|
Good attendance for winter, about 150, MBBA, regular folks but also Sierra Club and birders, but most for more access.
Most of the meat of the meeting was on why they could not do someting, versus why they could.
Why nots:
Herring Cove to Wood End was due to a 2005 washthrough that wasn't healed yet, as well as high "beachgoer" traffic. BS on the washthrough as each winter heals everything, as pointed out by someone. I brought up the fact that ORV traffic out there could actually help the Seashore in policing the activities of those out there in the hills (don't know th epolitically correct way of saying it!!!) but they don't want to touch that one. My feeling is great digital shots to newspapers, Congressman, etc of that activity would sure put alot of pressure on them to do something.
Herring Cove toward Race Pt light - possibility, not alot of plover activity but they are adverse to that, I think, because it would reduce available parking $$$$ in that lot - $15/car/day. But that is still on the table for future.
Opening up old access roads off of the telephone pole route - deemed not ecologically right, too much damage to vegetation and habitat for the minimal additional access it would create. Thats BS because they don't know how much access it would create until the birds actualy plant themselves down, if they congregate in one area, then maybe another access route would be good.
Best for last - use old Exit 8/Dune Shack Rd - some critical "wetlands"there (then why do they let Art's Dune Tour use it????), they don't want to upset the Dune Shack residents ( they have fu$%#@ed them enough already, but 2000 seasonal permits versus less than 100 residents??), and as a Ranger "slipped" and said "their ace in the hole was" the route was very hard and dangerous, operationally unsafe", we said what about the other access routes - Race Pt South, Coast Guard etc - they were just as hard and people could access them.
Bottom Line - "when less then 1/2 mile of total beach was open to ORV", they want to get approval to exercise any one of the following three options, just one, not 2, or all 3:
1. open High Head South to Head of the Meadow prior to July 1
2. open High Head north to Exit 8 prior to July 21
3.open Coast Guard beach in Truro for day time use. (needs Truro ok)
Obviously, any of those options could be eliminated if birds are present. Our put was if any of the beach is closed, open up those and other areas, maintain the status quo - if you close a 1/4 mile, open up another 1/4 mile, at least tempoary.
The ORV sub-committee who chaired the meeting are meeting Monday to finalize recommendations to Cape Cod Seashore Advisory Commission, meeting next Friday at Wellfleet Headquarters. Flap is right, sub-committee seems to be in dis-array - Ptown member never goes to meetings, although I am not sure they ever have meetings, and I will follow that one up with the Ptown selectmen.
We shall see, it is pretty fricking frustrating. On the one hand I want to say they are at least looking at some options but on the other hand they are truly rejecting good alternatives - Wood End, more accss off the pole Road, Exit 8 for bulls%$#& reasons, which leads you to believe they don't give a $^^%^$#.
|
Threaded Mode