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Battle Mounts Over Off-Road Vehicles at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Mar 17th - 17:59pm | Anonymous

Red You're making up stuff now, so it does no good to even discuss this issue. There was no sweep of the dunes for anything that day. According to fishermen who were there, the fox had been there since before sun-up and was still there when the reg-neg group showed up at the Point. Bob E./John C. would tell you the same thing I just did. Good fishin'

Mar 17th - 13:48pm | bigred

Anonymous, The said animal was not hanging out on the beach but had been jumped by the park service along with several other species that were caught up in a sweep of the dune line back. The said fox was lucky enough that it escaped the removal process that occurred behind the dunes. It's luck though ran out when it was trapped between the rangers and the ocean on the beach.

Mar 17th - 08:57am | Anonymous

Big Red

Mar 16th - 22:02pm | bigred

Anonymous, I'm not for more ORV driving on the beaches but I am for informed, controlled ORV driving as dictated by the ever changing seasons and habitat need of the affected areas. Now you mentioned Bonner Bridge!

Mar 16th - 15:50pm | Anonymous

OK, if you think the locals get special privileges guaranteed to them when the seashore was formed, then let the real locals stand up. Pull out your family trees and if you can prove that you are descended from an Midgett, O'neal, Gillikin, Willis, or one of the 10 or so island families let's give you a special pass to continue to have your right to access the beach.

Mar 16th - 07:39am | bigred

Anonymous, Just a brief suggestion that may make you life easier in the future. It is often easier to not sound like a total fool if one knows his / her facts! In the future it would probably serve you in good stead to know things about what one espouses to have knowledge of!

Mar 15th - 23:19pm | Anonymous

Why go to Cape Point to "protest"? It seems if these extremists had any gonads at all, they would be inside the Federal Courthouse on 4/4 and let the judge know how they feel.

Mar 15th - 22:05pm | Anonymous

That fox didn't have any kits in the fall/winter. Fox reproduce in the spring. Why the embellishment?

Mar 15th - 19:31pm | BaitWaster

One other comment. Relook at the pic of Oregon Inlet on Memorial Day clearly a beautiful holdiday weekend and a "worse case" scenerio for ORV congestion.

Mar 15th - 18:20pm | Justwannafish

OK Snowbird, with all of this, you still don't get it. 1) The sportsmen that use the ORV's are the best protection the resource has. They bring more resources and footprints to bear when needed than any other group is willing or able to do. Why do you refuse to akcnowledge that or your lack of knowledge about the situation? Wetlands in Cali are far from the eco-system of the OBX.

Mar 15th - 10:01am | Reel Beach User

Snowbird, you continue to amaze me. So here's some more facts for you to ignore.

Mar 14th - 21:33pm | bigred

Thanks to all the folks that have posted and shown you care on both sides of the issue! Yes even you BW! Big Red

Mar 14th - 16:42pm | Fish Hunter

The Bodie Island Spit is not capable of holding 1000 vehicles as stated at one time. There is not enough land mass to handle that number unless they are stacked upon each other. Someone is using numbers for their own design.

Mar 14th - 14:35pm | Anonymous

I go to the Outer Banks at least 4 times a year. Every year it is the same sight, 100’s of ORV driving recklessly over duns, through nesting grounds which are not marked at all, killing all wildlife in their way…. I even saw one ORV chasing down helpless chicks and killing them just for the fun.

Mar 14th - 12:42pm | Big EL

Snowbird,

Mar 14th - 11:59am | spanishmackeral

"Incidentally, my nephew graduated from Duke (with his MBA) some years ago" Well, there you go. That's the whole problem here. Just kidding...GO HEELS!!

Mar 14th - 10:58am | Snowbird

Snowbird06 Big EL:

Mar 14th - 10:54am | repanshek

I admire the passion and concern -- on both sides of the issue -- that's been exhibited in this forum and, to a large extent, been wielded constructively, informatively, and without malice. What's transpiring at Cape Hatteras in many ways is a microcosm of what's transpiring at many parks, seashores, lakeshores and other units of the national park system.

