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Access Issues |
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September 8, 2008
Demonstrators send a message to RegNeg committee members
….WITH SLIDE SHOW By IRENE NOLAN  About 100 islanders greeted members of the National Park Service’s negotiated rulemaking committee when they arrived this morning in Avon for the first day of a two-day meeting. The event, which some dubbed “Stand in the Sand, Part 2,” was organized as a demonstration to send a message to environmental groups that were involved in a lawsuit earlier this year over ORV use on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. “I think it's time to show these people just how we feel about what they have done and how they have treated us,” organizer Rob Alderman wrote on his Web site, the Hatteras Island Fishing Militia (http://www.fishmilitia.com), in a message to the faithful last week. “The RegNeg process has from now until January before its work is over, and I hate to think that we allowed this process to take place without once showing up in force to express our feelings.” And islanders showed up in force to express their displeasure with the groups whose legal action against the National Park Service over off-road vehicles on the seashore was settled with a consent decree signed in April by a U.S. District Court Judge. The lawsuit was filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Defenders of Wildlife (DOW) and the National Audubon Society. The decree resulted in unprecedented closures of seashore beaches this summer. The protesters lined both sides of the road from Highway 12 to the Avon Fire Hall, the site of the meetings. They carried signs that said “DOW: Offenders of Wildlife,” “DOW: We did not eat the plover,” “Sue is Audubon’s middle name,” and “DOW are American terrorists.” The crowd began gathering at 7 a.m. to pass out signs and get ready for the meeting, scheduled to begin at 8:30. A light shower has just passed over the area and made the cloudy morning even more humid. Folks passed the insect repellent and swatted the mosquitoes. The mood of the demonstrators was defiant, yet cheerful, and the crowd was orderly and polite. No one stepped in front of vehicles or otherwise tried to approach or harass the committee members. Some in the crowd greeted the members by name. Some members didn’t acknowledge the demonstrators, and others politely nodded and waved. Heidi Blackwood and Monica Midgette said they were representing Dare Building Supply in a “PPPD,” a peaceful, public, political demonstration. “I’m here because I don’t remember voting to close our beaches and change our lifestyle,” said Gregory Kuczykowski, clutching a sign in front of him. Tim Waterfield of Buxton was there with his 6-year-old daughter, Sophie, who was yawning and had a day in first grade ahead of her. “We’ve been here since 7,” Waterfield said, “because we don’t want our beaches closed.” Hal Lester and his wife, Robin, were there, because their “way of life is threatened.” The couple moved to Hatteras about five years ago and own Finnegan’s restaurant in Buxton. “These people have treated our community with disrespect,” Hal Lester said of the environmental groups. “And I’ve worked hard to be a part of this community.” Alderman credits the Lesters with the original idea for the demonstration of community distaste for the current access situation. He took the reins and organized it, much as he did a gathering last March at Cape Point when about 1,500 people showed up to spell out the plea, “Please Help Us!!” with their vehicles. There were about 600 vehicles on the beach and the message was photographed from the air. As with that event, the “general” of the Fishing Militia had a number of lieutenants and an army of volunteers to help him out. Buxton artist Kim Mosher and avid fisherman turned activist Kevin McCabe made many of the colorful protest posters. Lynne Murray sent e-mails to her vast network of friends and contacts. Three Dare County deputies in three different cars were parked at the fire station watching the demonstration, but they said they didn’t expect any trouble. Warren Judge, chairman of the Dare County Board of Commissioners and a RegNeg committee member, was an appreciative politician. He walked up one side of the road and down the other, shaking hands with demonstrators and admiring their signs. “This is just great,” he said as he went into the fire station. As the meeting was about to begin, all of the demonstrators filed into the meeting room in the fire station. They filled the chairs, lined the walls, and spilled out into the hallway. As they headed inside, an organizer collected their protest signs. “Do not say a word,” he advised them as they handed over their posters. “Don’t even whisper. No grunts. No nothing.” Some of the demonstrators stayed for part of the meeting, quietly listening to the proceedings, and a few stayed to speak at the noon public comment session. The negotiated rulemaking committee has 30 members chosen from among the seashore’s stakeholders – ORV access groups, conservation and environmental groups, homeowners’ and civic organizations, recreational sportfishing organizations, commercial fishermen, and representatives from county, state, and federal government. The group is charged with negotiating long-range ORV regulations for the seashore. Until there is a long-range plan, the consent decree, which is unpopular with most islanders and many visitors, will guide the Park Service’s management of the beaches. Click Here To View Slideshow |
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