Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance representatives Larry Hardham, Jim Keene and David Scarborough met with the National Park Service Southeast Regional Director David Vela in Atlanta on July 13th, 2010. The meeting had originally been scheduled to occur in Manteo on June 2nd; however, Regional Director Vela was called away due to an unexpected emergency.
CHAPA, the OBPA, NCBBA and CHAC used this meeting as an opportunity to reiterate the positions the pro-Access community voiced during the DEIS comment period, and provided copies of supporting documentation.
In addition to Regional Director Vela, the meeting was attended by the following NPS representatives:
Southeast Regional Deputy Director, Mark Woods; Southeast Regional Chief LE Officer, Mike Anderson; Southeast Regional Interpretaional Officer, Gordon Wissinger; Southeast Regional Field Officer, Sherri Fields
The following link contains the letter sent to Regional Director Vela on July 21 to further address several questions raised during the meeting. The attachment to the letter contains links to documents provided at the meeting.
www.OBPA-nc.org/position/NPS-Southeast-Regional-Director-letter.pdf
CALL TO ACTION!
ARE YOU STILL TRYING TO WRITE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE DEIS?
If you've been able to write and submit your comments, we thank you. Many of our friends, however, are still trying to digest the 810 page document and formulate their response. We asked for a 30 day extension and were denied. Senators Burr and Hagan and Congressman Jones asked for a 30 day extension and were denied. We only have 2 day left to make comments, and we need to continue to press for a 30 day extension on behalf of all those who in 60 days have not been able to read, comprehend, and respond on what the NPS took a year to produce.
Our call to action?, tell Jon Jarvis how you feel about the Park Service's denial of the request for an extension.
Secretary Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service in Washington DC, needs to have his phone, fax and email overloaded with requests for an extension. Will you help your Access Coalition by notifying your contacts? put it on your Facebook page?
Phone - 202-208-4621
Fax - 202-208-7889
email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
This is a good number for Secretary Jarvis! Underneath is the email that was sent and it went through. Our initial request for an extension was denied without much of an explanation. NO is not an answer we can live with. There is power in numbers.
Dear Mr. Jarvis,
As a resident of XXXXXXX, I am asking that you please grant a 30 day extension on the DEIS proposed for Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area. This document is 810 pages long which took your agency many years to formulate and eventually write. The document became available on March 5, 2010 and only provided 60 days for people to comment on it. This is a very important document for the residents and visitors of Hatteras Island with far reaching implications for our future. We are not a community of lawyers and this is a hard read for me and my neighbors. In order to comment appropriately, we need more time.
A previous request for an extension was denied from your Atlanta office. Please understand that there were no workshops or interactions provided by the office of our local superintendent, Mike Murray. He traveled to 5 locations around the region to hear public comments only. I feel that given the importance and size of the DEIS, the Park Service needed to do more to educate the residents on the many subjects covered within this document. For these reason, I am personally requesting an extension.
The deadline is Tuesday May 11, 2010. There isn't much time.
Current Lawsuit "Critical Habitat "
For a second time, it has been necessary to file a lawsuit to stop the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) from declaring the points and spits of Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area (CHNSRA) critical habitat for wintering piping plover. (The "Critical habitat" designation could close or heavily restrict ORV and pedestrian access for the rest of the year when nesting season closures are not in effect.)
Thanks to our membership, a coalition of supporters, fundraisers, and donations we have been able to retain legal representation to assist in this fight once again. To date we have spent over $119,000 in a lawsuit against USFWS in regard to the re-designation of "Critical Habitat for wintering piping plovers" and to which Defenders of Wildlife are the interveners. On February 4, 2010 our attorneys filed a brief with the court showing that USFWS has still not done their job in re-designation of habitat for wintering piping plovers, as required by law. USFWS, with Defenders of Wildlife, will have a chance to file a rebuttal to our suit, after which the judge may require oral arguments.
We are confident our attorneys are well prepared and have been representing our best interests as was evident in the last case against USFWS in which the judge ruled in our favor. If we win this case, we will once again be entitled to recoup a portion of the monies spent in defending our position.
The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) has been released by the National Park Service (NPS). The DEIS is the document that unveils the measures proposed in managing both ORV use and protection of wildlife within CHNSRA. We are currently working on a position statement that will address aspects of the DEIS that we feel will negatively impact Congress' original intent in creating CHNSRA and its recreational areas.
Once the DEIS is released by the Park Service, it must be sent for approval to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), after which there will be a public comment period of 60 days. Please take advantage of this public comment period and rationally voice your concerns about how the DEIS will impact you directly. Also, look for upcoming dates of meetings and rallies sponsored by OBPA and its coalition in several different locations during the public comment period. OBPA strongly encourages you to contact friends, family members and business contacts to get involved in this process.
Audubon, Defenders of Wildlife, and Southern Environmental Law Center have all been working very hard to shut down our beaches and change the faces of Hatteras, Ocracoke, and Bodie Islands forever. Are they really concerned about a few nesting birds or do they want human involvement removed from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area altogether? YOU BE THE JUDGE!
Here is the link to the video of the Buxton workshop presented by the Coalition for Beach Access.
This workshop provides valuable information to help you prepare comments on the NPS DEIS.
http://www.darenc.com/video/player.php?title=beach_access_04_13_10.wmv
The handouts used in ths workshop can be downloaded at:
http://www.obpa-nc.org/position/assessment.pdf
The Coalition's Position Statement can be downloaded at:
http://www.obpa-nc.org/position/statement.pdf
4/26/10 Rally/March to Buxton Public comment meeting! Meet @ 3:45PM Our Lady of the Seas Church
4/27/10 Raleigh DEIS Workshop 6:00PM, Capital Blvd., The BBQ Lodge Raleigh NC
4/28/10 Raleigh NPS public comment meeting 6- 8 PM McKimmon Conference Training Center NC State Univ.
4/28/10 Newport News DEIS workshop 6:30pm Sports Marine Super Store, Newport News
4/29/10 Hampton NPS public comment meeting Holiday Inn, Hampton Va
5/8/10 Beach Access Rally/March Fessenden Center Buxton 10am-12pm
5/11/10 Comments on the DEIS must be in NPS Manteo Office by close of business
6/25/10 Fundraiser Hatteras Freedom Fest Stand in the Sand III Hatteras Island All Day
