all Cape Cod National Seashore is closed

[2na]

The CCNS closed the remaining piece of open beach (High Head) on Friday (because some chicks from a nest walked to close), so as of this time there is no beach open. Saving grace is that it appears that access to the north side is near. I've gotta go out of my way to thank the National Seashore administration (and not the rangers in the trucks, who are mostly good guys who want us out there) for wasting our time by holding all of those public meetings and to put us back in the same place as last year.

[fishsmith]

Originally Posted by ptmike

The CCNS closed the remaining piece of open beach (High Head) on Friday (because some chicks from a nest walked to close)

These chicks should be easy pickins for Fox / racoons / coyotes but those of us with thumbs are on the outside looking in.

[Backbeach Jake]

So who's gonna post my bail?

[Karl F]

Fred.. it's still open for drive on night fishing at the "other end" of the road that leads to your house
and.. it is the time of year for night fishing.. tell them seals i said hello

[BigFish]

Karl...the seals were asking for you!

[capecodder]

Sad. Yesterday I arrived at the Race at 5:45am by boat, a day that pre-boat and pre-kids I would have been salivating to surfcast the Race/Traps. Low tide, new moon....

Not a soul on the beach... What a disgrace... These bird people are way out of line...

[BigFish]

I just got back from 2 weeks down Wellfleet and did not even sniff the Race! Did not bother getting a sticker as I have the past 6 years as I would not have been able to use it anyway!!! Why pay the NSS to keep my beach from me???? I may get a pass for the fall for a week maybe but thats it!!! Another great past time is going by the wayside! Driving on the beach down the Cape has the curtain falling on it! We try and we go to these meetings as I and many others have but a fat lot of good that did!!!! Just made us all make an expensive drive down there to hear alot of hot air!!! Last year I drove on once!!! Cost me $150.00! I feel for the economy down there that depends on the tourists as they are losing the folks who love to drive the beach and fish.....thats alot of $$$$$$$!!!!

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by capecodder

Sad. Yesterday I arrived at the Race at 5:45am by boat, a day that pre-boat and pre-kids I would have been salivating to surfcast the Race/Traps. Low tide, new moon....

Not a soul on the beach... What a disgrace... These bird people are way out of line...

we were out there 4 am to about 6 am, only about half as many as walked the 2 miles as last Sat. but we were out there catching seals
sad thing for even the boat guys at the race is, it's not what it used to be there either, the seals are keeping the fish away from in close at that rip so not even the boats do well there.



Ya, I'd like to thank the ball-less seashore rangers for not living up to their end of the bargain They don't even have the nads to leave a message on the phone number, it just rings and rings. If I had not mentioned to a friend I was gonna go to high head, I would have never known
Our $150 entitles us to park at the 3 public beaches out there if there is a parking spot I guess, but why can't we also park for free at Marconi or Coast Gaurd in Eastham? they suck just as bad as the seals and plovers,


TIME FOR REVOLUTION

I say we drive on as a big group anyway
what are they gonna do about it?



Hi Mike

[BigFish]

I am in!

[Slipknot]

BTW is the gate at Coast Gaurd landing locked during the day?

what's the problem with using that beach before 6pm?
I say we drive on there during the day
there are no plovers there, just sand

[JHABS]

This is a a Sad Thing they Don't want Us There,,,,,,,,,,,, Maybe if a few got driving over Mother Nature would take over and they would Move........

[Swimmer]

Just think about the 286 species of whatever that is on the waiting list for entry as an endangered species. What about if one or more of them lives on the beaches we all enjoy. The only reason they have not been elevated to the exalted status of endangered is because no money was allocated for each specie. So if we can get the money dropped from the federal budget that is used to protect the PP's all our woes would go away as far as beach access is concerned. It seems that each specie has its own budget allocation. No allocation, no more bird bull%$%$%$%$.

[Backbeach Jake]

This thought occured to me: just what IS the penalty for driving on closed beaches? Or without a permit for that matter? What do they actually do about it? Arrest? On what charge? I really don't know.

[gone fishin]

Originally Posted by Backbeach Jake

This thought occured to me: just what IS the penalty for driving on closed beaches? Or without a permit for that matter? What do they actually do about it? Arrest? On what charge? I really don't know.

