Defenders' Experts
Piping Plover Management and Policy
Defenders works to protect the piping plover population at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, which serves as critical habitat for wintering and migrating plovers. The breeding population has declined from 15 nesting pairs in 1989 to only six nesting pairs in 2007, largely due to off-road vehicle driving.
Critical Habitat for Piping Plovers
The designation of a critical habitat was deferred for a year when the piping plover was first listed as endangered in 1985. When a year past and no designation had been proposed, Defenders filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service for failing to designate a critical habitat. The court ordered FWS to propose a critical habitat designation in the Great Lakes breeding area by June 30, 2000, and in the Great Plains area for March 15, 2002.
Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) Usage and Piping Plovers
Currently, piping plovers are threatened by off-road vehicle usage at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina. The National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for the regulation of beach driving, and by federal regulation and an Executive Order by Richard Nixon in 1973, they are required to do so.
Even the Fish and Wildlife Service’s recovery plan attests that off-road vehicles (ORVs) significantly degrade plover habitat and disrupts their normal behavioral patterns.
Duties of the National Park Service
The National Park Servicecontinues to authorize ORV usage in the area regardless. In October 2007, Defenders and partner groups filed suit requiring the NPS to produce a responsible management plan for beach driving in Cape Hatteras. They also filed a notice of intent to sue over the National Park Serivce's failure to protect those species in Cape Hatteras that are listed under the Endangered Species Act.
Rule Making for Piping Plovers
With an adequate beach management plan, Defenders is confident that people will be able to continue enjoying the beach while preserving the habitat and livelihood of the other species that also use the area. Defenders currently occupies a seat for the negotiated rulemaking committee to aid in the development of such a management plan.
Please refer to the “In the Courts” pages on Cape Hatteras and piping plovers for more information.
See data on the decline of shorebirds at Cape Hatteras on the Southern Environmental Law Center website.
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