An Outer Banks community group has filed a federal lawsuit challenging new regulations that govern beach driving at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance sued Thursday, asking a judge to block new regulations on where people can drive and which require them to buy permits for off-road vehicles.
The regulations were adopted last month as part of a National Park Service agreement to protect endangered turtles and rare shorebirds in the area.
The lawsuit says there's no evidence that off-road vehicles have caused significant harm to those animal populations.
A coalition of environmentalist groups say the lawsuit is off-base, and comes too soon after the new rules were adopted to tell what effect they'll have on Cape Hatteras.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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