National Seashore Supt. Mike Murry reminds park visitors that beginning May 1, all Seashore beaches are closed to off-road vehicles (ORVs) from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., in accordance with the court-ordered consent decree.

Enforcement of the restriction will begin at midnight tonight. The prohibition will remain in effect until Nov. 15. Under the terms of the decree, the National Park Service (NPS) may issue permits between Sept. 16 and Nov. 15 to authorize night driving on Seashore beaches. The NPS retains the discretion to limit night driving to certain areas or routes, based on resource protection considerations.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore provides crucial nesting habitat for loggerhead and green sea turtles, as well as the occasional leatherback. Loggerhead and green turtles are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and leatherbacks are considered endangered.

Sea turtles typically lay nests at night between May and September, when adult turtles come ashore to deposit around 100 ping-pong ball-sized eggs into a cavity in the sand. While nesting, these turtles are susceptible to human disturbance on the beach. If a nesting turtle is disturbed, it may not nest at all or may lay a nest in a less-than-optimal area. Once laid, eggs will incubate in the sand for 50-70 days before the hatchlings emerge and make their way to the ocean. The hatchlings will use light cues in order to find their way from their nest to the sea, making them vulnerable to artificial lights from houses, piers, headlights, beach fires and lanterns.

Although studies vary, it is estimated that only one in 1,000 to one in 10,000 hatchlings will survive to adulthood. Ten to 15 percent of the turtle nests laid in North Carolina are laid on Cape Hatteras National Seashore beaches.

The night driving restriction will be posted at all Seashore ORV access ramps. The regulation is enforceable by NPS law enforcement rangers, and violators are subject to up to six months imprisonment and up to a $5,000 fine. To report violations, contact Dare Central Communications at 252-473-3444. For further information, contact the chief ranger’s office at 252-473-2111.

A group from the Baum Center will clean up a section of the beach on April 18, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., in honor of Earth Day which is April 22 (It is also Good Friday).

After this, the group will return to the Baum Center for a cook-out with hot dogs, chips, baked beans and drinks. Sign up at the front desk.

As a follow-up to the March panel discussion on beach nourishment, the League of Women Voters of Dare is hosting a public “go see tour” along South Nags Head beach where the effects of beach erosion can be seen first-hand. It will be held April 15.

How beach nourishment efforts could mitigate some of the impacts as well as some of the environmental impacts of beach nourishment will be discussed.

Gathering for the tour begins at 10:30 a.m. at the parking lot located on E. Seagull Drive off S. Old Oregon Inlet Rd. The actual tour begins at 11 a.m. and will conclude around 12:30 p.m. The optional lunch will begin at 1 p.m. at Sugar Creek restaurant. For lunch reservations, call Carole Burchett at 252-261-6380. The tour is free of charge, but those attending lunch will be responsible for their own meal. The alternative rain-date will be two weeks later, Friday, April 29.

Marvin Demers, a resident of Nags Head since 2007 and one of the speakers at the recent panell presentation, will lead the tour. (Courtesy Dare LWV)

THE GOVERNOR’S OFFSHORE ENERGY COMMITTEE are shown here, from left, chairman Willis Whichard, Larry Baldwin, Gary Perry of Kitty Hawk and Milton Heath.

The public was invited to speak to this group, offering their opinions on offshore energy Thursday, March 24, in Manteo. They spoke on offshore oil drilling andwind power. Their comments would go to the Department of the Interior as it studies offshore energy policy. Whichard said following last year’s oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas drilling won’t be allowed offshore on the mid-Atlantic coast for at least seven years.

The comments have been heard before, with Manny Medeiros repeating his oft-spoken and written opinions on wind energy, namely that it will not provide enough energy to justify the expense, and he added, federal subsidies for it is are waste of public money. “Wind power is about as advanced as it ever will be.” He said Germany is building four new coal-fired plants to back up windmills they have built.

Matt Walker of Outer Banks Surfriders said his group is opposed to offshore oil and gas drilling. He said the surfriders have gathered 2,000 signatures on a petition opposing this policy. “Don’t let the industry tell you what you want to hear,” he said. “Look for what would happen of the unexpected happens.”

Local environmentalist Jan DeBlieu of the N.C. Coastal Federation said offshore drilling is not safe, pointing to last year’s blow-out off Louisiana shores. The most practical thing we could do in the short-term, and the most effective, is making everything we use more energy-efficient, she said. If we consider wind energy, we need to make sure turbines and transmission lines are not in environmentally-sensitive areas where wildlife and fish habitat could be threatened. Community wind turbines that could provide energy for a community are feasible and could offer many benefits, she added.

Dare County attorney Ben Gallop spoke on behalf of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce, urging that tourism be considered in any offshore energy policy. Tourism, he said, creates many jobs.

Wallace Harvey III said he had interviewed the head of a wind farm company which had built a huge turbine that had provided enough power to reduce the electric bills of the area it served. He said if we decide to go with a wind energy company, it should find one that would do something for the area.