Defenders of Wildlife Blog

A few weeks ago we told you about the record numbers of sea turtle nests in Florida.  Well, it looks like Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina is also enjoying a banner  year!  And not just for sea turtles, but for shorebirds, tourism and the local economy as well.

Sea turtles nested at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in record numbers this season. The beach driving rule helps ensure that mother turtles can lay their eggs and return to the water safely.

A National Park Service rule that manages beach driving on the National Seashore in order to protect wildlife was implemented in February of this year.  The final rule was developed after Defenders and the Audubon Society sued the National Park Service for failing for more than 30 years to regulate ORV use at the seashore.

It was a big source of concern for some in the region, who feared it would discourage visitors and kill profit for businesses that depend on tourism dollars.  Instead, it appears the opposite is true:  the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau reported that visitor gross occupancy of Dare County during the bird and turtle nesting season (the months of April, May and June 2012) was the highest on record.  The National Park Service has also sold over 23,000 off-road vehicle (ORV) permits as of August 26.

While business was booming, sea turtles were thriving, with turtle nest counts exceeding all previous records at Cape Hatteras. As of August 29th, 222 nests were recorded and that number may increase through September as the sea turtle nesting season continues.

Piping plovers, a rare shorebird species that nests at Cape Hatteras, have also had a banner year: eleven rare piping plover chicks  survived to fledge from nests laid on the seashore’s beaches.

Responsible beach management helps piping plovers thrive at Cape Hatteras.

And all this happened with only a few beach miles closed for  protection.

Indeed, the National Park Service reported this week that 63.1 miles of Cape Hatteras Seashore ocean and inlet shoreline were open to the public, with only 1.8 miles temporarily closed for resource protection. Of those 63.1 miles, 46.1 miles were open to pedestrians only with another 17 miles open to pedestrians and ORV traffic.

What’s great about this news is that it shows how conservation can be a win-win for both wildlife and people.  The National Park Service rule balances visitor enjoyment of its beaches with the needs of the animals that depend on them to raise their young.  This rule and its positive outcome set a fantastic example for future wildlife protection decisions in the US and beyond.

Click here to read the Southern Environmental Law Center press release on this great news out of North Carolina.

Responsible beach management will allow imperiled wildlife like the piping plover to continue down the path to recovery.

BREAKING: The National Park Service (NPS) today announced new rules to manage off-road vehicle traffic on beaches so nesting and baby sea turtles and birds as well as pedestrians are protected in Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to conservation groups.

In 2007, the groups—Audubon North Carolina, Defenders of Wildlife and Southern Environmental Law Center— turned to the courts for help in getting the NPS to  implement long overdue safeguards for pedestrians and beach-nesting wildlife on park beaches overrun by off-road vehicles.

“The park service’s rules are a compromise that provides protections for both pedestrians and wildlife while still allowing responsible beach driving,” said Julie Youngman, senior attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center.

The long-awaited rules are the final step in a process agreed to by all parties concerned about beach driving in the national seashore. During an interim management period prior to today’s rulemaking, rare bird and sea turtle populations showed signs of recovery, park visitation held steady or increased annually, and tourism remained strong in Dare County, NC, where much of the seashore is located, despite a recession.

“With both the number of hatchlings and visitors to the beach climbing, the success of responsible beach management is clear,” said Jason Rylander, senior attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. “The new rules will ensure that Cape Hatteras continues to provide enjoyment to beach users while protecting the unique wildlife that call the seashore home.”

Tourism flourished in Dare County during the period when interim protections were in place.  Rental occupancy receipts in Dare County increased by millions over the previous decade as recorded by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. Park visitation and gross occupancy inDareCountyduring peak breeding and nesting season under interim management held steady or increased compared to the three preceding years. According to a state report on tourism for 2009-2010, Dare County experienced an 8.8 percent growth in tourism—making it among the top growth counties in the state during a recession.  The county’s strong tourism industry employed 11,260 people with $172 million in payroll and generated $44.55 million in tax receipts for the state and $39.78 million in local tax receipts.

After three years of temporary protections, a record-breaking 153 sea turtle nests were recorded at Cape Hatteras.

As a unit of the National Park System, Cape Hatteras National Seashore has been required under federal law since 1972 to establish guidelines that minimize harm from the use of off-road vehicles to the natural resources of the seashore in accordance with the best available science for present and future generations. The new rules bring the NPS into compliance with that requirement.

The park service’s rules allow ORV use on the majority of the seashore. Twenty-eight of the seashore’s 67 miles are set aside as year-round ORV routes, with only 26 miles designated as year-round vehicle-free areas for pedestrians, families, and wildlife. The remaining 13 miles of seashore are seasonally open to ORVs.  The plan also proposes new parking facilities, ORV ramps, and water shuttles to increase visitor access to beaches.

“Under the reasonable, science-based management of the past few years, beach-nesting birds and sea turtles are rebounding at Cape Hatteras National Seashore and visitors continue to flock to this national treasure,” said Heather Starck, executive director of Audubon North Carolina. “The new rules appear to give the National Park Service the guidance to protect and manage the natural resources while allowing for responsible ORV use.”

With temporary beach driving rules implemented in April 2008, beach-nesting birds and sea turtles within the national seashore showed signs of recovery after reaching alarming lows under unmanaged beach driving. Only 44 sea turtle nests were recorded in 2004, but a record-breaking 153 sea turtle nests were recorded in 2010 and 147 sea turtle nests were recorded in 2011. No piping plover chicks survived to fledge (learn to fly) in 2002 and 2004, but 15 chicks fledged in 2010 and ten fledged in 2011.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is a natural treasure on North Carolina’s coast. And tourists aren’t the only ones flocking to the seashore’s beaches each year–the 67 miles of shoreline provide homes to an array of wildlife, from piping plovers to loggerhead sea turtles. Sadly, decades of unregulated beach driving have taken a serious toll on these threatened and endangered animals.

Defenders and other conservation groups successfully pushed for a temporary science-based management plan which, in just four years, has allowed these birds and turtles to make a comeback. In 2007, imperiled sea turtles created just 82 nests on the shore. But in 2010, after 3 years of temporary protections, that number rose to 153.

But that recovery may be lost if stronger, permanent measures are not put in place. Just last year, a threatened loggerhead sea turtle was tragically run over and killed while making her way to nest on a Cape Hatteras beach. The practice of posting signs regarding the nighttime beach driving restrictions during turtle nesting season did not deter the off-road vehicle drivers and did not protect the turtle.

Now the National Park Service is proposing new, permanent regulations for off-road vehicle use on the seashore’s beaches. But instead of protecting the animals that call the seashore home, these regulations jeopardize much-needed wildlife protections and put the future for sea turtles and shorebirds like the piping plover in doubt.

Last year, this loggerhead was crushed by an off-road vehicle while nesting on Cape Hatteras shores.

The proposed regulations will determine how Cape Hatteras is managed for decades, and will set a precedent for other national parks. A balanced plan would guarantee adequate space and protections for wildlife, while still allowing responsible beach driving in some areas so that all visitors can fully enjoy this national treasure. But as written, the proposed regulation does not mandate specific, science-based protections for the wildlife that depends on the seashore. In fact, it only sets aside areas for off-road vehicles. The proposal reserves just 26 of the seashore’s 67 miles of beach for pedestrians and wildlife year-round while the rest is set aside for year-round and seasonal beach driving.

You can make a difference! The National Park Service needs to know that people like you support management at your national parks that safeguards wildlife from off-road driving and balances the needs of all seashore users. The Park Service is accepting comments until Tuesday, September 6. Make your voice heard now.