The following story ran on the front page of today's Cape Cod Times. Overall I find it to be good news that the powers that be are acknowledging some of this information to reporters and it shows that the MBBA Access Committee efforts (both financial and political) are making progress. We are still in the beginning of our plans to effect change and as always, the government, whether local, state or federal moves painfully slow. Constant vigilance and pressure is what prevails in today's system.
For those that care only about Cape Cod National Seashore please understand that though the news in this article is not positive, there are efforts underway to effect change for you also.
We need to keep the pressure on. Watch for action alerts callign for letter writing and other types of grass roots support type of actions in the near future.
Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip
By Susan Milton STAFF WRITER
October 26, 2007 ORLEANS
— Last summer's perfect beach weather was agony for people wanting to spend days on the outer beach in Orleans. Oversand traffic was banned from mid-June to mid-August to protect the nests and, eventually, the foraging chicks of the endangered piping plover. Dropping revenue Orleans blames beach closures for dwindling sales of $180 nonresident ORV permits. The number of permits sold is down more than 50 percent since 2004 and 30 percent since last year. Year Permits 2004 2,571 2005 2,150 2006 1,714 2007 1,194 Now, for the second time, Orleans selectmen will see whether there's any way that beach traffic and plovers can share the same stretch of sand. They plan to seek federal and state permits that give towns options, such as providing escorts or controlling predators, that build the overall plover population. "It's worth our time and effort to go down that road again," Selectman David Dunford said Wednesday night before selectmen voted 4-1 to seek the permits. "I think it is appropriate to do all we can for people in town, for businesses in town, with the thought that time has allowed some rethinking of some issues and how to approach some things." Hit by their own beach closures last summer, Dennis and Barnstable are also interested in the Section 10 federal permit, available under the same Endangered Species Act that protects the shorebird. A Barnstable subcommittee is studying the issue for Sandy Neck, and Dennis Natural Resources Director Brian Malone also wants to explore the idea. The Cape Cod National Seashore will not apply. "We know that the two uses can't coexist," Cape Cod National Seashore Supt. George Price said about vehicles and plovers this summer. "And we believe that we're not at the satisfactory levels of successful nesting pairs with the productivity rates." Getting the towns to seek the permits was a goal this year of the Massachusetts Beachbuggy Association. The Orleans vote was "good news," said association President George Cairns. The association would contribute money and recruit people to serve as plover wardens, if needed. Federal grants are available to pay up to 25 percent of permitting costs, Cairns said. At the Village Farm Market, Cynthia Suonpera was happy to hear the news. The East Orleans businesses suffer whenever the beaches close to vehicles. Suonpera just has to count the sandwiches to see the difference. Over the July 4 weekend this year, the market sold 600 to 700 sandwiches a day. That's down from the usual 1,200 to 1,500 a day on that holiday weekend, she said. For the summer, sandwich sales have dropped about 400 a week. Closing the beaches to traffic "affects everything, from real estate to small businesses, to theaters," she said. "Everything that we try to survive on." .There wasn't much optimism from Park Supt. Paul Fulcher or selectmen Wednesday night, however. They already know that the permits are hard to get for a bird that's on the endangered list because it's difficult to protect. The goal of closures is to avoid disturbing the chicks, which must forage and eat constantly for 30 days to survive long enough to fledge and fly away. Thanks to years of protection, plover populations have rebounded well enough along the East Coast to make the federal permits possible. New England, for example, had 632 pairs of plovers, more than the 440 pairs needed to apply. But another benchmark — surviving chicks per nest — is 1.26 chicks, lower than the 1.5 chicks per nest needed for three years in a row. Orleans is trying to avoid another summer of agonizing - and dropping revenue from oversand vehicle permits. Sales of the $180 nonresident oversand permits have dropped 30 percent so far this year, a $93,000 loss. Selectmen are not united on the issue. Selectman Mark Caron opposed the permit move without comment. Selectman Margie Fulcher voted to proceed but is "philosophically against destroying one species to save another." Paul Fulcher said he would start by talking again to federal and state officials and other beach managers in the state. He also wants to meet with the Cape Cod Commission. Seeking a Section 10 permit triggers a state review under the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act which, by law, also triggers a commission review. Susan Milton can be reached at
smilton@capecodonline.com.
Hybrid Mode
