U.S. House of Representatives Votes to Restore Access to Cape Hatteras
KeepAmericaFishing 06.21.12
Thank you for taking action to support this important legislation!
Due to your quick action, on June 19, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation that will restore reasonable public access to the Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area, one of the East Coast’s premier sportfishing destinations. The Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 232-188 margin as part of a package of public lands bills.
You Did It!
Thousands of anglers from North Carolina and across the nation urged their Members of Congress to take action after the National Park Service adopted a new off-road vehicle (ORV) management plan that severely restricts access to the most popular areas of the seashore far beyond what is needed for resource management.
The ORV management plan not only threatens sportfishing in the park, but the seashore’s local economy, which is largely dependent upon tourism and recreation. Your voices were heard and we are now steps closer to ensuring reasonable public access to this national treasure.
This is a big step for anglers all along the East Coast, but KeepAmericaFishing™ still needs your help to ensure that Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area Act is passed into law.
Now, It’s Onto the Senate
The focus is now on the U.S. Senate to move forward the companion bill, S. 2372, and you can help by sending a message to your Senators today in support of this legislation.
KeepAmericaFishing™ thanks you for helping to move the Preserving Access to Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area Act, which restores reasonable access to the park’s beaches for anglers and other visitors while still providing adequate protection for shorebirds and other native wildlife.
For more information on access restrictions at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreational Area, visit the issue page on www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.
KeepAmericaFishing is the fastest growing community of anglers united with one common goal -- to protect our right to sustainably fish on our nation's waterways. As the voice of the American angler, KeepAmericaFishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish.
Across the country, preventing or limiting recreational anglers’ access to public waters fisheries is being touted as a new way to manage fish populations. This unprecedented shift undermines the achievements of proven fisheries management methods that focus on conservation and promote sustainable fishing. As a result, the past 10 years have seen a dramatic increase in bans on recreational fishing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Texas to Minnesota.
In an effort to combat access restrictions around the country, the American Sportfishing Association launched KeepAmericaFishing to unite the nation’s 60 million anglers under one voice. Through policy, science and conservation, KeepAmericaFishing works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations. With its conservation partners, KeepAmericaFishing works to limit and provide for review and revision science-based closures to areas in which they are clearly beneficial to the health of the fishery.
At KeepAmericaFishing, we are working to give voice to the millions of American recreational anglers who share one thing in common - a passion for fishing.
