The Virginian-Pilot
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Driving along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the Outer Banks of North Carolina will soon cost motorists $120 a year or $50 a week.
The National Park Service announced the amount of the fees Wednesday and said its staff will begin ticketing beach drivers March 15if they don't pay for a windshield sticker or a hanging permit.
The agency is giving drivers roughly a month from Feb. 15, when rules enforcing beach driving begin, to buy the permits and watch a seven-minute educational video at one of three designated visitor centers.
The permits are part of new restrictions on beach driving that the Park Service and environmentalists say will better protect bird- and turtle-nesting habitats.
But some Hatteras Island residents worry that the cost of permits will keep visitors away and the tourism industry will take a hit. They also say the federal government is messing with local customs.
"I don't like it. I've lived here all my life, and I've never had to pay to drive down the beach," said Nancy Scarborough, who owns Dolphin Realty, a vacation rental company on Hatteras Island.
The new rules also shut off 26 miles of the 67-mile-long seashore to traffic permanently.
The restrictions resulted from years of debate in which tradition-minded locals faced off against environmental groups that sued in 2007 to force the Park Service to better protect nesting habitats. According to the service's website, several protected, threatened and endangered species - including the piping plover and three species of sea turtles - are found within the park.
Temporary rules on beach access were put in place in 2008, banning night driving during nesting seasons, and giving the Park Service the authority to block access to certain spots if birds or turtles nested there.
After March 15, park rangers will patrol the beaches and issue citations to vehicles lacking permits.
Jon Anglin, operations chief for the Park Service's division of law enforcement and emergency services, said a federal court has not ruled how much those tickets will cost motorists but it is likely to be as much as a standard violation - $125, with a $25 processing fee.
Hatteras business owners are concerned that once tourism season arrives, the process will be delayed as a rush of people seek permits.
Allen Burrus, a Dare County commissioner and Hatteras resident, said it might be easier if local businesses could sell permits. Spokeswoman Cyndy Holda said that by policy, the Park Service is not allowed to distribute or sell permits except out of its three offices, but it has been discussing other options with local business owners.
Starting Feb. 15, permits can be obtained at three Park Service permit offices: at Coquina Beach in Nags Head, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Visitor Center in Buxton, and the Ocracoke Visitor Center.
The offices will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, with expanded hours on weekends and holidays during the summer season.
More information, including a map showing designated driving routes along with the restricted areas, is available at www.nps.gov/caha.
Gabriella Souza, 252-441-1711, gabriella.souza@pilotonline.com
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Driving Premits
Can I please watch the video ONLINE and then pay for the driving permit ONLINE?
Beach Permits
This is just another way to generate money.
It's got nothing to do with the poor wildlife.
The wildlife they are out to protect is smarter than they are, the wildlife just moves around to protect themselves and get away from the nitwits.
Beach permits
Congress cannot raise taxes for fear of being kicked out in the next election they face. The alternative is to sit and do nothing while allowing new "fees" to be added to the backs of hard working Americans. If you take a hard look at the original agreements in the creation of the National Seashore the former land owners were promised use of the beaches. Today you pay this and pay that because of the lack of backbone Congress and other appointed officials you have agendas to trample on the Constitution of the United States and trample on the rights of the people they are supposed to represent. Want results kick them out of office oin their next election and put people in that will represent the rights of hardworking Americans.
Ah, Mrs Feldman
Speaking as a card carrying hippie chick (retired),class of 69,
This was not our doing, we like the beach. I think I remember many sun rises on the Outer Banks beaches.The problem, as I see it, is volume. Back then there wasn't as many people on the beach, they were mostly guys my dad’s age and they were nice, they liked the birds and the quiet beach. They stood around drinking their Boush & PBR's, eating cold bologna sandwiches and smoking their camels. Now there are literally hundreds of people that want on the beach every day. Sooo, to keep that beachy vibe to the beach you have to limit the numbers up front, or by charging a fee that will drive down the numbers. We want the beach there (and the birds & other critters)for our kids.
I'm a tree hugger
I'm a tree hugger and I think they need to ban the entire area. Please leave some land for the other species on this planet.
Personally,
I think it is a travesty to allow any driving on any beaches anywhere. These are ecological systems and don't exist in a vacuum. They are not thoroughfares. The only driving allowed on beaches should be sanctioned access points away from nesting areas and wildlife gathering areas. If you can’t carry your cooler and fishing gear from that point to the water, you are carrying too much. To pointlessly drive the beaches just to sightsee is asinine. I swear, some of you folks have no regard for the world you live in. No wonder you want to cut EPA funding, over fish the bay and creeks and throw trash out your vehicle windows. Get out and walk, you could probably use the exercise.
In the end it was all about $$$
So what we got out of this was a bogus restriction of part of the beach but then it came down to what this was all about to start with.
Separating citizens from their money. The one thing our government really knows how to do.
Park vs. Refuge
The other problem I see however is this land is The Cape Hatteras National Seashore (National Park). This is not a wildlife refuge. Parks were developed for recreational enjoyment. Refuges were developed to protect wildlife. It seems the government is a little confused on the purpose of a park vs a refuge.
Part of the Park Services
Part of the Park Services mandate is to oversee protected, threatened and endangered species. There are lots of each of those on these beaches, a most unique area.
The drivers and fishermen and women have 41 miles of beach to use, seems like a lot to me.
New Jobs
This is part of OBAMA's job program, the next news will be Park Service needs more Gestapo to inforce new rules! One solution is to ban all Park Service personnel from the area business's ! Let them go to the tree hugger store's!.