Hearing on Race Point Beach Closures

[jkswimmer]

They have a ACE in the hole.

[Flaptail]

I was there. It was a dog and pony show. They are mandated by law to have a public forum and period of comment on anything they do. They also have so many hurdles to leap, in the form of varying government agencies, wildlife protection groups and user groups that to do as little as possible while giving the perception that they are actually doing a lot is the real status quo.

The Park Services system of rotating park superintendents and head rangers around the country may work for them but it really doesn't work for us. Having people come in from forest parks and urban parks to run the seashore and thier lack of experience with the complexity of the beach environment hurts the way things are done and certainly thier learning curve time never catches up to the problems at hand and how to really deal effectively with them.

We will get somekind of alternative access but really that accesswill be just a token and the only thing that it will accomplish is that the NPS will be able to say, "look we kept the beach open" ( yeah two tenths of a mile at high head, big deal)

Meanwhile the gay community has done a boffo job of retaining Wood End as thier private beach and south of Longnook, where Plovers don't find any suitable habitat for breeding remains close for no real reason.

Lastly the Advisory group as a whole is dysfunctional with some members ( like P-Towns rep) not showing at all and is so diverse as to be flacid)

[tattoobob]

100 SCV's in 2/10ths of a mile is a joke, they opened 1/10th on S. Race last summer and if you weren't there before sunup all the beach goers had all the spots. what a nightmare. Bottom line is we will never win or have the rights we once had.

[DZ]

Has any of the surfcasting community ever thought of approaching Cape beach access in a different way? I've had the pleasure of fishing up that way for a few years now - I always wondered if it would be advantageous to ask for more satellite parking areas to access the beach instead of asking for beach driving access. I might be striking a nerve here - but if you think you're losing what you have - might be time to re-think the access issue. What do you think Steve?

DZ

[JHABS]

There is enough Beach for everyone, But it seems every year to be less, You pay to drive the beach but Its the Birds or whatever . Soon they will say the Seals. More parking area good idea but more Beach to drive on even better. It's the Beginning of the End , THEY Don't want us on the Beach.......................

[Karl F]

Originally Posted by JHABS

There is enough Beach for everyone, But it seems every year to be less, You pay to drive the beach but Its the Birds or whatever . Soon they will say the Seals. More parking area good idea but more Beach to drive on even better. It's the Beginning of the End , THEY Don't want us on the Beach.......................

Bingo.. it ain't about parking, it ain't really about birds, or anything else, but John's last comment, tells it like it really is.

And Flap is right about the NS rotation of their management.. bring in somebody from Central Park in NYC, or someplace in Utah.. WTF they know about the seashore? And what does it matter? They are rotated out by the time they just start to figger it out.

I'm not advocating giving up, bombard them with email, snail mail, phone calls etc., but just know, the true agenda, and that you are probably talking to walls. Could not get out of work yesterday, or I would have been there.

The mbba just dropped some big coin on some top notch enviro/access lawyers, to get into the mix, I hope this goes some place in the right direction.

[Backbeach Jake]

I couldn't make it either. Funny how in the 60's the Seashore was to preserve the beaches for our enjoyment for all time. Beach access was free. We could drive to Long Point and Wood end without running over "cowboys". Cheese I'm pissed!