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Sea turtles, piping plovers and other vulnerable species of wildlife are emerging as the winners in a bitter, long-running dispute over beach access on the Outer Banks. And so are the people who’ve grown accustomed to driving their vehicles right up to the ocean to fish, surf or simply enjoy the view.
Last week, the key parties in a federal lawsuit - the National Park Service, environmentalists and an alliance of off-road vehicle users, among others - filed a proposed settlement in Raleigh that strikes a welcome, long-overdue balance between protecting natural resources and preserving a generations-old tradition.
If a federal judge signs off on the deal, ORV drivers and pedestrians would still be able to reach six of the most popular fishing and recreation spots on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. But for part of the year, they would face tougher restrictions on relatively small stretches of the park’s 70-plus miles of shoreline.
Generally, drivers and pedestrians would have to steer clear of identified pre-nesting areas for the piping plover, American oystercatcher, black skimmer and other vulnerable shorebirds and waterbirds between roughly mid-March and mid-July.
Additional restrictions would apply to some backshore areas from March 15 to Nov. 30.
Drivers also would be forbidden on the beach from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. during turtle nesting and hatching seasons from May 1 to Nov. 15, with limited access granted by special permits in the latter three months. Turtles making their way between nests and the ocean rely on moonlight as a guide and can be easily distracted by headlights.
The proposed restrictions aren’t as drastic as feared by some ORV users and businesses reliant on fishing and tourism. Derb Carter, an attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center, has repeatedly said the goal of conservationists isn’t to chase off-road vehicles out of the park. It’s to ensure that dwindling populations of birds and turtles have a better chance of survival.

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