It may still feel cold here. High and low temperatures are still below average and have been since about Christmas.
However, there are signs that spring is on the way.
The daffodils are sprouting in island gardens. Mourning doves are courting. Businesses are starting to get ready for the upcoming season.
And the National Park Service is getting ready to close large areas of the points and spits at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore for pre-nesting areas for shorebirds ? namely the piping plover. (Click to read story and see maps on Beach Access Issues Page.)
This is not a new rite of spring here, as some environmental groups would have you believe. We are civilized and conservation-minded folks on the islands ? and have been before Southern Environmental Law Center, National Audubon Society, or Defenders of Wildlife came out here to make sure we were toeing the line.
Even the National Park Service had been living up to its responsibilities before these special interest groups decided that it wasn?t doing enough to protect the birds.
Areas of the beach have been closed with ?symbolic? fencing ? stakes and string and signs prohibiting entry ? for decades now.
These areas, however, have not been as large and as regimented as they have been since the infamous consent decree, signed off on by a federal judge in April of 2008 that settled a lawsuit against the Park Service for its lack of a rule regulating ORV use on the seashore.
It used to be that park managers had some degree of discretion about these pre-nesting closures and the closures that will follow when the birds actually establish their nests.
Now the closures are spelled out in bureaucratic documents that the environmental ? and also the defendant-intervenors ? get to comment on before they are implemented by the Park Service.
And the consent decree requires the Park Service to identify ?all known piping plover and American oystercatcher nests within the area during the preceding breeding season.?
Piping plovers are federally protected as a threatened species. American oystercatchers are not federally protected but are listed as ?species of special concern? by the state of North Carolina.
Just looking over these pre-nesting documents yesterday left me feeling just a little depressed and oppressed.
How has it come to be that outside, special interest groups have come to control so much of our lives and livelihoods and Hatteras and Ocracoke?
We can?t get a bridge built, despite the fact that the current bridge is in bad shape and has far outlived its useful life. The state?s plan for rebuilding the bridge does not suit some special interest groups.
Our existence as a commercial fishing community is threatened by federal regulators and special interest groups that would like to regulate our fishermen out of business. The same goes for some recreational fishing interests, especially charter boats.
And now we have to put up with these groups coming in and telling us when to close the beach, how much of the beach, and for how long.
Under the terms of the consent decree, the Park Service has little or no discretion. The environmental groups have forced large closures and have spelled out exactly how many feet or yards or whatever must be closed for whatever species.
The closures of the most popular areas of the beach ? Bodie Island Spit, Cape Point, South Beach, Hatteras Inlet spit, and the north and south points of Ocracoke ? have shut down the traditional uses of those areas for almost all of the late spring and summer.
And, make no mistake, this has hurt island businesses, especially tackle shops, motels, and campgrounds that depend on the avid anglers to show up for a weekend or a few days if the fishing gets good.
And what are we doing this for? To fledge a few more piping plover chicks?
You can see from the National Park Service?s 2009 annual report on protected species on the seashore that the plover population has not varied significantly in years. And that?s not because of ORVs. Cape Hatteras is on the southern edge of the piping plover?s breeding range. And storms and predators are a much bigger threat to the nests than ORVs.
When you look at the maps, remember a couple things.
These pre-nesting closures are not what you can expect once the birds arrive and begin breeding. As in past year, the closures will expand ? according to the dictates of the consent decree.
And remember also that the closures are not just for off-road vehicle closures. The areas are closed to pedestrians also, although there are some pedestrian-only corridors that are off limits to ORVs.
But, for the most part, access is access, and it?s not about ORV access only.
This may or may not be the last year for the consent decree.
The National Park Service is behind schedule to produce a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and choose a preferred alternative for its ORV rule, which will dictate access to the seashore for years to come.
No one really expects that the NPS alternative and rule will be any better than the consent decree.
If it is, some folks will be surprised and happy.
UPDATE ON THE DEIS
Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Mike Murray said in an e-mail today that the Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Statement has been approved by the National Park Service and is ?under review? in the Department of Interior.
He said he doesn?t have a good idea of when it might be published.
Publication of the Notice of Availability will kick off a 60-day public comment period and a series of public meetings.
As always, stay tuned.
JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE HEARD EVERYTHING
A major cause of the failure of piping plovers to breed successfully on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore ? and other areas on the East Coast ? is predation.
According to its 2009 annual report annual piping plover report (Page 13), 464 animals were ?captured? on the seashore last year and removed. Sixty-four feral cats were sent to the county?s animal shelter, probably to be euthanized, and the rest were apparently euthanized by the Park Service.
Now the folks at the Cape Cod National Seashore have a better idea for getting rid of predators.
At Cape Cod, crows are a major predator of piping plover nests, but officials there have a novel way to deal with them.
Their solution is poisoned eggs in fake nests.
According to a published report in The Cape Cod Times, the seashore ?will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture from March through May to create fake nests at Duck Harbor and Bound Brook beaches. The scientists will inject the avicide DRC-1339 into hard-boiled chicken eggs and place them in the ?nests,? according to the plan. The tainted egg sites, which will be fenced in, are designed to look like the fenced enclosures that seashore officials use now to protect plover nests.?
Yes, you heard that right. Poisoned fake plover eggs.
Now that?s just a dandy idea — introducing poison into the food chain.
This news story was brought to our attention by Mike Metzgar, a member of the North Carolina Beach Buggy Association.
?What?s next?? he asked. ?USAF drones spying on the nests, hidden microphones and cameras, sensors in the sand to detect intruders, USMC snipers? Hasn?t this effort/cost to maintain the safety of this bird become absurd?
Amen, Mike.
Yep the most popular spots closed.
But the environs will say it?s only a small portion when touting it to their members (for $s) or in public statements, always failing to mention the specific areas.
Like saying come on out to Yellowstone; only a small portion is closed. But failing to mention Old Faithful is in the small portion that is closed.
What?s next ???? I?d make sure I know the source of any deviled eggs I come across. heh, heh, heh
If you would like to look at these “Prenesting Closures” NPS has put a
description and maps out at
http://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsLis..
for your reading pleasure or disgust. Audubon, DOW and SELC should surely
have smiles on their faces. Unless the beaches decide to deposit sands on
every turn of weather at the spits and Cape Point and South beach access is
in deeper trouble this year than ever. Don?t tell anybody, but expect the
DEIS to be worse that what you see here.
This article again shows the wisdom of a straight shooting common sense
writer, Irene, but why is it that while she gets great readership, this
type honesty cannot make headlines in major markets like Tiger Woods
apology have repeatedly been shown this week. Even Sarah Palin?s daughter?s
checking into the finances of her x-boyfriend have gotten more headline.
Sadly I will work more hours this year than I want because to make up for
the lost sales during these closures I will work for free while employees
must be paid.
I should have mentioned that the NPS comments and maps are posted on the Island Free Press Beach Access issues page at:
http://islandfreepress.org/2010Archives/..
The poisoned egg bit is interesting. I?ve noticed turkey vulchers (or buzzards if you must) have recently arrived on the island, I don?t remember them at all just a few years ago. There were literally dozens of them on the beach when I was there last. I would imagine they would be nest thieves as well. I wonder if they will mysteriously ?disappear? at some point in the future?
Hey Denny,
Turkey Vultures are on my list of Species of Very Special Concern. They must be protected at all cost, especially if in or near pre-nesting closures.
How many Plover eggs does it take to feed one buzzard. heh heh heh.
Interestingly, turkey vultures are being protected at the expense of our National Defense up at Camp Peary. They interfere with training, but one can?t harvest them due to their protected status. This will be interesting.
Hey; Just dust off my article concerning the slaughter of predatory species and substitute turkey vultures in for any other predator of your choice, or just add them to the list. They have as much right there as plovers or AMOY?s. You remember the article ?Howl?
Bert
I strongly believe?now?.that a full closure of the entire island is the only way we can get the right attention and outrage. We should do everything possible to find plover activity, nests, scrapes etc in front of houses in every village. I truly believe folks spending thousands of dollars vacationing in the villages and not being allowed to walk to the ocean will draw the attention we need. People become conditioned, take the dictates and feel so hopeless the fight is waning. Drastic measures is what we need to gain nantional attention. Close the village beaches and I guarantee the press and the truth about this backyard science will come to light and spur action. We need the help of all property owners on the islands. If the environmentalists truly think this is about birds then they should be looking under the shadows of the houses they rent. Close the island beaches totally, the piecemeal effort is simply facilitating a slow death. Let?s rip the bandaid off and get the attention that is needed to throw this out.
