UPDATE! 4/17/08  Anti-access groups prevail in North Carolina.  Quite simply, areas of Cape Hatteras National Seashore will be closed to beach driving; the beach will be managed by the court and the anti-access groups who brought this legal action; the National Park Service will enforce the terms of the "settlement"; and the anti-access groups are entitled to “reasonable” attorneys fees and costs to be paid by the federal defendants.  The settlement says that there will be penalties for violations of the pre-nesting areas and buffer zones and the buffer zones will be expanded with each violation if the Park Service can show that a deliberate act has harassed wildlife or caused damage to fencing or nests.  Further, the Park Service will provide a 24-hour phone line for citizens to report violations.  This settlement was fabricated behind closed doors unlike the interim plan, which was developed with public input.  There is significantly more to this settlement!  An outstanding detailed overview as well as a synopsis of the lawsuit from beginning to end can be found at www.islandfreepress.com.  

Back in October of 2007, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the Defenders of Wildlife and the Audubon Society.   The lawsuit sought to limit or ban beach driving on many of the most popular areas of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore where beach driving has been a tradition for decades.  This lawsuit stems from the two aforementioned environmental groups concern over species they say are endangered due to beach driving. 

Now we could go on for hours about all the legal wrangling that has ensued since October of ’07, but the details are already well documented at www.savehatteras.com and www.islandfreepress.com and we urge you to visit these sites.  They’re a treasure trove of information and they’ll give you a complete overview on what’s been happening in regards to this lawsuit, and its current status.

So what can we do to help keep Cape Hatteras National Seashore open to beach driving?  We need to make our voices heard by contacting our elected representatives. There are links to some of them on the savehatteras.com website.  It’s important to let them know that the SELC and these environmentalist groups don’t speak for us.  If you have the financial means, please donate to the cause.  All of this fighting to keep our land open to us takes money.  Please participate in the fight to keep the Cape Hatteras National Seashore open to beach driving.

We’ll have more updates as they become available.

CLICK HERE to read a travel story on the Outer Banks from the November 2000 issue of Four Wheeler Magazine