Budget constraints dictated by Congress mean you'll be swimming at your own risk next year at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where officials will not be hiring lifeguards for three beaches that in the past have had the guards.
Outer Banks Group Superintendent Barclay Trimble said that cut, and others, were made necessary by the parks' current budget. In October, to re-open the government, Congress provided funds at Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 levels through January 15, 2014. Final funding for FY 2014 may not be resolved before then.
"Given our current budget realities and the uncertainty for the future, the National Park Service is exercising extreme caution in spending to ensure that available funding is directed towards the highest priorities," Superintendent Trimble said in a prepared statement.
The following operational changes will occur this fiscal year:
* Cape Hatteras National Seashore Visitor Centers located on Ocracoke Island and the Fort Raleigh Visitor Center will be closed on Mondays and Tuesdays from December 2, 2013, through mid-March to early April 2014.
* Lifeguard operations on all three lifeguarded beaches in the Seashore will be discontinued for FY 2014.
* Eight garbage dumpsters located adjacent to beach access ramps along NC Highway 12 will be replaced with smaller trash/recycling containers.
* Temporary structures at Wright Brothers National Memorial will be removed, providing substantial savings on utility and maintenance costs.
Other measures include reducing purchases of supplies and equipment, decreasing staff travel and training, and postponing vehicle procurement. There is also a likelihood of delaying the hiring of vacant positions.
"We wish we did not have to reduce our visitor services, and we know a lot of people will be disappointed, but we had to make some difficult decisions regarding park operations and priorities," said Superintendent Trimble. "The current budget situation does not allow us to have sufficient staff to keep the same number of hours and the degree of services as we have done in the past. We hope the situation changes and we will be able to return our visitor services to their former operating schedules in the future."
Comments
Beach, Logic isn't involved in the restaurant and occupancy rates published by the Dare County Visitors Bureau....those are hard numbers. The numbers for the past 10 years are public information and are available through the Visitor's Bureau. From my look at them they list each village on Hatteras Island seperately. They sure seem to refute claims that the Hatteras Island economy has been destroyed and that there are no visitors to Hatteras Island.
Never said there was no visitors or economy destroyed. The reality is summer months are doing better, but the shoulder seasons, when fishermen like to come, are not so good. Lots of business did depend on the shoulder season to carry them through the off season. Now, we are seeing higher unemployment, more people collecting welfare, and businesses closing. And the bridge issue will likely exacerbate the problem.
As I pointed out before visitation is far lower than it was before the new NPS policies.
Do you think eliminating lifeguards is going to have a positive effect on visitation or the struggling economy of the island? As usual the NPS could care less about communities it's strangling with its mismanagement and over regulation.
Beach, I must have missed where you "pointed out" that visitation is far lower than it was before the new ORV policies took effect. The NPS numbers show last year's visitation was the highest in eight years, which covers a period of years before the regs took effect. While I would agree they are soft numbers, the overall increase in occupancy and dining revenues, and Dr. Kleckley's findings, combined certainly seem to refute your anecdotal claim.
And Buxton's 7.4 percent increase in lodging revenues in September 2012, when King mackerel fishing is heating up, would also seem to indicate that surf casters haven't abandoned Hatteras Island.
http://%20https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/SSRSReports/Park%20Specific%20Reports/Annual%20Park%20Visitation%20Graph%20(All%20Years)?Park=CAHA
/2013/06/groups-criticize-senate-bill-would-require-park-service-reassess-orvs-cape-hatteras-national-seashor23494
Surf fishermen don't fish for King Mackerel and the historical spots for Spanish Mackeral are now closed during the summer.
This drop in visitation really started when the NPS used it's swat team to close Cape Point in 2005.
Pregnant woman drowns off North Carolina, Outer Banks, Buxton
www.ksdk.com/video/1758273180001/1/Pregnant-woman-drowns-off-North-Carolinas-Outer-Banks
www.drowningtracker.com/jill-chenet-2/
Having swum at Cape Lookout and grappled with the long shore currents there, let's hope the national seashore can figure out a way to afford lifeguards next summer.
That pregnant lady went into the water in the evening around 6:45 pm after lifeguards went off-duty. The lack of funding for lifeguards had nothing to do with her drowning.
I find it very troubling that lifeguards provided by the NPS would be even considered to be cut. These lifegaurds do a lot more than just rescue, they provide guidance on some very unforgiving waters.
The hook area at Cape Point, which is now closed most of the spring and summer, provided calmer and safer waters. Closures on ramp 49, with its some what calmer waters, can get crowded because there is no else to go.
With less safer swimming options, no lifeguards, and crowded beaches the NPS is not improving the visitor experience.