MANTEO, N.C.

Beach-driving rule changes that opened more of the Hatteras Island seashore for more days and longer hours helped spur an increase in permits to 36,000 last year.

The changes included smaller buffer zones around nesting areas, extending the beach-driving season by a month, and adding access ramps.

At the same time that more people motored onthe sand, officials last year counted a record 325 sea turtle nests.

The number of successful piping plover nestshas risen and fallen over the years. Recently, an average offewer than one bird per nest has survived to adulthood. One of the major reasons is predators and not beach driving, said Dave Hallac, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore since 2014.

The buffers are adequate to protect the species, he said.

People who rumble over the dunes to the oceanfront for its world-class surf fishing praise the changes and credit Hallac, said Bill Smith, president of the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association. Sixty-seven miles of Outer Banks beaches are part of the National Park Service.

The relationship between beach-driving advocates and park officials may be as good as they have ever been, Smith said.

Everybody is feeling a whole lot better, he said. Hallac has a difficult job balancing things between us and environmentalists.

Environmentalists and groups supporting vehicle access to the beaches clashed for years. Access became more restrictive. Beach-driving groups used the courts and lobbying to winchanges.

Environmental advocates laud the parks efforts to promote pedestrian access, said Geoff Gisler, attorney for the Southern Environmental Law Center. The group has concerns about reduced nest buffers and greater vehicle access in some popular nesting areas, he said.

We are watching for the effects, he said.

A 2014 federal mandate to ease driving restrictions and provide more access prompted the seashore to hold public hearings and conduct two environmental studies. Some changes came the next year while others followed. A document called the Final Rule was set in place Jan. 20. Hallac reported on the revisions to the Dare County Board of Commissioners on Monday.

We cant manage these areas without the communities and input from users, Hallac said in an interview Wednesday. These are the peoples parks.

Among the changes:

The National Park Servicebegan requiring beach-driving permits in 2012. The first year, 27,154 permits were sold. Sales rose last year to 36,432, the most yet. A short-term permit is $50 and a year-long permit is $120. Permits are available at park offices or online.

We expect a lot more people to get out and fish this summer, Smithsaid. These were big changes.

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More people are driving on Hatteras beaches while record number ... - Virginian-Pilot