Temporary Wildlife Protection Area Installed at Cape Point on Saturday

By JOY CRIST

Per a recent announcement from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, beginning early Saturday morning, May 19, a temporary wildlife protection area will be installed near the tip of Cape Point to protect nesting shorebirds.

When the protection area is installed, Off Road Vehicles (ORV) and pedestrians will be able to travel approximately 0.70 miles south of Ramp 44.

It will be the first time that the Cape Point area has had an ORV restriction in the past 660 days.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore stated that they understand that the tip of Cape Point is a very important area for visitors in the announcement. “While it is not possible to provide an exact date for when ORV access all the way to Cape Point will be restored, be assured that Seashore staff will actively monitor the nesting shorebirds daily in order to ensure appropriate protection buffers are maintained and to be able to reopen the area as soon as possible,” read the statement.

Currently, there are over 26 miles of Seashore available for ORV use. Beach access updates are posted daily on Cape Hatteras National Seashore’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/CapeHatterasNS/