Good question, somebody will have to contact Bassmaster..I bet he can tell us.

[BigFish]

For some reason $200.00 rings a bell.....I saw someone written up once for driving on without a permit......however......I think driving on when there is a closure, with or without a permit there must be a hefty fine for that?!?!?!

[Sweetwater]

Just got back from the Race (taking friends sight-seeing not fishing) and indeed the entire CCNS is closed. Did speak to one ranger who said several nests that have chicks about ready to fledge. Hopefully this will open up some of the beach.

Also, someone asked about Coast Guard in Truro. That beach is only open after 6:00p due to the "claimed" level of beach goers. However, I suspect it has more to do with politics that many who own property on the dunes don't like see our trucks out there. Less than 2 miles are open and last time I fished it (about a week ago) there was a tremendous amont of weed and mung in the water. So basically, there is NO WHERE to drive on the beach anywhere in Truro or or P-town.

[piemma]

Not sure of the penalty now. back when I was running heavy (80s and 90s), there was talk that they would impound your truck for no sticker. I know guys who ran the closed section and got caught and got a stern warning but nothing more.

I am glad I bought a boat. I use to love the Back and spent hundreds of nights running from the the access road to High Head. It is truly a shame that the beaches are run by the Plover and Seal lovers.
Perhaps if you guys who are still buying the permits stopped for a year or 2 maybe the CCNS would feel the pinch from the lack of revenue. Perhaps the local economy in P-Town and Truo would also feel the lost dollars. Then maybe something sane could be enacted.

I don't know what the answer is but certainly the current state of affairs leads me to believe that the running of the Back is coming to an end for good.

Originally Posted by Backbeach Jake

This thought occured to me: just what IS the penalty for driving on closed beaches? Or without a permit for that matter? What do they actually do about it? Arrest? On what charge? I really don't know.

[gone fishin]

"Perhaps if you guys who are still buying the permits stopped for a year or 2 maybe the CCNS would feel the pinch from the lack of revenue. Perhaps the local economy in P-Town and Truo would also feel the lost dollars. Then maybe something sane could be enacted."

In response ----

The only problem with boycottting the CCNS is that our sticker money goes to paying their salaries and maintaining the seashore. If we don't buy a sticker the opinion on their side will be that there isn't enough demand to allow access to the beaches by vehicle. That is exactly the excuse the Audobon and the CCNS is looking for.

Support the MBBA in their effort to bring pressure legally to keep our access to the beaches.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

Support the MBBA in their effort to bring pressure legally to keep our access to the beaches.

That's a good cause, but the issue is a lot of us got sick of the empty promises and endless versions of the shell game played by the park service. It’s really not worth the aggravation, in my opinion. They can keep the %$%$%$%$ing place and share it with the twinkie bird huggers. You guys that continue to tough it out are my heroes, really.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by gone fishin

"Perhaps if you guys who are still buying the permits stopped for a year or 2 maybe the CCNS would feel the pinch from the lack of revenue. Perhaps the local economy in P-Town and Truo would also feel the lost dollars. Then maybe something sane could be enacted."

In response ----

The only problem with boycottting the CCNS is that our sticker money goes to paying their salaries and maintaining the seashore. If we don't buy a sticker the opinion on their side will be that there isn't enough demand to allow access to the beaches by vehicle. That is exactly the excuse the Audobon and the CCNS is looking for.

Support the MBBA in their effort to bring pressure legally to keep our access to the beaches.

Great point and one I considered. So it ends up being a Catch 22. Support the permit process and throw your money away or boycott the process and they think no one is interested and then they close down the whole damn thing.
I wonder if this is what JFK had in mind in 63 when he set aside the CCNS for the good of the common man?
I'll tell you one thing, if the fishing was like what we knew in the late 80s thru the late 90s there would be a war going on. I remember one night in 94 when there was a couple a thousand pounds of bass taken at the Second Rip in the hours between 1 and 4 am by about 20 guys. I was there and I can tell you that there wasn't a fish under 18 or 20 pounds kept. I stood right next to the late George Calzone on one side and the late Lanny Grazinni (who died 2 weeks ago) and these guys were amazed at the quality and quantity of fish we kept catching all night. It was insane!
No there were no Seals then!!!

