CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Portion of Sandy Neck Beach in West Barnstable recently purchased with Community Preservation Funds
WEST BARNSTABLE – Barnstable officials celebrated their recent purchase of a 14-acre parcel on Sandy Neck Beach Sunday with a beach buggy ride, some chili and cake.
The area cost $295,000, a price based on appraisals.
Town councilors Will Crocker , Phil Wallace, Jessica Rapp-Grassetti and State Representative Brian Mannal, joined with beach managers and others to dedicate the area.
They also unveiled a new Sandy Neck Beach sign created by Barnstable Senior Center woodworkers.
Arranging the purchase, which was complicated by matters of ownership, took many months.
Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager Nina Coleman said the wait was worth it.
“It’s behind the cottage colony, so it has a lot of historical value. It’s the backdrop for the lighthouse. It’s also a really important habitat for wildlife on Sandy Neck,” Coleman said.
The area is accessible by foot from off-road trail 6 and by boat.
CCB MEDIA PHOTO
New Sandy Neck Beach Sign Dedicated Sunday
“Where we’re standing right here is a big plover habitat. We’re actually standing right where there was a nest, so obviously shorebird habitat, both the piping plover and the terns nest here,” said Coleman.
Money for the purchase came from Community Preservation funds, which is a three percent surtax on property taxes. The money is set aside for open space, recreation, historic preservation and affordable housing.
Coleman said it was important to preserve the area, even though it’s remote.
“Lots of stuff going on way out here in the middle of nowhere. It appears to be the middle of nowhere, but it is accessible and it is very, very important,” she said.
The Sandy Neck parcel is a wildlife corridor that contains habitat for endangered species, including the snowy white owl and piping plovers.
By MATT PITTA, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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