Battle rages over nesting shorebirds

Protection an irritant for business, fishing interests at national seashore

CAPE HATTERAS -- The season's first American oystercatchers hatched on a fenced-off stretch of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore just before Memorial Day weekend, when thousands of sportsmen flock to the Outer Banks to fish.

The most popular fishing spots, such as Cape Point and the Bodie Island spit, are largely off limits because threatened piping plovers and other declining shorebirds prefer to nest on sand flats overwashed by waves.

The closures are causing a clash between the birds that breed here and fishermen who want free access to drive on the beach, which they say is necessary to haul gear. A legal settlement approved by a federal court last month requires that stretches of the seashore be off limits to recreation during bird breeding season, which starts in March.

The row of surf fishermen's sport utility vehicles stops just shy of the signs that cordon off the last couple miles around Cape Point. It's holy ground for surf fishermen where the cold Labrador and warm Gulf Stream currents mix, bringing a rich variety of fish. Beyond the fencing are expanses of empty strand where piping plover, terns and other birds are nesting or might nest. Twice in recent weeks, vandals have torn down fence posts around bird areas.

"This is the classic conflict between resource protection and visitor use," Mike Murray, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said as he ran his finger across seashore maps showing areas off limits. "There are certainly a lot of people frustrated by the closures."

The National Park Service reported this week that 11 miles of the 66-mile national seashore are closed to pedestrians and vehicles for bird activity, and another 6 1/2 miles are essentially inaccessible. Last year, the service closed about 10 miles of shore at the peak of bird nesting. This year the closures have come earlier, are broader and include the most popular areas. About 24 miles of beach remain open to vehicles and pedestrians.

Less than a month after the expanded beach closures, environmental groups said the nesting birds showed a preliminary sign of recovery. For example, the number of piping plovers increased from six pairs in 2007 to at least eight pairs, the highest number since 1998. American oystercatchers on the beach have increased from 22 pairs in 2007 to 31 pairs so far this season. The locals dismiss such numbers as unscientific conjecture.

"The temporary closures of portions of Cape Hatteras are doing exactly what they were designed to do -- give struggling bird populations a chance to bounce back at the seashore," said Jason Rylander, staff attorney for Defenders of Wildlife. "By balancing the needs of beach residents and visitors with those of wildlife during these crucial nesting periods, the consent decree is ensuring that Cape Hatteras has room for everyone."

Protest in the air

Along the beach highway around Buxton and Frisco, the simmering frustration is evident. Restaurants, hotels and other businesses near Cape Hatteras that cater to sportsmen display protest signs proclaiming "Help keep our beaches open," "Free and open access" and -- sarcastically -- "Welcome to Cape Hatteras Bird Sanctuary."

"It's bad," said John Couch, a Buxton businessman who owns an auto parts business and gas station and heads a group that seeks to maintain beach access for off-road vehicles and pedestrians. "The Internet is full of 'I'll be damned if I'm coming.' This is what we were afraid of."

Couch estimated his business is down about 30 percent this year, a decline he attributed partly to a souring economy but mostly to publicity about the closures.