More areas for beach driving in the Outer Banks — that’s the idea behind a portion of the Defense Authorization Act.
The act was approved by the Senate this weekend.
Buried in the legislation is a section about the National Seashore.
Basically, when buffers are put up for wildlife they must be as small as possible, and they must come down quickly. Also, if areas are closed to beach driving for wildlife, a detour must be put in place.
The National Park Service is also required to build more access points for beach driving in Cape Hatteras. These measures are a compromise from the original Cape Hatteras Access Legislation Bill.
The Defense Authorization Act still has to be signed by the President.
The following is documentation of the bill itself:
The Secretary shall review and modify wildlife buffers in the National Seashore in accordance with this Subsection and any other applicable law
BUFFER MODIFICATIONS.—In modifying wildlife buffers under paragraph, the Secretary shall, using adaptive management practices—ensure that the buffers are of the shortest duration and cover the smallest area necessary to protect a species, as determined in accordance with peer-reviewed scientific data; and designate pedestrian and vehicle corridors around areas of the National Seashore closed because of wildlife buffers, to allow access to areas that are open.
COORDINATION WITH STATE—The Secretary, after coordinating with the State, shall determine appropriate buffer protections for species that are not listed under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), but that are identified for protection under State law.
MODIFICATIONS TO FINAL RULE.—The Secretary shall undertake a public process to consider, consistent with management requirements at the National Seashore, the following changes to the Final Rule: (1) Opening beaches at the National Seashore that are closed to night driving restrictions, by opening beach segments each morning on a rolling basis as daily management reviews are completed. (2) Extending seasonal off-road vehicle routes for additional periods in the Fall and Spring if off-road vehicle use would not create resource management problems at the National Seashore. (3) Modifying the size and location of vehicle free areas.
CONSTRUCTION OF NEW VEHICLE ACCESS POINTS— The Secretary shall construct new vehicle access points and roads at the National Seashore—(1) as expeditiously as practicable; and (2) in accordance with applicable management plans for the National Seashore.
REPORT—The Secretary shall report to Congress within 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act on measures taken to implement this section.
