Defenders' Experts
Critical Habitat for the Piping Plover
Date Filed: 04/30/2009
Case Status: Active
Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance v. National Park Service
Defenders of Wildlife is defending the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to designate critical habitat for wintering piping plover in portions of Cape Hatteras National Seashore and Pea Island Wildlife Refuge. A consortium of North Carolina off-road vehicle (ORV) users challenged the Service’s decision in February 2009. Defenders and the National Audubon Society have intervened in that case. For more information about ORV use and its impacts on wildlife in this area, see our related case “Cape Hatteras National Seashore.”
The piping plover has been listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act since 1985. The beaches of North Carolina play a vital role in all stages of their life cycle. Critical habitat designation of areas of portions of beaches at the seashore will protect the species from disturbance and in its recovery.
Co-filers:
National Audubon Society, Southern Environmental Law Center
