ORLEANS – Selectmen in Orleans have agreed to a proposal from Chatham for updating the agreement for patrolling the off-road trails on Nauset Beach.
Since 2008, Orleans was patrolling Chatham’s portion of the beach and collecting all of the revenue from stickers not sold to Chatham residents.
The new agreement would see Chatham patrol its own section of the beach and receive 25 percent of the revenue from stickers sold to non-residents.
“The agreement shall run for a period of one year from May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2019,” said Alan McClennen, an Orleans Selectman.
“That is what came to us from Chatham. In the past we have had agreements up to five years.”
Shifting sand has made the Chatham portion of the beach more desirable for ORV use and before an agreement was made there were concerns Chatham would close off its section of the trail system.
A similar situation occurred between Eastham and Orleans as the towns fought over the north trails, which led to a closure of the trails in Eastham.
Boards from both towns have been discussing a change to the agreement over the past year with talks breaking off over the last few months.
Chatham recently sent a proposal over to Orleans.
The entrance to the trails is in Orleans and the town pays to staff an access booth. The town also handles the sale of stickers to non-residents of either town.
Both towns have their own staff to monitor endangered piping plovers.
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