SLIDE SHOW

Fisheries Bulletin Board
Announcements, meetings, and other news


Click above

Hatteras Island Real Estate: Is it better to buy now or buy later?  03.06.2008 1:15 pm
Hatteras Island Real Estate:  It’s a great time to be a buyer