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Defenders in Action: Putting the Brakes on Deadly Beach Driving
During peak season, more than 2,000 cars a day cruise the beaches of Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. Cars, sea turtles and piping plovers all dodge each other for a spot of prime real estate. This is a deadly combination for the imperiled animals that are trying to make Cape Hatteras home. As a result, Defenders of Wildlife and other conservation groups are taking the National Park Service to court. The groups are suing the service for allowing driving on the seashore's beaches without an acceptable management plan in place.
Cape Hatteras is home to several species, such as the threatened piping plover, the threatened loggerhead turtle and the endangered leatherback turtle, that depend on beaches for nesting. Since 1999, several tern species have been all but eliminated at the seashore, along with black skimmers. The numbers of other sensitive species of birds have also declined by almost half.
The National Park Service is charged with managing beach-driving to protect and preserve the region's natural resources. But it's been dragging its feet for years as traffic has increased. Currently, the agency is operating under an interim-management plan that fails to adopt measures recommended by the government's own scientists. In summer, hundreds of cars per day can jam even the smallest sections of beach, putting people and wildlife at risk.
"To ensure that beach users and wildlife can coexist and that the natural resources of Cape Hatteras will be preserved for the next generation, we need a science-based plan in place," says Jason Rylander, an attorney for Defenders. "If we don't take action now, nesting shorebirds and sea turtles could be at risk of disappearing from the seashore entirely, as their habitat becomes more and more unsuitable. Without an adequate vehicle management plan, the beach could lose its appeal to families, fishermen, birdwatchers and others who appreciate the wildlife of the seashore."
