Vehicle access to Cape Cod National Seashore's beaches has been temporarily closed to protect piping plovers.
Plover management at the seashore follows the guidelines developed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the piping plover recovery team in 1996. These guidelines call for vehicle-free areas to extend at least 200 meters on each side of a plover nest for the first week after hatching, and after a week, at least 100 meters around the brood until the chicks fledge. In some instances, based on the behavior of the chicks, the buffer may need to be expanded.
Vehicle access was closed at the Race Point North and Race Point South accesses earlier this month when nearby nests hatched. This past weekend, nests adjacent to the remaining vehicle access routes along the Pole Line Road hatched, closing these access points to vehicles until the chicks fledge or move out of the area.
Vehicle closures on portions of the beach occur every year, but this is the first time all vehicle access has been closed. These closures are temporary, and will last only until plover broods fledge or when trained staff observe the brood a safe distance from vehicle access points for a period of time and don’t expect the brood to return. During the negotiated rulemaking that formed the basis of the park's over sand vehicle program, the parties involved agreed to avoid adversely affecting plovers by adopting the recovery plan guidelines. Consultations with the US Fish and Wildlife Service were done to see if other access options were available. Despite our best combined efforts, no other option was available to allow vehicles on the beach without substantial risk of direct harm to plover chicks. Race Point Lighthouse in Provincetown has also closed due to the lack of access.
Town beaches throughout Cape Cod have also closed to vehicle access due to the piping plovers and this is proving to be a very contentious situation for off road vehicle users and fisherman.
