Outer Banks' beach driving advocates wary of rule

After seven years of court fights and compromise, more than 2,000 acres of seashore along the Outer Banks were deemed critical wintering habitat for piping plovers, a rare shorebird.

Beach drivers now wonder how the designation will affect them, and groups that oppose it want federal regulators to reconsider the move.

"We were hoping that U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service would rethink it and not designate it as critical habitat once again," said John Couch, president of the Outer Banks Preservation Association, an off-road-vehicle advocacy group. "Certainly, we feel that it is too much authority for the government to have over a small community."

Couch said the association's attorney is reviewing the rule, which went into effect Tuesday. The group was among plaintiffs that challenged the initial rule designating critical habitat for the birds.

A court order required the original rule, which was proposed in 2001 to designate 3,600 acres as critical plover habitat. A consortium of off-road-vehicle access groups, along with Hyde and Dare counties, united to fight the designation in 2003.

Last year, the same group entered another court battle that pitted ORV access to the beach against resource protection. Two environmental groups had sued the National Park Service over its interim off-road-vehicle management plan.

The ORV consortium fought that lawsuit, which was settled in April with a consent decree. B each driving proponents remain unhappy with the amount of closures that resulted from the settlement.

The final Fish and Wildlife rule designates about 2,043 acres of seashore at Oregon Inlet, Cape Point, Hatteras Inlet and Ocracoke Island as critical wintering habitat for piping plovers.

The area covered has been reduced substantially from the original proposal. The critical wintering habitat now also includes state-owned spoil islands and Bodie Island and Hatteras Inlet spits.

"It really will not have any impact on what's done with the beach driving in Cape Hatteras," said Patty Matteson, a spokeswoman for the Raleigh field office of the Fish and Wildlife Service.

"People are not going to see any impact from this. It doesn't set up a refuge. It's not going to stop activities that have been ongoing."

The piping plover, a small, sand-colored shorebird, is protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service has oversight of protected species within the seashore, but the National Park Service manages the programs.

Matteson said the new rule essentially requires that the federal agencies consult with each other about critical habitat. In North Carolina, 8,614 acres are designated as critical wintering habitat for piping plovers. The acreage is divided into 18 units, and four are in Cape Hatteras.

The Fish and Wildlife Service received more than 1,000 comments on the rule, Matteson said. Many expressed concern about its impact on beach access and the economy.

The critical habitat rule, though, is unrelated to the recent ORV controversy along the seashore, she said.

"They're not at all together," she said. "It's unfortunate that it has been happening at the same time. "

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com