"closure details"

[derf]

as posted on another forum by DAGOBX , a OPBA board member...

Point Closure Details
As of 8 PM today (Tuesday, July 12, 2005) NPS will close access to Cape Point for the protection of piping plover chicks. NPS says it will reopen the Point the following morning (around 7 AM) when the actual location of the chicks is found.

This will be a daily occurance until the plover chicks gravitate to a specific area. At that time, NPS will adapt their closure policy to the presence of the chicks. This policy will continue until about July 29th when the chicks are expected to fledge or if they disappear. This action is being driven by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, with additional pressure being exerted by Defenders of Wildlife.


This closure is a historic & unprecidented action by NPS. Never before in the living memory of locals has Cape Point been closed for non-weather related reasons. It has been contended, and we agree, that the extensive closure that was installed at Cape Point has promoted the nesting that has occured this season, at the expense of access. Had a more reasonably-size enclosure been installed, it probably would not be necessary to implement a full closure of the Point & its adjoining beaches. OBPA has strongly advised the NPS against installing closures of this magnitude again next year.

The chicks were brought to the drainage area south of the "Salt Pond", the large pond at the Point, by their parents to forage. The point where the Pond was draining into the ocean has now dried up & no longer presents a natural barrier to chick movement. NPS fears the chicks may move out of the closure area & be crushed during the hours of darkness should ORV use be allowed to continue. Plover & other birds are more tolerant of vehicles as much as pedestrians & pets.

More info as it becomes available.
__________________
"Preserve & Protect......NOT PROHIBIT"

[Potomacduck]

Once this stats it'll never stop. The Feds have turned the "Hook" area (alomst the enitre beach) of Assateague National Seashore into a Plover Nursery. It's closed to traffic from May thruogh September, sometimes for only one nest!

I'm all for conservation but this is ridiculous.

[Possum]

Originally posted by Potomacduck:
Once this stats it'll never stop. The Feds have turned the "Hook" area (alomst the enitre beach) of Assateague National Seashore into a Plover Nursery. It's closed to traffic from May thruogh September, sometimes for only one nest!

I'm all for conservation but this is ridiculous.

Yep...feel the same way,duck.
The ESA has been around for a long time.I am afraid that so many groups and organizations have pointed the finger at NPS/FW for not enforcing ESA and ORV regs "by the word and letter" that all of the "loose ends","don't ask don't tell" and "common sense" enforcement we have taken for granted for years is now impossible.
Don't be surprised if the NPS is pushed into strict enforcement of long-ignored sanitation and camping regs at the Point.
The NPS and FWS are under the gun at Hatteras.They are getting heat from several directions.....including a whole lot from us ORV guys.They are running scared and have got to go strictly by the book at this point
The ESA is really the problem.This is where we need to look to find a solution. .

[chomper]

This sheet is for the birds!!(pun intended)

[Potomacduck]

Possum

Thanks for the clarification. When I was a kid we were able to drive our Jeep out to the hook and swim. catch flounder and have a grea time with the family. Now that I have a family, I'm not allowed to do that. What a shame.