The first thing you need to know about this summer’s beach access on the seashore is that there will be beaches open to ORVs.
However, there will be some stretches of beach closed to both ORVs and pedestrians until the end of the nesting season – about August for birds and later in the fall for sea turtles.
The closed beaches may be your favorites, such as Cape Point or South Point on Ocracoke, but there will still be miles of beach open for walking and driving. There is more about this in an article I wrote in early March on this year’s beach access outlook.
Next, you need to know that full-beach resource closures may make some areas that are not closed to walking and driving inaccessible.
This is what happened on Monday when the Park Service closed access to Cape Point because of a pair of courting American oystercatchers on the beach just south of Ramp 44.
Cape Point is not closed – it’s just inaccessible because of closures on the north and west sides.
The closure is only 0.2 of a mile, and park officials say it is legal to wade in the water below the mean low tide line and walk to the Point.
They do not encourage this means of getting to areas that are still open.
There are safety concerns, at the points and spits especially, where the currents can be swift and the waves strong.
You would have to wade in water probably up to your knees to stay below the mean low tide line. If you get in trouble and are forced into a closed area or if you are unsure of your bearings and step into a closed area accidentally, you will still get a ticket if there is a park ranger around.
There is also another problem with trying to reach these popular areas by wading in the water.
If too many people are trying it, the birds might be spooked and leave the area. This could be more possible if the birds happen to be feeding near the low-tide line and encounter large numbers of folks splashing through the water.
If a park biotechnician observes people scaring birds and causing them to abandon their courtship or nesting, it is possible that the entire area could be closed down.
The court-ordered consent decree gives the seashore management the power “to enforce more protective closures or take other measures if they are deemed necessary.”
In the case of the closure north of Cape Point, the park superintendent might deem it necessary to close down the Point to protect the birds.
Cyndy Holda, assistant to the superintendent and community liaison, said that getting to deserted areas is a “prime opportunity” and a “different experience” for park visitors who want to fish, watch birds, or hunt for seashells.
She did it herself last weekend by hiking behind a full-beach closure at Bodie Island spit to reach an area still open but inaccessible without a hike behind the dunes. She wore boots, waded through some water, and thoroughly enjoyed a peaceful interlude on a quiet beach.
“It’s not for everyone, but it is an experience,” she said.
She does warn that a steady parade of hikers might disturb the birds and might be reason for expanding the closure.
Now back to Cape Point.
The Park Service bands oystercatchers, so it is able to tell if they return to nest and where they return. Most of the pairs in the park are regulars at certain beaches.
However, the pair that caused the closure at Cape Point are apparently interlopers who have not been in that area before.
Just down the beach in the closed pre-nesting area is another pair of oystercatchers who have regularly returned to that beach and apparently don’t like their new neighbors and are trying to chase them out of the neighborhood.
Maybe the interlopers will try to find another place to nest and another beach to close.
If that happened, access could be restored to Cape Point, though it would probably be only a matter of time before more birds try to move into that neighborhood.
Also note when you visit the beach this summer that the Park Service has announced its intention to crack down on unleashed dogs. This sounds like a “no tolerance” policy, so keep your dog on a leash no longer than 6 feet at all times.
This is just getting so absurd day by day that it is hard to comprehend how this has gone this far this fast. It reminds me a bit of the topsy-turvy world in the movie ‘Planet of the Apes’ where the apes were the ruling class and humans were regarded as a much inferior species. Just substitute the shorebirds for the apes and you have real life imitating art.
So, while the shorebirds are made safe in their resource protected enclosure, the not so fortunate members of the human species are forced to risk life and limb wading through dangerous rip currents if they want to enjoy the remaining open federal park that their very tax dollars make possible. And if they run into trouble and have to step ashore they could be ticketed. How nice. I wonder, If I get caught in the rip current and f I am going under for the third time and I decide to yell for help and happen to disturb the birds, is that an ticket offense also?
I like birds. I photograph birds. I love nature. I respect our public resources. I think most people who visit CHNRP do also. But I also like humans, and these resource closures are just getting way way out of hand.
Why isn’t the park service spending as much time and money providing public parking and public transportation to the park as they are spending on tending the birds? If they don’t want driving on the beach, where are all the parking lots that the thousands of visitors are supposed to park in? If they don’t want certain areas disturbed, where are the designated trails and trams to carry visitors safely to the remaining open areas? Why has beach access for the handicapped in this large national park been pretty much ignored?
I won’t hold my breath waiting for answers, unless I get caught in a rip current.