State Gives Orleans Go Ahead For Off-Road Driving Program on Nauset Spit

CCB MEDIA FILE PHOTO
Richard Bourre, at left in cap, of the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Office, hears from residents and officials about off-road driving use on the Nauset Spit at a meeting in the Nauset Beach gazebo earlier this year.

ORLEANS – The State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has sided with the Town of Orleans in its dispute with the Town of Eastham over an off-road driving program on Nauset Spit.

Eastham voters recently reaffirmed their stance at town meeting in May, to not allow off-road driving on the parcel of the spit that is within their town boundries.

The Cape Cod National Seashore and Orleans share ownership of the parcel of land on the Spit, with the Seashore listed as the owner of the parcel in Eastham.

The order of conditions by the DEP incorporates measures intended to protect natural resources and endangered species.

Orleans Selectman John Hodgson said he has requested an emergency meeting with town officials.

“When we sit down with the board I’m going to make the suggestion that we take down the fence,” said Hodgson.

“We’ve got more than enough acknowledgment by state and federal officials whether it’s on the south side or the spit side. We do a great job managing the beach. A great job with our over-sand vehicle program, and we should continue it,” he said.

Last August, the Eastham Conservation Commission ratified a cease and desist order that denied recreational driving on the spit within the town.

Orleans sought an order of conditions with the commission under the state’s Wetlands Protection Act but was denied in December.

The town then appealed to the DEP for a superseding order of conditions for the off-road vehicle and beach management plan, and in June, officials said that Orleans did not require review of its plan due to the state’s Environmental Policy Act.

Hodgson said the DEP’s decision does not mean that people can drive on that side of the spit yet.

“They still cannot, there has to be an action of the board and the board has to sit down with counsel and discuss what the options are and I would hope that our board would act immediately on this and get all options on the table,” said Hodgson.