Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating - View Single Post - Race Pt Beach

2na · 03-16-2007, 02:06 PM

Here's mine -

I am writing to you concerning the issue of ORV access to the Cape Cod National Recreational Seashore. It is important that endangered species be protected and reasonable efforts should be made to ensure the survival of any endangered species; however, it is also important that the taxpayers (and future generation of taxpayers) should also continue to have access to the national treasures that are our nation’s beaches and be able to experience them firsthand, rather than seeing them on an old documentary or reading about them in a book. I am a Truro homeowner, a Truro small business owner, and a fisherman, but first and foremost what brought me to the Seashore and to call Truro my home is love of the beach and the culture of the beach community that exists thereon. It has been my experience that fishermen and the majority of the ORV beach community are some of the most conscientious people who use the beach. For instance, I myself have many times picked up sea borne refuse, I have reported the presence of, and collected for rescue, cold stunned endangered Kemp's Ridley turtles, among other turtles, and on many instances I have called the Ranger Station to report dangerous conditions and situations such as distressed watercraft. As primary users, fishermen such as myself are the eyes and ears of the Seashore. Fishermen contribute a great deal to the local economies and the history, legends and lore of the beach and the surrounding communities. For reasons such as these, it is important that any proposed management plan includes provisions that make continued ORV access, and expansion thereof, a high priority. As a homeowner with a small local business, over the last two summers I have seen a marked reduction in the number of people who are coming to Truro for their summer vacation. One group of people who were rented property last summer (2006) told me this week that they would not come back because of the lack of any ORV beach access. My reservations for the upcoming summer are slow. Hotels have high vacancies and most restaurants have no wait and empty tables, something that I have not witnessed since the early 1990’s. The once vibrant local economy, community revenue streams, Seashore revenues – all of these are in danger of recession. This can all be attributed to the loss of beach access during the summer months.

The Cape Cod National Seashore is experiencing major problems with attempts at resource management. Efforts to protect bird species have been successful but extremely slow paced. These efforts have led to the exclusion of ORV’s from the beach for large portions of the summer months; a situation, which is projected to continue into the foreseeable future and, it appears, far beyond. I appreciate the fact that the Seashore is attempting to address a difficult situation; however, the efforts of the Seashore fall far too short and are not acceptable. These efforts take little or no consideration as to the plight of the beach community, the same beach community that funds a large percentage of the budget to run the Cape Cod National Seashore. No other beach user group has been imposed upon to shoulder the burden of resource management as the ORV users have been imposed upon. At the hearings it is clear that no other beach user groups are to be affected or asked to shoulder part of the burden. Open up the trail know as #8? Why, that might affect the dune shack community. Expand the hours of access to Highland Light beach? Why, that might affect existing beach user groups. Highland Light beach is just minutes from my home, and I am often the last one off it in the morning, and the first one on it at night. By the measure of the amount of footprints on the beach, very few people use that beach more than 100 yards or so from the parking area. It is unconscionable that the low use density stretch of beach of a mile plus length is not made available for ORV access when a large portion of the rest of the beach is closed. It is apparent that the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many, and that other user groups will not be asked to share space with ORV users.

Three years ago, demand for ORV permits was so great that over 1000 vehicles cued up for a sticker on the first day permits were available. The desire of citizen taxpayers for access to the resource is vividly demonstrated there. The last two summers demand for permits has decreased markedly. This is not because people do not want to use the resource, but because they are being denied access to it. Just as the Seashore did not have the vision to see the value of the dune shacks history and destroyed them once vacant, the Seashore now does not see that it is destroying a once vibrant and healthy local economy and beach community because the usual and customary access to the beach is being denied. Management methods used by the Cape Cod National Seashore place far to high a burden on the ORV community without asking any sacrifice of any other user groups.

Something must be attempted to break away from the stagnant policies and practices that are and causing the decline of both the local economy and the beach community. Simply closing beach to ORV’s and not reducing the predation that cause the vast, vast majority of mortality of endangered species, or not providing alternate means of ORV access to unaffected beach, is not an acceptable solution. Alternate methods of protecting the endangered species of the Seashore must be envisioned, devised and/or implemented, even on a trial or experimental basis.