Mar 14th - 09:44am | OBX twice a year

Wow, talk about timing, I have to admit that over development along the "left" coast is a problem. The development along the outer beaches of Hatteras Island has remained reasonable over the 25+ years I have visited, locals realize that they have a prize and keep it that way through strict building regulations and restrictions. Nothing like what happened to Ocean City ,MD.

Mar 14th - 08:58am | Anonymous

Snowbird, How DARE you take an oil-dripping machine like a mountain bike into a pristine wilderness! How could you possible cause ruts and erosion like that!?! Could you not have walked instead of riding your environment-damaging machinery?

Mar 14th - 08:57am | obx twice a year

I agree, there is a food chain, then why does NPS shoot fox (see the pictures of the ranger taking a bead on a cute little fox with his shotgun), poison the fox, raccoons, cats, and other native wildlife in the Cape Point area in the guise of protecting the plover.

Mar 14th - 06:51am | Bob

There are more animals killed in the Hatteras recreation area by natural predators or shotgun wielding park rangers than by fishermen using off road vehicles. It's ironic that Defenders of Wildlife rose to poplarity after their efforts to protect wolves. They didn't have much to say about the park ranger taking aim on this Hatteras wolf:

Mar 14th - 06:02am | paule

I remember that! I picked up a bunch of those bags of Doritos and threw them in my truck and put them in the dumpster at the beach entrance. Thats a habit of all the fishermen I know, picking up trash found on the beach. I love going to the Outer Banks and using my truck to access the beach that is offered to me.

Mar 13th - 22:47pm | Big EL

Snowbird, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and accept that you truly want free and open beaches for all with a balanced plan in place to allow for the native wildlife to flourish unfettered by human involvement.

Mar 13th - 22:09pm | Hatrasfevr

Jimmy, Big Red,Big El, Reel Beach User, Justwannafish, 525Mag, Bird Dog, Hatteras Lady, Longcaster, Former Environmentalist, Hannibal................... I wish I had your eloquence.........Anyone who cannot feel the passion of this group to preserve this perishable resource for all users and the users to come has missed the boat in more ways than one.

Mar 13th - 21:57pm | Anonymous

Snowbird,

Mar 13th - 21:35pm | obxmechanic

Dear Snowbird

Mar 13th - 20:34pm | Does it matter

Snowbird06 sez; If one considers that 90% of are beaches in the world today are slowing dying from of lack of conscientious environment care, then I consider Cape Hatteras National Seashore is surely one of them. Now, get those oil dripping gas guzzling ORV's off the beaches. We have enough human crap fouling up the oceans today. Just asked any competent marine biologist.

Mar 13th - 19:47pm | Emory

You keep asking the question how can vehicles be good for the beach environment. This is really not a valid point. You might ask the same question about yourself and anyone else. How is any human activity or even our existance good for the environment? What thing do any of us do that actually improves the natural environment? The point is you limit your adverse impact.

Mar 13th - 19:02pm | BaitWaster

It will be interesting if Judge Boyle takes into consideration the argument that the Intervenors for Dare & Hyde Co in NC that the Judge has no standing in dictating ORV management required by the Executive Orders. Their argument is he can order the Park Service to follow the Orders & develop a plan, which is being done with public input and thru NEPA as required by law.

Mar 13th - 18:46pm | Snowbird

Snowbird06

Mar 13th - 17:49pm | Jimmy

So Snowbird...what do you suggest be done so that we can ALL get along?? because i completely agree with you.

Crews Remove Garbage From Marijuana Farms in Sequoia National Park

Mar 17th - 17:19pm | rsp1943

This has been going on for years in the Sierra Nevada Mountains...hikers have had encounters with these criminals. The drug cartel from Mexico is involved big-time!

Mar 17th - 14:37pm | Steve Sergeant

This article doesn't mention one of the most interesting aspects of this sad, ongoing story: The non-profit volunteer groups that provided most of the on-the-ground labor to clean up these sites. One of the most active of these groups is the High Sierra Volunteer Trail Crew.

