May 24, 2012
BUXTON, N.C. (AP) -- An Outer Banks community group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging new regulations that govern beach driving at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance sued Thursday, asking a judge to block new regulations on where people can drive and which require them to buy permits for off-road vehicles.
The regulations were adopted last month as part of a National Park Service agreement to protect endangered turtles and rare shorebirds in the area.
The lawsuit says there's no evidence that off-road vehicles have caused significant harm to those animal populations.
A coalition of environmentalist groups say the lawsuit is off-base, and comes too soon after the new rules were adopted to tell what effect they'll have on Cape Hatteras.
