National Park Service struggles with thd 



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use and other existing or proposed recreational uses 

 of the same or neighboring public lands . . ." 



In addition, the executive order required each land 

 agency to monitor the effects of off-road vehicle use 

 within its lands. If on the basis of these studies it was 

 found that more stringent regulations were 

 necessary, the agencies were given the authority to 

 impose additional restrictions, provided the proper 

 public input had been sought. 



Nearly a year after the executive order was issued 

 an initial management plan was adopted for the 

 regulation of ORVs within Cape Hatteras National 

 Seashore. The plan left approximately 49 miles of the 

 73V2-mile-long seashore open to year-round ORV use, 

 with another 21 miles open seasonally between Labor 

 Day and Memorial Day. Drivers were required to use 

 designated access ramps and could drive only along 

 that section of the beach between the foot of the 

 dunes and the ocean; dune driving was strictly 

 prohibited. 



In May, 1977 a second executive order was issued. 

 This time the order directed agency heads to im- 

 mediately close off areas to ORV use wherever it was 

 determined that "the use of off -road vehicles will or is 

 causing considerable adverse effects on the soil, 

 vegetation, wildlife, wildlife habitats or cultural or 

 historic resources of particular areas or trails of the 

 public lands . . ." 



"Those regulations shall be directed at protecting 

 resource values, preserving public health, safety 

 and welfare, and minimizing user conflicts." 



—Executive Order 11644 



By this time, according to Park Superintendent Bill 

 Harris, it was becoming increasingly obvious to 

 authorities within the Cape Hatteras seashore that 

 the existing management plan for ORV use was not 

 stringent enough to meet the requirements set forth 

 in both executive orders. While the park service 

 could not document all its findings, Harris noted that 

 reports of pedestrian-vehicle conflicts were increas- 

 ing each year. In addition, rapid shoreline erosion, es- 

 pecially in the Coquina Beach and Cape Hatteras 

 Lighthouse area, was constricting the beaches and 

 forcing ORV users to drive along the dunes during 

 high tide. And so the park service began work on a 

 new management plan. 



A press release was issued in July, 1977 asking for 

 public comment on ORV use within the seashore. By 

 autumn, the park had received 120 written responses, 

 recommending everything from a complete ban on 

 ORVs to unrestricted use. 



Park officials then drafted a proposed manage- 

 ment plan for the use of ORVs within the seashore. 



The draft plan specified in segment-by-segmenl 

 detail preferred management alternatives. 



Citing problems with congestion, pedestrian- 

 vehicle conflict, dune erosion and wildlife distur- 

 bance, the park service proposal called for the year- 

 round closure of 27 x /2 miles of beach. Only 25 miles 

 would be left open to year-round ORV use, with the 

 remaining 11 miles open between October 1 and Apriii 

 30. In addition, the park service proposal included 

 recommendations for the construction of new park-i 

 ing facilities, reduced speed limits, annual vehicle 

 permits and a corridor system for keeping vehicles 

 off the dunes. 



According to Harris, the draft plan was based on 

 "the responses we [the park service] had received, thel 

 executive orders and our knowledge of what was hap-i 

 pening to the seashore." He emphasized that it was in 

 no way intended to serve as a final plan but as a point 

 of reference around which the public could make its 

 own recommendations. 



The National Park Service's draft plan 



