Piping Plovers

[Salty]

Got some decent, fun waves over the last few days, but can't find much around here today, so I thought I'd spend a few minutes reading some posts that I've missed. Somebody was talking on another thread about closing some beaches in OBX to protect nests of the (apparently) endangered piping plovers. The same thing happens here in some of Delaware's state park beaches. They are ugly little birds, so i say we should catch and eat them all. Then, there won't be any nests to protect, and all of the beaches from Del. to OBX will be open! Anybody hungry?

[Salty J]

Got some decent, fun waves over the last few days, but can't find much around here today, so I thought I'd spend a few minutes reading some posts that I've missed. Somebody was talking on another thread about closing some beaches in OBX to protect nests of the (apparently) endangered piping plovers. The same thing happens here in some of Delaware's state park beaches. They are ugly little birds, so i say we should catch and eat them all. Then, there won't be any nests to protect, and all of the beaches from Del. to OBX will be open! Anybody hungry?

I hear they taste like chicken.

[NJ SPONGIN]

Yuuum i like chicken!

[superbust]

that might be a good idea, 1. if it was worth it(if you wants waves then travel more) and 2. that would completely **** up the ecosystem. Theres a reason why we dont kill every damn mosquito in the world. We need them to sustain a healthy rhythm of life.

[matt720]

hahah i bought a bumper sticker in hatteras a few years ago that says "piping plovers taste like chicken"

[brycebishard]

Humans are part of the ecosystem. By limiting access to beach that we would otherwise use is intervening with the ecosystem.

I can't stand the fact that bureaucrats up in Washington think they know what's best for the people in individual states. The citizens of the Outer Banks ought to vote on what to do about beach closures. I guarantee they know better for their island than the feds do.

[StuckinVA]

Humans are part of the ecosystem. By limiting access to beach that we would otherwise use is intervening with the ecosystem.

I can't stand the fact that bureaucrats up in Washington think they know what's best for the people in individual states. The citizens of the Outer Banks ought to vote on what to do about beach closures. I guarantee they know better for their island than the feds do.

AGREED!

I read an article a few years ago in the Island Breeze newspaper down in Hatteras about a native scribe who had lived there for his entire life. Anyhow, the gist of his story was that when he was growing up, he and his grandfather would fish and would catch one old drum once a year and would cook it for thanksgiving (or some special occasion) and now they can't anymore cause you can only keep drum from 24-28 inches or something like that. It just seems sad that these people have/had a way of life for centuries and it is slowly being stripped away from them with regulations, politicians, and filthy filthy lawyers. Now this piping plover, that are "near threatened," not even endangered, are the scapegoat for some type of bureaucratic exercise in how they can flex their muscle and make sure the simple people on the outer banks "know who they're dealing with." oh well. tangent.

[Salty]

superbust - I wish I could travel more, but right now, family, work and $ demands interefere with traveling - so for the next few weeks, I gotta stick with what we're getting on the delmarva - so I may just have to trap some of those plovers! (I'm sure the ecosystem won't miss the species)

[drglas]

this is an argument that I see both sides of (to a reasonable extent).

I've been visiting Hatteras Island since I was born, and I've spent significant part of the past few years living on the Island. the extent of the closures is a bit ridiculous. you're taking away the livelihood and tradition of one of the most unique places in the country. it's really a shame.

on the other hand, I'm a biologist, so I also understand the importance of conserving the environment - and that includes animals in the ecosystem. you take away the plovers, and who knows how it affects the other parts of the ecosystem - in that sense, you could be destroying the makeup of the island. especially on an island, the ecosystem is incredibly delicate and even more difficult to repair.

I know there's always the argument that things have been fine up til now; however, there gets to a point where nature can't repair itself, and conservation means are necessary.

anyway, sorry for this slightly rambling response. the gist of what I'm saying is that they need to find a compromise that can achieve goals of both sides. and it really shouldn't be handled from an office hundreds of miles away.

[ECsponger]

Dumb. The reason the Gov't has to put regulations on things like that is because there's too many damn people trying to do whatever they want to. Remember, they were there first. Oh boo hoo I can't go to the beach that I want to wahh wahh. Go somewhere else. Be thankful there is still a beach for you to go to.