Well this sucks

[vasurfisher]

Defenders of wildlife to sue the NPS over off road access.

May 17, 2005
By Certified Mail/Return Receipt Requested
Gale A. Norton
Secretary
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Fran P. Mainella Sam D. Hamilton
Director SE Regional Director
National Park Service U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1849 C Street NW 1875 Century Blvd., Suite 400
Washington, DC 20240 Atlanta, GA 30345
Phillip A. Francis Patricia A. Hooks
Acting Superintendent SE Regional Director
Outer Banks Group National Park Service
National Park Service 100 Alabama St. SW,
1401 National Park Drive 1924 Building
Manteo, NC 27954 Atlanta, GA 30303
RE: 60-Day Notice of Intent to Sue for Violations of the
Endangered Species Act in Connection with the
Management of Off-Road Vehicles on Cape Hatteras
National Seashore
Dear Secretary Norton; Directors Mainella, Hamilton, and Hooks; and
Acting Superintendent Francis:
On behalf of Defenders of Wildlife and in accordance with the 60-
day notice requirement of the Endangered Species Act ("ESA"), 16
U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq., I hereby provide notice that the National Park
Service ("NPS") is in violation of the ESA and its implementing
regulations, 50 C.F.R. § 402 et seq., as well as other federal laws,
including the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ("MBTA"), 16 U.S.C. § 703 et
seq., the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA"), 42 U.S.C. § 4321
et seq., and the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA"), 5 U.S.C. § 551 et
seq.
Plaintiff's claims relate to the NPS's continuing authorization of
ORV use in areas of Cape Hatteras National Seashore ("CHNS") that
"may affect" the piping plover, a threatened species under the ESA,
National Headquarters
1130 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Telephone 202-682-9400
Fax 202-682-1331
www.defenders.org
2
without first engaging in formal consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
("FWS"). NPS's authorization of ORV use at CHNS violates the agency's obligations
under the ESA to carry out programs for the conservation of endangered and threatened
species and may be resulting in the take of those species. NPS's actions have also caused
the death of numerous migratory birds in violation of the MBTA. In addition, continued
authorization of ORV use without an assessment of environmental impact violates
NEPA. Lastly, the NPS has flagrantly acted contrary to two executive orders, agency
regulations, and the organic acts of both CHNS and the NPS by authorizing ORV use
without first developing an ORV management plan in a national seashore area intended
to be "permanently reserved as a primitive wilderness." 50 Stat. 669 (1937).1
NPS's actions are presently causing and will foreseeably continue to cause
substantial harm and adverse impacts to federally protected species. If these violations
are not substantially rectified within 60 days, Defenders of Wildlife intends to bring a
civil action to compel compliance with these and other provisions of federal law.

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yep, it sure does......