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A rope fence keeps oversand vehicles away from piping plover nesting areas on Nauset Beach. They’re kept much farther away when plover chicks hatch.
Staff Writer
July 19, 2007
HARWICH — For the next three to four weeks, a single piping plover chick will keep Nauset Beach closed to oversand traffic.
At such moments, in such places, Cape towns should be able to provide escorts, alternative routes or smaller buffer zones so that drivers could pass by the plover, according to the Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association.
Beaches slowly re-opening
PROVINCETOWN
The complete daytime closure of beaches in the Cape Cod National Seashore to vehicles lifted a little yesterday.
A tenth of a mile of beach opened in Race Point North, according to the seashore's recorded message, available at 508-487-3698. The beaches in that area closed to traffic last Friday to protect piping plover chicks, a threatened species of shorebird.
Better news is coming because, the message said, "we are anticipating, in the near future more of Race Point North opening."
Also still open to vehicular traffic is 1.9 miles of sand at Coast Guard Beach in Truro, between 6 p.m. and 7 a.m. for night fishing.
"There are kids who absolutely hate that bird, because when the birds come, the beach closes," said association member Scott Morris of Harwich."It's not right for the bird. It's not right for the kids."
That's why the association is asking Cape towns to apply for a Section 10 permit under the same federal Endangered Species that now protects the threatened shorebird. The Section 10 and related state permits could give towns more flexibility to relax protection at times.
"It's got to be known that these options exist," said MBBA president George Cairns of North Reading, who was speaking in Harwich.. "In the past, the public hasn't had a direction of what to do. Now we have solutions. Townspeople and chambers of commerce can contact their local governments and say sit down and apply for these permits."
Barnstable's Sandy Neck Board is interested in exploring the possibilities, chairman Richards French said yesterday.
"We had no idea (that it was possible)," he said. "We have a good relationship with the MBBA. They are great stewards of the beach."
The Cape Cod National Seashore does not endorse these permits, said Superintendent George Price, adding, "We know that the two uses (beach traffic and plovers) can't coexist. And we believe that we're not at the satisfactory levels of successful nesting pairs with the productivity rates."
Last year, Orleans explored Section 10 and related state permits and got discouraged, said John Hinckley, chairman of selectmen. He cited the length of time required to secure permits and the lack of a guarantee that an area could open to traffic.
"I'm open to anything that's reasonable that works. We're not convinced — nor was Chatham — that (Section 10) would result in a productive process," Hinckley said.
The MBBA, the 57-year-old advocacy group for mobile sportsfishermen and families, started spending time and money to research the permits. Its push for action comes in the middle of the latest long summer of beach closures to traffic to protect the nesting shorebirds and their chicks.
The goal of closures is to avoid disturbing the chicks which, roam and eat constantly for 30 days to survive long enough to fledge and fly away. The closures can disrupt people's weekends and vacations, and cut income to Cape businesses and towns that depend on the summer beach traffic.
Susan Milton can be reached at
smilton@capecodonline.com
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