Snowmobilers Continue to Roam Illegally Into Yellowstone National Park

Mar 17th - 07:48am | jr_ranger

No one is acting like with nutzo, environazi, quais-religious zeal. Indeed, we are *trying* to have intelligent discourse about the issue at hand, and us liberal crazies have so far refrained from name-calling (sad I can't say the same about others...)

Mar 16th - 15:21pm | Snowbird

Snowbird06

Mar 16th - 13:50pm | Gary

You are right-on "Righteous?"...too many envirowhacko bureaucrats, with the help of junk science has infiltrated our land-use agencies. It's not about protecting wildlife to them...it's about keeping "evil HUMANS" out...as if we are not part of the ecosystem.

Mar 14th - 13:44pm | repanshek

Feel better? I've addressed this quite a few times over the years, but let me try to lay it out for you again. There are more than 450 million acres of public lands overseen by the Forest Service and BLM, and most of that is open to multiple use, ie. mountain biking, snowmobiling, hiking, Jet skiing, etc.

Mar 14th - 13:19pm | Righteous?

So to summarize, no one (including the animals) uses this part of the park during the winter and you think there should be more enforcement. Perhaps just charging the snowmobilers what it costs to come out there and rescue them would be a reasonable solution. Why do you care so much about what someone else enjoys doing?

Mar 13th - 15:16pm | Fred Miller

Hopefully someone can come up with a solution for this problem. As for US 191 patrol, it seems to me that a public road, not necessarily a Park road, should be patrolled by local law enforcement folk instead of Rangers. We need our dwindling numbers of Rangers to protect the wildlife and the Park visitors, not be traffic cops.

Olympic National Park Releases General Management Plan

Mar 16th - 23:17pm | Random Walker

Link to more information from the Peninsula Daily News: Looking at goals for 14 areas of Olympic National Park

Mar 16th - 14:12pm | jr_ranger

I have nothing against the Port Angeles Regional COC, but to use "they can't pay for what they have now" as an excuse for not expanding the park is pretty lame in my opinion - very few NPS units can pay for what they have now...it's a shame PARCOC couldn't come up with a more original reason for not liking the GMP.

Dinosaur National Monument Cutting Paleontology Staff

Mar 16th - 14:14pm | jr_ranger

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Park History: Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Mar 16th - 09:28am | Rick Martinson

I was a seasona park ranger in Theodore Roosevelt back in the 70's for several summers. A day does not go by that I don't think of the wonderful experiences I had while working there. I am so glad to see how many other people feel the same way about this area as I do. I look forward to getting back there soon.

House Parks Committee To Hold Hearing On ORVs on Federal Lands

Mar 15th - 19:06pm | Barky

Personally, I feel ORVs are a bigger danger to the parks than guns. They damage the flora, muck up the trails, and increase erosion. They're noisy and they disruit & scare off the wildlife. A gun-toter can still responsibly enjoy the parks and not threaten anyone or anything. There is practically no responsible use of ORVs in the NPS, outside of campsites & roadways.

Segways in the National Parks: Do We Really Need Them?

Mar 15th - 04:58am | Anonymous

I think all this hatred towards the Segway is true ignorance. Finally an invention has come along that not only makes life easier, cheaper, and safer, but it asks nothing of us, and here you are rejecting it. The Segway is like that "nice guy who finishes last". Let me make some points of ignorance:

Yellowstone's Winter Use Plan: Comment Now

Mar 14th - 07:04am | Anonymous

if it is dangeros and hurts wildlife the answer is no snowmobiles,if it doesnt hurt animals or there breeding ground then yes ,also they must be tested for alchohol previous to entering.

Researchers Say Meteorite Impact Created Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands National Park

Mar 14th - 00:43am | ReBecca

This is a cool find! I was just up there this past summer. Glad to see some research taking place in the park, and being published too!!

Trekking to Dick Proenneke's Cabin in Lake Clark National Park

Mar 13th - 20:56pm | Bob Trowell

Dick Proenneke left a wonderful legacy of self-reliance and living in harmony with nature. He was a true inspiration.

Moonrise Over Crater Lake

Mar 13th - 15:17pm | Snowbird

Snowbird06 Well said Kurt...well said!

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