Public Can Weigh In On Off-Road Vehicle Rules At Fire Island Seashore

FIRE ISLAND, NY — The National Park Service is seeking public comment as part of the environmental assessment of a revised Off-Road Vehicle Management Plan for Fire Island National Seashore.

The Seashore encompasses 19,580 acres of upland, tidal, and submerged lands along a 26-mile stretch of the 32-mile barrier island. It contains nearly 1,380 acres of federally designated wilderness, an extensive dune system, a century-old maritime forest, solitary beaches, and the Fire Island Lighthouse.

Interspersed among the federal lands within the Seashore are 17 residential communities that predate the Seashore’s establishment. Without a developed road system and limited traffic, the communities have retained much of their original character. The communities on Fire Island are accessible mainly by passenger ferry or private boat, and vehicle use is tightly restricted and managed through regulations.

The project is updating rules that are four decades old.

Park administrators have three goals:

• allow appropriate, equitable vehicle access to supplement water-based transportation, which is the primary means of transport to Fire Island and the communities
• protect Seashore resources and promote a safe visitor experience
• improve the current administration of the ORV permitting program

Since the establishment of Fire Island National Seashore in 1964, the development, access, technology, and use of Fire Island has dramatically changed, but the off-road vehicle regulation in place to protect the Seashore's resources has remained much the same.

The park must consider revisions to the 1987 regulations to address those changes as well as changes occurring as a result of the dynamic nature of the barrier island (e.g., the wilderness breach caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012).

The updated regulations must provide future flexibility as conditions continue to change, including the impacts to driving conditions associated with storm surge, extreme high tides, climate change and sea level rise.

Motorized off-road vehicle use is designated in limited National Park Service areas on Fire Island. Where permitted, ORVs may be allowed only in locations where there will be no adverse impacts on the area's natural, cultural, scenic, and esthetic values, and in consideration of other existing or proposed recreational uses.

The National Park Service recognizes that motorized equipment operated in a national park "could adversely affect the park's natural soundscape and the flow of natural chemical information and odors that are important to many living organisms."

The park service is working with the Towns of Brookhaven and Islip and the Villages of Saltaire and Ocean Beach throughout the process about the limited driving permitted by contractors, utilities, and a small number of residents to support the maintenance of these communities. Such permits are tightly restricted and regulated.

Recreational ORV driving is permitted by the Seashore seasonally from the Wilderness Visitor Center on the eastern end of Fire Island. As ferry service increases throughout the spring, the National Park Service gradually restricts driving for various permit categories.

Seasonal beach driving closures may occur if areas are in close proximity to piping plover nests and unfledged chicks. Drivers can call 631-569-2591 and listen to the message for any and all updates related to beach driving closures.

Revisions will update and clarify the process for driving permits. The earliest any changes would be implemented would be fall 2024.

The Seashore is considering updates to:

• The number of permits issued annually.
• Permit categories and how permit eligibility is determined.
• Definitions, including but not limited to, “trip” and “essential services.”
• The dates and times when water-based transportation is inadequate and driving is permitted.
• Types of vehicles that may be permitted.
• Program enforcement.

The previous civic engagement process, which took place in Spring 2022, included the release of a Fire Island Off Road Vehicle Civic Engagement Newsletter.

This public comment period opens May 28.

• May 28: public comment begins
• June 5: In-person public meeting at 7 p.m., Patchogue Ferry Terminal, 150 West Ave., Patchogue, NY 11772
• June 12: Virtual public meeting at 6:30 p.m. Registration details will be provided on NPS website
• June 30: Public comment period ends

For more information, go here: https://www.nps.gov/fiis/plany...