BARNSTABLE – The Town of Barnstable has received a Habitat Conservation Permit from the state which should help reduce ORV closures at Sandy Neck Beach.
The beach is recognized as an Area of Environmental Concern due to the presence of multiple endangered bird species including piping plovers.
The town submitted a certificate of inclusion to be a part of the state’s section 10 permit which would only see vehicle closures once chicks hatch.
The permit will allow the town to deter a pair of piping plovers from nesting at the entrance to the ORV beach and move them to another location.
“Prior to any nesting effort we would use some minor techniques to get them to move along,” Coleman said. “We raked in that area and they have moved along for now.”
If the plovers try to return, Coleman said they will make the area less attractive by laying down plywood.
“We are not actually affecting their productivity for the year,” Coleman said. “We’re just sort of managing it.”
Coleman said receiving the permit was important for the town.
“You really can’t set up a budget and sell permits to people and not know if you are really going to have a beach available for a portion of the year,” she said.
The permit also allows for escorts past late season tern chicks.
“We will be doing limited escorts of self-contained vehicles, of the campers, past the tern chicks,” Coleman said. “That should take some of the pressure off the beach in August and into September, particularly Labor Day weekend.”
The permit will last for three years starting this season.
“It is set up specifically so we can amend it, which is wonderful,” Coleman said.
The groundbreaking 26-year statewide habitat conservation plan between Massachusetts and federal officials took effect last summer.
It seeks to strike a balance between providing recreational access to local beaches while still protecting the endangered shorebirds. Each summer, nesting birds force closures of local beaches and cut off access to local residents.
According to Coleman, the piping plover population in the state has increased to 675 breeding pairs from 125 in the late 1980s.
A habitat conservation plan is already in place at Nauset Beach in Orleans.
The gatehouse is open and ORV seasonal permits can be purchased between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.
According to the Sandy Neck Beach Park website, fat tire mountain bikes are not allowed on the front beach east of Trail 6 and the speed limit on the ORV corridor is 5 mph, due to nesting shorebirds.
By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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