Birders lose out to cruisers

Observation spot drew sex seekers

JORDAN LAKE -- An eagle watching group is being kicked out of its observation spot on Jordan Lake because of sights birders don't care to see.

For years, men have used a secluded parking lot at the Indian Creek entrance off N.C. 751 in Chatham County for sexual encounters. And the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, which has jurisdiction, says it has been unable to stop the sex there despite the use of undercover stings.

So the commission has asked the New Hope Audubon Society, which has maintained a trail there for two decades, to move its eagle observation deck to another spot on Jordan Lake. And the commission has now opened the Indian Creek entrance to dove hunters.

"We're not really happy about it," said Robert Howes, president of the Audubon Society chapter. "We'd rather not move. We've had the trail there for 20 years."

The commission asked the bird watching group to move, Howes said, after the society made many complaints about lewd behavior at their site. Plus, their observation deck was destroyed in a storm a few years back.

Wildlife Resources Commission Sgt. Reggie Barker, who oversees enforcement for Chatham, Lee and Randolph counties, said the commission has tried for years to stop the sex at that Jordan Lake entrance.

"It would become very frustrating," Barker said. "It's not something you can deal with every day, and it's a delicate situation to handle."

He added that officers tried to respond to the complaints, especially because families often hike the trail.

While the commission did undercover stings a year ago, they don't have the manpower to patrol the Indian Creek entrance all the time, Barker said.

"We have four wildlife enforcement officers to work three counties," he said, adding their main duties are to enforce fishing and boating laws.

A packed parking lot

Last summer, activity hit an all-time peak there, Barker said. There were at least 25 Craiglist advertisements for men seeking sexual encounters there; one day there were at least 20 cars in the lot, backed up to the forest line to hide their license plates, he said.

So Barker put uniformed commission enforcement officers in the parking lot, and they issued dozens of citations for public nudity last summer. In addition, enforcement officers wore civilian clothes and walked the trails, carrying duffel bags with their guns and ticket pads inside, Barker said.

"Every time we sent officers under cover, they were solicited," said Barker as he recently stood in the Indian Creek parking lot wearing his forest green uniform.

The sting didn't stop the problems and in February, the Wildlife Resources Commission closed the Indian Creek parking lot. Bird watchers could still park on N.C. 751 and walk about 100 yards to the start of a half-mile trail that leads to the lake. But the tree-canopied driveway and parking lot secluded by thick forest were not accessible by car.

Since the commission closed the lot, the activity has subsided, Barker said. There is now only one ad on Craigslist asking, "Does anyone hang out at the lake anymore?"

Some of the sexual activity has moved up the road to another Jordan Lake entrance known as Northeast Creek, Barker said.

Umstead's solution

Umstead Park in Raleigh used to have the same problem, said Charlie Peek, a spokesman for the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. For years, the park was listed as a cruising site. Park rangers all but stopped the activity after a three-week, round-the-clock sting about seven years ago. Rangers teamed with Raleigh police and made several arrests, as well as wrote tickets, Peek said.