At these hearings over the last year I have heard many creative suggestions from the audience, and the one common thread in the Seashore’s response is that they all contain the word “Can’t”. It is time to turn the culture of the administration of the Cape Cod National Seashore from one that “Can’t” to one that Can.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

03-16-2007, 02:06 PM	#24
2na . iTrader: (0) Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: trying for Truro Posts: 583	Here's mine - I am writing to you concerning the issue of ORV access to the Cape Cod National Recreational Seashore. It is important that endangered species be protected and reasonable efforts should be made to ensure the survival of any endangered species; however, it is also important that the taxpayers (and future generation of taxpayers) should also continue to have access to the national treasures that are our nation’s beaches and be able to experience them firsthand, rather than seeing them on an old documentary or reading about them in a book. I am a Truro homeowner, a Truro small business owner, and a fisherman, but first and foremost what brought me to the Seashore and to call Truro my home is love of the beach and the culture of the beach community that exists thereon. It has been my experience that fishermen and the majority of the ORV beach community are some of the most conscientious people who use the beach. For instance, I myself have many times picked up sea borne refuse, I have reported the presence of, and collected for rescue, cold stunned endangered Kemp's Ridley turtles, among other turtles, and on many instances I have called the Ranger Station to report dangerous conditions and situations such as distressed watercraft. As primary users, fishermen such as myself are the eyes and ears of the Seashore. Fishermen contribute a great deal to the local economies and the history, legends and lore of the beach and the surrounding communities. For reasons such as these, it is important that any proposed management plan includes provisions that make continued ORV access, and expansion thereof, a high priority. As a homeowner with a small local business, over the last two summers I have seen a marked reduction in the number of people who are coming to Truro for their summer vacation. One group of people who were rented property last summer (2006) told me this week that they would not come back because of the lack of any ORV beach access. My reservations for the upcoming summer are slow. Hotels have high vacancies and most restaurants have no wait and empty tables, something that I have not witnessed since the early 1990’s. The once vibrant local economy, community revenue streams, Seashore revenues – all of these are in danger of recession. This can all be attributed to the loss of beach access during the summer months. The Cape Cod National Seashore is experiencing major problems with attempts at resource management. Efforts to protect bird species have been successful but extremely slow paced. These efforts have led to the exclusion of ORV’s from the beach for large portions of the summer months; a situation, which is projected to continue into the foreseeable future and, it appears, far beyond. I appreciate the fact that the Seashore is attempting to address a difficult situation; however, the efforts of the Seashore fall far too short and are not acceptable. These efforts take little or no consideration as to the plight of the beach community, the same beach community that funds a large percentage of the budget to run the Cape Cod National Seashore. No other beach user group has been imposed upon to shoulder the burden of resource management as the ORV users have been imposed upon. At the hearings it is clear that no other beach user groups are to be affected or asked to shoulder part of the burden. Open up the trail know as #8? Why, that might affect the dune shack community. Expand the hours of access to Highland Light beach? Why, that might affect existing beach user groups. Highland Light beach is just minutes from my home, and I am often the last one off it in the morning, and the first one on it at night. By the measure of the amount of footprints on the beach, very few people use that beach more than 100 yards or so from the parking area. It is unconscionable that the low use density stretch of beach of a mile plus length is not made available for ORV access when a large portion of the rest of the beach is closed. It is apparent that the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many, and that other user groups will not be asked to share space with ORV users. Three years ago, demand for ORV permits was so great that over 1000 vehicles cued up for a sticker on the first day permits were available. The desire of citizen taxpayers for access to the resource is vividly demonstrated there. The last two summers demand for permits has decreased markedly. This is not because people do not want to use the resource, but because they are being denied access to it. Just as the Seashore did not have the vision to see the value of the dune shacks history and destroyed them once vacant, the Seashore now does not see that it is destroying a once vibrant and healthy local economy and beach community because the usual and customary access to the beach is being denied. Management methods used by the Cape Cod National Seashore place far to high a burden on the ORV community without asking any sacrifice of any other user groups. Something must be attempted to break away from the stagnant policies and practices that are and causing the decline of both the local economy and the beach community. Simply closing beach to ORV’s and not reducing the predation that cause the vast, vast majority of mortality of endangered species, or not providing alternate means of ORV access to unaffected beach, is not an acceptable solution. Alternate methods of protecting the endangered species of the Seashore must be envisioned, devised and/or implemented, even on a trial or experimental basis. At these hearings over the last year I have heard many creative suggestions from the audience, and the one common thread in the Seashore’s response is that they all contain the word “Can’t”. It is time to turn the culture of the administration of the Cape Cod National Seashore from one that “Can’t” to one that Can. Thank you for your time and consideration.