I think the time may be coming for nonviolent civil disobedience. Like Ghandi and Martin Luther King. What if we all went out on the Point when it?s closed, hundreds of people? they can?t arrest all of us can they? The other thing is the 10th Amendment movement. Lots of states are resisting overweening federal abuses by citing the 10th Amendment and declaring various federal outrages null and void in their states. This might be a problem because of the National Seashore, but it?s still part of North Carolina and Dare County. I also read something about an effort to declare that the Banker way of life is a traditional way of life that deserves protection. Like the Seminoles in the Everglades or something. We used to live in a free country and it?s being taken away from us! Incredible!!
Being an avid surf fisherman and an animal rights supporter can be challenging at times but I keep an open mind. To harm other animals that hunt is just wrong and it interfere?s with Mother Nature and the way life works in the animal kingdom. I can see sectioning off area?s in order to let the birds nest but to trap and kill the predators that are only doing what is natural to them is wrong. These special groups are contradicting themselves by helping one species but killing other?s because they hunt, makes no sense. The beach closers are also becoming way out of control and are interfering with the rights of the fishermen and the people who enjoy cruising on the beach and finding that special spot. We can all live together as one, both humans and animals of all kind. It just comes down to respecting the land, it?s creatures and all the inhabitants, which I feel most of us do in Hatteras and the Banks. These laws need to be changed or at least managed better in order to keep Hatteras and all of the Outer Banks the way it was and what it will be in the future. Hatteras is a special place to me and a lot of people, lets fight to keep it the way it was before. Peace & respect.
Free beach access is vitally important to all beach lovers, whether they just stroll on them in the midnight breeze or if they are trying to catch the big one that just barely got away.
As for surfers, they are always willing to share their special stories of how hollow it was or as fishermen do, how big it was, but the special stories are always those shared with friends when they catch it just right, uncrowded, with their friends.
As a surfer since 1962, I discovered Cape Hatteras long before it was popular. I was lucky. My Dad was a hardcore, good – no, a great – fisherman who loved Cape Hatteras and the uncrowded areas that others seemed to know nothing about.
Throughout the ‘60s was the best of times because it felt like our very own paradise.
Yes, time does change many things, and we know that it is often times called progress.
Once again, as fishermen, surfers, and just ordinary beach lovers, we know that if any beach in the world closes off access, then we have all lost.
Crowding people into “commercial zones” is never a viable alternative.
In the case of the Outer Banks and, especially Cape Hatteras, we all know that it isn?t the buildings, it isn?t the glitter, nor is it hype that attracts the masses.
It is an attraction that few areas are blessed with at all.
God did this area well. Most people don?t realize how really perfect it is.
It is simply the ocean, the beaches, the friendliness of locals, and the sense of peace that the area naturally offers.
I have no answers, nor do I have a viable solution, but I know for sure that, yes, the environment is important, but certainly not the most important. Beach access, free beach access is the attraction and the freedom is worth protecting.
If this right is denied to those who love this area the most, then what we have really lost is our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Aren?t we as Americans guaranteed those rights?
Shame on those who are blinded by either greed or by some misguided environmental political power move that blinds their perspective.
Human rights should be held in the highest regard and those who have never set foot on the sands of Cape Hatteras to fish, surf, or even walk, will never understand nature’s freedom and how it enriches one?s soul.
Collectively we all are caretakers of the coast and have been long before this controversial issue.
I pray that the decision-makers rule in favor of exactly what the locals desire and that blind ignorance doesn?t prevail.
Just look north to Virginia or south to Myrtle Beach and then breathe in the salt air slowly in Hatteras.
What you?re breathing in is freedom, and that is definitely worth protecting and educating others of its value.
Those opposing freedom should leave well enough alone and go home.
I predict maybe a long battle, and at times it may even feel like a losing battle, but the Hatteras I have grown to know always seems to win.
Why, you may ask, and I?ll say simply just this ? because it?s Hatteras.
If your community wins, we all win.
Rob Beedie
Global Surf Network
http://www.GlobalSurfNetwork.com
rob@globalsurfnetwork.com
http://www.OuterBanksWebsites.net