Assateague Island National Seashore; Oversand Vehicles
Published Date: 1/17/2025
Proposed Rule
Summary
If you love driving on Assateague Island’s beaches, good news! The National Park Service wants to drop old rules about vehicle size, weight, and clearance that have been around since 1976. This means more vehicles could qualify for permits, making beach drives easier and more fun. Just remember to share your thoughts by March 18, 2025, before the changes become official.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Vehicle size and weight limits removed
You could qualify for an oversand vehicle (OSV) permit even if your vehicle exceeds prior limits because the NPS proposes to remove the GVWR cap of 10,000 pounds, the 7-inch minimum ground clearance requirement, and the 26-foot length / 8-foot width limits. The rule would make those vehicles eligible to receive OSV permits for driving on designated beaches and oversand routes at Assateague Island National Seashore.
More applicants may get permits; limited crowding
Removing the weight and size rules could slightly increase the number of people who are eligible for OSV permits; the NPS issues about 1,000 OSV permits per year and reports roughly 10% of applications were denied due to the GVWR rule. The NPS says any incremental increase in visitor activity is expected to be mitigated by existing capacity controls (no more than 145 OSVs allowed at one time in Maryland) and therefore not cause major changes to overall use.
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