[Slipknot]

Originally Posted by Swimmer

Just think about the 286 species of whatever that is on the waiting list for entry as an endangered species. What about if one or more of them lives on the beaches we all enjoy. The only reason they have not been elevated to the exalted status of endangered is because no money was allocated for each specie. So if we can get the money dropped from the federal budget that is used to protect the PP's all our woes would go away as far as beach access is concerned. It seems that each specie has its own budget allocation. No allocation, no more bird bull%$%$%$%$.

GREAT IDEA

where do I sign up to help?


OK Karl no revolution I guess we'll do it the legal way then.

[JHABS]

Its so Bad the Mungs not even showing up.

[BigFish]

Mung showed up Wednesday....Head of the Meadow, Newcomb Hollow, LeCounts, and White Crest! Bad at HOM moderate at the others.

[Backbeach Jake]

and "lettuce" cocktailed at CG last weekend. I made one cast and that was it. Nasty combo...

[Charleston]

How do you think the out of state guys feel? As recently as 3 years ago I could go to P'Town with some guys and have a blast. The arrival of the seals, warm weather and MUNG!! has really reaked havoc on Cape fishing for us.
The PlugBash was moved to RI last year for this reason and will be there again this year. Most of us will stay there! No sense coming to the Cape to catch seals!
Oh yeah, those little birds must suck as well

[2na]

Slip, Larry - I've been walking the top for the last 3 weeks and those birds are just about all airborne. The thing that really p's me off is that they no longer monitor the nests, they just pick a date and open it then - unless they find flightless birds, then they pick another date. At the meetings they said that they have to go 5 days straight without seeing chicks walking, and from walking day after day around the 4th I could see that at least 3 days went by between bird checks. That's why I posted that I thought the top would be open soon, not from talking with rangers. I don't think it'll open to Hatches unless the area between the traps and the lighthouse filled in - the beach was too thin, and I don't think the birds that nested along the back trail are flying, but they may have moved into the marsh behind Hatches. We're doing better than last year - it will be all open soon, except at High Head, where I figure maybe another 2-3 weeks. But to the best of my knowledge, there are no nests from Mission bell south to there.

Jen - Let me guess: Whit.

[2na]

I agree with both Flap and Slip. The Seashore administration does have its hands tied, and even though these meetings have now been exposed as a joke and a waste of time, to just throw it in is an unacceptable alternative. The dune tours guys have access through #8 - we gotta push for that. I'm tired of the beach community taking all the burden of the beach closings - it's time to share the load. It's time for other user groups to feel a little inconvenience. That was the main excuse of the head bird (see you next tuesday) the infamous 'ace in the hole' comment of the meeting. After dealing with total beach closure over the last two years I'm not feeling a lot of sympathy for any 'potential adverse impact on the dune community' because they have to see our trucks drive past them, just like the dune tours and the rangers do. Steve, there is plenty of birdless beach out there, we just got to force them to allow us access to it.

Bruce, I don't know about the regs regarding the dates. I think that Fish and Game makes it up as they go along, and Price rubber stamps it because Prokov (or Prokoff, whatever) is and incompetent and has no plan. These bureaucratic lifers just don't want to rock the boat until their next plum assignment comes along, and I think they need to have more pressure, like picketing their homes and such, to bring home the point that we've had it. Remember: Fish and Game is filled with environmental ideological zealots and want the whole world, never mind the beach, turned into a nature preserve. And they have their act and their talking points together. No one is out there pushing our cause like that. And the rangers that do (and there are a lot of them) are ignored or forced into retirement.

[jkswimmer]

We tried picketing in 1989 and they did open the Race shortly there after, because it cost them for crowd control.

[2na]

Gone, you're right to some degree, but it would be hard for them to argue that when 1000 vehicles were in cue in 2004 (?) to get stickers. That's why I put, in my letter to the CCNS when the comment period for beach access was open

Originally Posted by ptmike

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.

[2na]

BTW, there is a little sand open at the north side ranger station now - you can drive on the beach and turn around - that's it. At least it is a start.