July 13, 2006
Selectmen make vow to help plovers, beachgoers
By JASON KOLNOS
STAFF WRITER
ORLEANS - There is no hope of reopening access to the parts of Nauset Beach that have been closed to off-road vehicle traffic until piping plover chicks move out, likely in two weeks.
But Orleans and Chatham selectmen pledged last night to work as a collective body in their discussions with state and federal officials on ways to protect the threatened shorebirds while providing beach access to the public.
About 75 people attended the first collaborative meeting between the town boards since all of Nauset Beach south of the Nauset parking lot in Orleans and into Chatham was closed to ORV traffic for the first time ever three weeks ago.
Owners of oceanfront camps on the Chatham side wondered why there was not a way for ORV drivers and the birds to coexist. Several business owners followed with complaints that the ORV closures have cost them thousands of dollars.
Scott Morris, a representative from the Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association, said efforts to protect piping plover nesting areas have gone too far.
''We feel that with extensive monitoring and strategic traffic routing, keeping portions of the beach open during piping plover nesting season will be as successful as it has been for the last several years,'' Morris said.
Morris and others suggested working with lawmakers to create regulations that would allow towns to have more flexibility on their beaches.
Chatham Selectman Sean Summers said Chatham and Orleans should be proud of their previous management techniques and should take a stand against state and federal officials bent on protecting piping plovers without regard to costs imposed on local communities.
''We have left the doctrine of common sense here, because people have the equivalent right to some enjoyment of that beach,'' he said. ''Chatham and Orleans should never be the one to say, 'We'll close the beach.' ''
Scott Melvin, a zoologist with the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, said state and federal officials are required by law to protect the habitat that supports the birds.
''It is also illegal to kill, harm or harass (threatened species) or alter their nesting, breeding, feeding or migratory activity,'' Melvin said, noting shoreline bird populations have slowly declined in Massachusetts.
Orleans Selectman John Hinckley Jr. asked Melvin whether there was any room within the law to alter beaches through dune building or fencing that could guide chicks away from areas where they could be run over.
Melvin said such efforts would create a barrier blocking chicks from getting to one area of their habitat to another that could impact feeding patterns.
In the case of Nauset Beach, young plovers have access to a wide beach area and must have access to both the ocean and the bay sides of the beach, he said.
The Chatham and Orleans selectmen likely will meet again in September to search for ways to prevent similar piping plover economic and recreational disruptions next summer.
Jason Kolnos can be reached
at
jkolnos@capecodonline.com.
(Published: July 13, 2006)
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