The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) supports the reintroduction of legislation (H.R. 718 and S. 1557) that would restore reasonable off-road vehicle (ORV) access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area (CHNSRA). The legislation was originally introduced in 2008 during the 110th Congress. It was reintroduced this year by Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-NC) and Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Kay Hagan (D-NC). The bill would reinstate the Interim Management Strategy governing off-road vehicle use on CHNSRA, which was developed by the National Park Service to provide substantial protections for local wildlife while allowing for access to the beaches by ORVs.

The reinstatement of the original Interim Protected Species Management Strategy (Interim Strategy), issued by the National Park Service (NPS) on June 13, 2007, would set aside the requirements established by a consent decree filed in 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina that prevents off-road vehicle and citizen access to a significant portion of the seashore.

The consent decree, which went into effect on May 1, 2008, was the result of a lawsuit filed by Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society. The lawsuit contended that the Interim Strategy did not provide adequate protection for area shorebirds. The provisions of the consent decree outline a series of management measures that are much more restrictive than the Interim Strategy and put in place protections for shorebirds that far exceed protections used at other national seashores and that are outlined in species recovery plans. As a result, access to a vast majority of the CHNSRA has been severely limited or banned.

"The consent decree's main impact is on the weekend angler. Anglers and their families would come from all across the Eastern United States to fish here. Now, they have simply stopped coming," said Bob Eakes, president, Red Drum Tackle Shop, Buxton, N.C. "The loss of prime recreational fishing areas in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area is inexcusible. My business is down by a third when Cape Point is closed."

"We know first-hand that the unreasonable closures created by the consent decree have hurt our community. Even the businesses that have managed to keep going have accomplished this at a costly price," said Warren Judge, Chairman, Dare County (N.C.) Board of County Commissioners. "They have had to cut back employee hours, foregone capital improvements and sacrificed profits due to deep discounting. The people of the Outer Banks are hard-working Americans deserve better."

"The consent decree has shown that managing the seashore through the courts—without public input or environmental review —is not in the best interests of the local economy," said ASA Ocean Resource Policy director Patty Doerr. "The bill would restore much needed reasonable public access while still providing necessary and adequate protections for the shorebirds."

"The shorebirds thrived under the Interim Strategy," Doerr saidr. "The unnecessary protections added by the consent decree only resulted in severely impacting the local economy, which is heavily dependent on beach tourism and ORV access. This bill will go a long way towards a more common-sense approach to ORV management in the seashore."

If enacted, the National Park Service's Interim Management Strategy will go into effect immediately and end upon the National Park Service establishing a long-term off-road vehicle management plan for the use of CHNS by the public.

A 1972 Executive Order called on all federal land management agencies to develop ORV plans wherever ORVs are permitted. While draft plans for Cape Hatteras were developed, a plan was never finalized. In an attempt to avoid litigation, the Department of the Interior proposed the use of a Negotiated Rulemaking Committee to develop the plan. Former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne formally approved the committee in December 2007. However, the committee was unable to reach consensus on ORV management in the recreational area. Stakeholders were told that the negotiated rulemaking process would avoid litigation.