National Park Service officials have closed pedestrianaccess to Cape Point.
The decision will be announced in tomorrow?s Park Servicebeach access report.
About two-tenths of a mile of beach just south of Ramp 44was closed to ORVs on April 14 to protect American oystercatchers exhibitingbreeding behavior.
At that time, park officials said that pedestrians couldwade in the water below the mean low tide line to reach Cape Point, which isnot closed.
On Monday, April 20, the park closed an adjacent two-tenthsof a mile to protect another pair of oystercatchers.
The total closed beach is now four-tenths of a mile.
According to Cyndy Holda, assistant to the superintendentand community liaison, park officials have decided that because of the lengthof the closure, it is ?no longer practical or safe? to allow pedestrians towade through water that could be knee deep to reach the Point.
There is still three-tenths of a mile of beach that is openat Cape Point, and the Park Service will allow boat access to that area.
Cape Point is an area subject to strong wave action andheavy currents and wading through four-tenths of a mile in the ocean, dependingon conditions, is a tough job, even for the most physically fit.
Park officials warn locals and visitors that beach access ischanging weekly and even daily at this point in the nesting season, as birdsdecide where they want to nest.
Though there are weekly access reports and maps that areregularly updated, areas can still close without warning. The best thing to do, says Holda, iscarefully read the signage on the beach.
Right now, on the beach two-tenths of a mile south of Ramp44 to Cape Point, the sign says, ?No access beyond this point.?
Cape Point could soon be totally closed if piping ploverswho are checking out the area decide to nest there. The court-ordered consent decree requires a1,000 meter buffer for unfledged piping plover chicks, which would totally closethe area.
OK this is the same Cyndy who stated 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.?
In support of that she said
?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.?
I guess inaccessible is just that, inaccessible to all but the most physically fit. Something we have all maintained for a long time and something Cyndy just a few days ago tried to dispell.
1,000 meter buffer!
That?s more than TEN FOOTBALL FIELDS!!! ? TEN FOOTBALL FIELDS!!!
I couldn?t believe that when I first heard it after the consent decree was signed and I still can?t believe it now.
I guess the people that wrote the decree are spatial-relationship-challenged or worse ? there are many places on our islands that are not one football field wide, much less TEN!!!
I refer to my earlier comment posted re: Crime and Punishment and ask AGAIN ? WHERE IS THE COMMON SENSE IN ALL OF THIS???
You have to know what you are dealing with.
I questioned Anne Hect, plover expert, at regneg.
The question was why did Cape Hatteras need 1000 meter closures, when more robust populations of plovers had much less?
The answer was that the plovers may be able to see greater distances here.
I?m still waiting for the ?Scientific Peer Reviewed Study?
?The Effect Of Linear Distances and Altitude of Observations on Plover Chicks at Cape Hatteras National Seashore?.
Shouldn?t cost more than few hundred grand.