Range of Issues from Plovers to Erosion for Management of Sandy Neck

CCB MEDIA PHOTO Nina Coleman is Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager.

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
Nina Coleman is Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager.

WEST BARNSTABLE – From a property purchase to an erosion grant application, Sandy Neck, the barrier beach on the northern shore of the town of Barnstable, has more going on this summer than just the usual onslaught of visitors seeking sun and surf.

Earlier this summer, the town closed on a 14-acre oceanfront parcel located north of the Sandy Neck cottage colony to save the property as open space.

“Clearly it’s the type of property that needs to be acquired for open space and be preserved and not in the hands of a private developer,” Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager Nina Coleman said.

Sandy Neck, which with the adjacent Great Marsh comprises 4,300 acres, is designated an area of critical environmental concern for endangered species. There are eight endangered plants and animals on the peninsula.

“You have this dune habitat and these little tiny wetlands at the base of the dunes. Very unique niche-y sort of habitat and that’s what makes it so fascinating and beautiful,” she said.

CCB MEDIA FILE PHOTO Erosion has been severe this winter at north-facing beaches on Cape Cod, including Town Neck Beach in Sandwich. Officials gather at Sandy Neck Beach to see the results of recent storms. Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager Nina Coleman with Barnstable Town Manager Thomas Lynch, State Energy and Environmental Secretary Matthew Beaton and Barnstable Town Councilor Philip Wallace.

CCB MEDIA FILE PHOTO
Erosion has been severe this winter at north-facing beaches on Cape Cod, including Town Neck Beach in Sandwich. Officials gather at Sandy Neck Beach to see the results of recent storms. Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager Nina Coleman with Barnstable Town Manager Thomas Lynch, State Energy and Environmental Secretary Matthew Beaton and Barnstable Town Councilor Philip Wallace.

Among the species that have been drawn to Sandy Neck are snowy owls. This past winter, one of the snowy owls was always to be found along the dunes of the recently purchased property. “So many people love the owls and the landscape out there and that preservation is going to continue,” Coleman said.

The area is a good place for tracking, with coyotes, deer, raccoons, skunks and otters being plentiful. Diamondback terrapin also nest in the area.

July and August are a busy time at Sandy Neck for off-road vehicles. During plover nesting season, the vehicles are restricted to a smaller area away from the bird nests. This year, there were 40 plover nests on Sandy Neck.

“We always try to put the best interests of the land [first] and balance that with the recreation that goes on there,” she said.

Coleman is waiting to hear about a grant application in response to the erosion problems on Sandy Neck. Beginning with Storm Nemo in 2013 and continuing with two more stormy winters, Sandy Neck took the brunt of damage. “We did lose quite a bit of beach at Sandy Neck this winter,” she said.

The town applied for a Coastal Zone Management Coastal Resiliency grant of $200,000 for the town to hire a consultant and take other measures to deal with the erosion problem.

The grant would fund four things: an alternatives analysis with costs; public outreach; and design and permitting for the solution. Finding funding for implementation for the chosen solution would be the final step in that stage of the project.

Listen below to hear Sandy Neck Beach Park Manager Nina Coleman talk about Sandy Neck.

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