Beach Access Revisited: H.R. 4094 is Headed to the House Floor for Vote

(from the Island Free Press) The U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Natural Resources voted today to send H.R. 4094, a bill that would overturn the Park Service’s new off-road vehicle plan for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, to the House floor. The vote was 24 to 18, pretty much split along party lines, in favor of reporting the bill favorably out of committee.  The committee has 26 Republicans and 19 Democrats. It is now up to the House leadership when  the bill is scheduled for a vote by the full House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., in February and had a hearing before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands on April 27. H.R. 4094, would overturn the final off-road vehicle plan, end a court-agreed-to consent decree, and return management at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore to the 2007 Interim Protected Species Management Plan. The bill would “authorize pedestrian and motorized vehicular access” at the seashore and may also be called the “Preserving Public Access to Cape Hatteras Beaches Act.” If the bill passes, the interim strategy would remain in place until the Park Service devises another long-term plan that is less restrictive. “Hallelujah,” said Allen Burrus of Hatteras, co-chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners, after today’s committee mark-up session of the committee. >> Read More