In a conference call with reporters this week, Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac shared more details on how exactly the National Park Service intends to comply with legislation passed by Congress in December that would make some modifications in the seashore’s Off-Road Vehicle Plan.
The conference call was the first media roundtable meeting with Hallac for local reporters. The superintendent and the media have been meeting somewhat regularly since Mike Murray arrived to lead the seashore almost 10 years ago. The meetings are usually in person, but, because of the weather, this one was by phone.
The discussion, as usual, covered a variety of topics in response to questions posed by the reporters who participated. However, right now what most folks in and out of the media want to know about is the plan for dealing with the legislation, which was passed between the time Hallac was selected for the superintendent’s job and the day he reported for work the first of the year.
The Cape Hatteras legislation, passed on Dec. 12 and signed by the President on Dec. 19 as part of the National Defense Authorization Bill, instructs the Secretary of the Interior to review and adjust wildlife protection buffers, keep them in place the shortest possible duration, designate vehicle and pedestrian corridors around resource closures, and confer with the state of North Carolina on certain buffers and protections.
It also makes other modifications to the final ORV plan, such as conducting a public process to consider such changes as the earlier opening of beaches that are closed at night during the summer, extending seasonal ORV routes in the fall and spring, and modifying the size and location of vehicle-free areas. And it instructs seashore officials to construct new vehicle access points and roads as expeditiously as possible.
Since both Hallac and the legislation were new at the first of the year, it’s understandable that the Park Service response has been slower than it might have been. However, the superintendent and his staff have a deadline to meet — 180 days — on the part of the legislation dealing with buffers and corridors, and they seem to finally have the ball rolling.
Hallac said this week that an internal team is collecting and reviewing all the peer-reviewed science on buffers for nesting birds and turtles — the legislation specifically instructs NPS to make modifications based on peer-reviewed science.
He added that the team includes members from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, including executive director Gordon Myers. The consultation with the state is required by the legislation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also participating.
At the same time, the team is looking at possibly creating corridors through or around closed resource areas.
The team’s goal is to write a science synthesis upon which to base draft recommendations for alterations to the buffers and adding corridors.
The science synthesis and as many of the articles as possible will be posted on the park’s planning website for public scrutiny. Since there may be reasons, such as copyrights, that all articles can’t be published online, there will be listing of all that are referenced.
Hallac said that draft recommendations for modifications should be ready for public review in mid-April. The Park Service will have a two-week public comment period on the draft, along with five public meetings — in Ocracoke, Buxton, northern Outer Banks, Virginia Beach/Hampton Roads area, and Raleigh.
The final alterations, he said, should be ready by mid-June to meet the deadline.
“Some may be implemented this summer,” Hallac said, though he anticipates others will take more time to prepare for.
After the seashore staff finishes responding to the first part of the legislation on buffers and corridors, it will move onto the second part. That is the part that addresses whether times for opening beaches can be earlier than 7 a.m., seasonal closures can be extended, and the size and location of vehicle-free areas can be modified.
“We will begin the planning process at mid-year,” he said. “I don’t know how long it will take, but my guess is one year.”
Modifications to such things as night-driving restrictions, seasonal closures, and vehicle-free areas will require changing the ORV plan and special regulation, which takes more time than modifying buffers or providing corridors.
Hallac said that Congress has not set a time-frame for completion of the second part. It is true that lawmakers spelled out the 180 days in the section on buffers and did not specifically mention a deadline for the second part.
However, the law does require DOI to report back to Congress on the progress of the legislation in one year. And there will be a push from access groups to move along with this part also.
The second part of the legislation specifically requires public meetings.
The third part addresses the construction of new access that was promised under the plan and final rule — additional ramps, parking, and such things as interdunal roads.
After public meetings and an environmental assessment after the plan became final in 2012, seashore officials compiled a list of about 29 projects. The price tag for all of them, Hallac said, is $7.8 million, which will come from ORV permit fee funds.
One of these projects — the new Ramp 25 — was completed last year, though the parking area is not finished. The engineering and design is completed for a second new ramp — Ramp 32.
Hallac has said the park maintenance staff is reviewing the current beach access construction projects schedule for possible reprioritization towards those projects that provide vehicle access points in critical areas. He said a list of the projects will be posted on the park planning website in the next week.
Bottom line on the legislation is that we should begin to see indications soon about whether or not it will really make a difference in providing more reasonable public access.
The new superintendent and his staff have a lot on their plate right now, but they are moving along with goals that seem reasonable. Hallac has spent a good deal of time since he’s been here meeting with various stakeholder groups, business owners, and just plain folks on Hatteras and Ocracoke. That’s a good sign.
“I’m anticipating that there will be some modifications,” Hallac said during the phone conference this week. “We are looking far and wide and trying to be creative.”
About the draft list of modifications, he said, “We’ll probably end up with something on that list, but I don’t know how long it will be.”
I like the “being creative” part. That’s something we’ve needed and not seen much of from seashore management since the ORV planning started.
And I hope the list of modifications will be long enough to make a difference in access this year.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Cape Hatteras National Seashore will post updates on the legislation on the park planning webpage at: http://www.nps.gov/caha/parkmgmt/2015ndaact.htm with accomplishments to date and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the process. Updates via press releases will be issued every two weeks or as significant progress is made.
RELATED ARTICLES
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U.S. House, Senate poised to pass bill that would change seashore’s ORV plan
Editor’s Blog: ORV legislation is very significant for access advocates
