One of the best years in recent memory for piping plover production seems to be under way at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, according to park managers.
Through mid-June, 15 plover chicks had fledged, said Resource Management Chief Thayer Broili.
"We’re having the best year we’ve ever had for fledging piper plover chicks, probably the best in 20 years since we’ve been monitoring down there," he said.
The chief attributed the relatively good success rate in large part to more monitoring and protection of plover nests, but added that a lack of storms likely helped as well.
“We’ve got more staff to do the monitoring and put in the buffers and respond to breeding situations, and then some people would possibly attribute it to the fact that we’ve been a little bit more restrictive to the areas," Chief Thayer said. "But there could be other factors involved. Weather, we haven't had any big storms. Weather plays a big factor in this.”
Some off-road-vehicle groups and surf casters have complained about the restrictions the seashore managers have taken to safeguard the plovers, a threatened species with fewer than 2,000 pairs on the Atlantic Seaboard, maintaining that the seashore overall offers poor plover habitat and that buffer zones places around nests are overly large and can prevent beach access not only to ORVs but also to pedestrians.
In their resource report on the chicks, park managers noted that a number of nests were lost to overwashes, and some chicks to predation.
Comments
I would like to know more about the NPS killing all other animals to protect the plovers, is this documented anywhere? Does the park have a written policy to destroy predators, or is this one incident that we do not know all the details about?
Thank you.
Google ''White Paper Report-The Truth about Predator Control''. However, it does not talk about the endless killing of ghost crabs or the number of incidental diamond-back terrapins killed. There's a lot of things going on in your National Park that they won't tell you. Everyone needs to wake up. It's not the seasonal enclosures that are shutting your Park down. It's the outrageous non-science buffers that the environmental ambulance chasers designed. I guess the good news is that most intelligent people are starting to see right through their lies. I feel sorry for all the Audubon members that are getting robbed blind and hear only their one-sided propaganda or worse yet, believe it. Hopefully the Department of Interior will step in and do what's right. Funny how they all think their jobs are so secure.
That you for the link...I don't really know what to think, but this white paper was put together by a pro access group, so I am inclined to believe that the truth is somewhere in the middle.
Google ''Piping Mad'' and watch it on the vimeo site. There's more truth in that than anything the environmental lawyers throw out. Also remember it's not just an ORV issue...it's about pedestrian access to historic places within your National Park. I certainly would not want anybody in an seasonal enclosure.
Although I can certainly empathize with the people in that videos plight, that is one side of the story. I have a hard time believing that people at Audubon and the NPS want to "crush people's souls." As moving as this story is, it is extremely biased, and that is not to say that is a bad thing, but I am sure that an equally moving piece could be put together for the "other side." And it has never been proposed that the beaches be closed to people (by the NPS), never. And yes, it is a recreational area, but it is also a National Park that has other concerns than just providing recreation to humans. If people on the island want to get mad at someone, get mad at President Nixon for passing the legislation that every park with ORV use have a management plan for ORV's. CAHA put it off for 30 years before they got sued for not following the law. I think some of the disgust is warranted, but I often think it is a bit misguided. People that fight for the birds or work for the NPS are humans too don't forget. They are hard working people and have just as much right to fight for what they believe (and are often required to to by law in some cases) as the people who live there and are fighting for what they believe in.
Most everyone agrees that Cape Hatteras is the most southern breeding range of the piping plover. Dozens of birding books say the same thing. Is it really possible to have increased numbers in that area as global warming drives most other species farther north?
Hey Anonymous....Good point! Did you also know that just over 10,000 years ago the three biggest cats to ever walk the earth, including the saber-tooth tiger, all lived in N.C.? They hunted mammoths, camels, giant sloths, and mastodons. For some reason I don't think everything is suppose to be here forever.
I do not think most of you understand. If these environmental lawyers came up with realistic buffers, everything would have been fine. That means no more lawsuits or money in there pockets. Also, if you think for one moment that your National Park at Cape Hatteras is not killing animals on a daily basis, your either in the weeds or smoking them.