OREGON INLET, N.C. -- Proponents of driving on the beach of Cape Hatteras National Seashore are anxiously waiting to learn how the National Park Service will respond to a federal judge's condemnation of the practice.

Superintendent Mike Murray said Wednesday that for the time being, the beaches will remain open to off-road vehicles, with the exception of seasonal and species-protection closures. Meanwhile, he said, the Park Service is consulting with lawyers from both the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice to determine a response.

"Currently, we're continuing to operate under the interim strategy," Murray said, referring to a recently approved species management plan. "It remains to be seen how this will evolve and how it ends up."

The order came as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering a plan to designate 1,827 acres of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore as critical habitat for wintering piping plover -- shore birds protected under the Endangered Species Act.

Wildlife officials say the proposed designation is not expected to affect beach driving, but many off-road vehicle proponents fear it could lead to more beach closures. Hundreds have sent comments to the service, saying major beach closures could hurt the Outer Banks economy because many surf anglers and tourists would vacation elsewhere.

The focus abruptly shifted away from the critical habitat issue after Tuesday's order by U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle, who said the seashore "does not have regulations in place to govern ORV traffic."

He said it was a violation to operate off-road vehicles there without the authority of the Department of the Interior or "its designee."

The order grew out of a case involving a reckless-driving summons issued May 27 near Oregon Inlet. According to Murray, Boyle questioned the park's law enforcement specialist, Paul Stevens, about why the defendant was authorized to be driving on the beach.

Boyle determined that the seashore does not have the required off-road management plan in place or the specific regulation authorizing off-road vehicle use, Murray said. In the order, the judge stated that without the proper regulations, operation of a vehicle on the seashore is a violation subject to a fine up to $5,000 or six months in prison, or both.

Although the ramifications of the ruling are still unclear, Murray said he has been advised that it does not have the legal heft of an injunction.

"The order states the legal shortcoming of the present situation," he said. "But it seems less than an order to close the beaches."

Cape Hatteras is in the process of developing an off-road vehicle management plan, Murray said. The seashore's interim species management plan, which includes guidance on ORV management, was approved last Friday.

Off-road vehicle advocates have been working with the Park Service to develop a plan, said John Couch, president of the Outer Banks Preservation Association, a beach driving advocacy group.

"Here we are with the rug being pulled out from under us," he said.

Couch said many off-road vehicle drivers are angry and concerned about the potential consequences of closing the beaches to off-road vehicles at the height of the summer. But faith remains, he said, that the Park Service will find a remedy without such drastic measures.

The group is putting its trust in "the people with the legal authority to do the people's business," he said.

Jason Rylander of the Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group, said his group believes the superintendent has no choice but to close the beaches to off-road vehicles until a management plan is in place.

"Our position is that the units of the National Park Service should follow the law," he said. "If they wanted to avoid this situation, they should have had a management plan."

Rylander said the wildlife group is not asking for off-road vehicles to be banned; it just wants their use to be managed lawfully.

Under two executive orders issued in the 1970s, as well as a federal regulation, the seashore has been required to develop a management plan to authorize off-road driving. Previous efforts to establish one have failed.

Defenders of Wildlife, among other groups, have threatened to sue the park over its lack of a plan. When asked whether his group planned to file for an injunction, a move that could immediately stop off-road vehicle use in the park, Rylander declined to comment.

"I think the order really speaks for itself as to the law," he said. "I think it's really up to the Park Service whether it's going to follow the law as stated by the judge."

Driving on the beach has become increasingly popular on Hatteras Island, with more people owning sport-utility vehicles that provide easier access. But the practice has been a heated point of contention between environmental groups who say the practice harms natural resources and beach-driving advocates who say the island's economy heavily depends on it.

Driving on the beach provides access to some of the East Coast's best fishing.

In his ruling, Boyle described flyovers by Park Service and Department of Interior pilots documenting 1,200 vehicles at Oregon Inlet in an area frequented by endangered shorebirds and turtles.

He estimated that 2,500 to 5,000 people "crowded onto this narrow, fragile, environmentally sensitive area on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend."

Even with a portion of the beach recently closed by Oregon Inlet to protect piping plover hatchlings, a steady stream of off-road vehicles -- filled with beach chairs, fishing rods, body boards and coolers -- were driven in and out of the ramp north of the inlet Wednesday.

Bob Dean of Catonsville, Md., said he hadn't heard about the judge's order.

"Holy cow," he said.

If off-road vehicles were banned, he said, it would decrease access for a lot of people to the beach and result in more crowding on beaches that were easier to walk to.

Lisa Loucks, a Shiloh, N.C., resident, said it would make a big difference to her family, she said, if off-road driving on the beach were outlawed.

"There would be no reason, really," Loucks said, "for us to come down here."