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?
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.
hahah i bought a bumper sticker in hatteras a few years ago that says "piping plovers taste like chicken"
Ecosystem 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.
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)
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.
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.
Is it really the surfers that were targetted with this? I haven't spent much time in OBX or anything, but I thought the problem was that you can ATV and OFFROAD all over the beaches there, so it was actually the activities "on the beach" rather than in the water that brought on the neac bans... Either way, I understand that locals and natives of OBX are losing some of their rights on the beach, but I didn't really feel offended as a surfer by this topic. I figured surfers of all people would be the most understanding of a stable ecosystem... Dunno, just my two cents. But I don't live there, so I'm just an outsider looking in. The stupid local government here just decided to kick all of the natural seals out of the La Jolla children's cover because the rich people of La Jolla feel that their grandkids own that beach and that they should be allowed access to it without wild seals bathing in the sun... After years of diliberation, they finally agreed to it... Now, the STUPID san diego city government is playing freaking DOG BARKING SOUNDS OUT OF LOUD Speakers all night to try and get the seals to move to a new home,.. Here is a better ideal, you fu**ing rich f*ckers in la Jolla. How about you take your kids to one of the thousand other beaches along the 80 PLUS MILES STRETCH OF SAN DIEGO COASTLINE!!!! I feel that the La Jolla thing is the exact opposite of the OBX birds... Its like if OBX was like "Fu** the birds, we are going to drive Hummers all over the beaches all night and get these damn birds outta here!
esp since the birds are still declining in number even after the beach closings, the fox trapping. there is something called natural selection and it is hard at work on these birds. let them die off or keep some specimens in the zoo.
good point. there has to be a time where they realize the conservation efforts are either working or failing. if they're failing, then there's nothing they can do, and they should return things to the way they were.
im pretty sure the closing has no effect to surfers anyway since the beach is closed not the water...
actaully it does since you need to cross the beach to get to the water. we had a similar issue up in s jerz where you can surf all you want but its a 3 mile paddle to get to the jetty where the waves break usually against a decent south current.
Habitat for all God's little critters Stop *****ing, would you rather see hotels and yuppies with their larva all over the beach? Think about the big picture. Why do we want to protect beaches and water quality?
You cannot walk or drive on the beach where they have closures for piping plover. And the closures are basically everywhere that there isn't a town. Say a sandbar between Buxton and Avon was just firing, I wouldn't be able to surf it, because the beach is closed for plovers, and I would have to cross the beach to get there. Just the other day I was surfing in frisco, and I could see the hook just reeling 6 foot lefts all the way from the top of the point to the inside. Now usually I would have High Tailed it down there on the sand, however because of piping plover closures I couldn't. So Tell me how this does not effect surfers??? P.S. I would just like to add that these piping plover, are not even a native species, they were introduced. So if anything, getting rid of the plover may actually help the local ecosystem.
Sorry to sound like a **** right here, But will you all just please talking about the OBX like you know whats up... I'm on this site all the time reading bogus info, or just straight B.S. about the OBX. For real guys, If you don't live there, or don't surf there on a regular basis, just stop talking about it, because 99% of the stuff i read about it on here is just totally bogus. I'll put it to you frankly, If you don't know what the deal is with the piping plover, then you obviously have no clue about anything down there, and therefore should not put in your 2 cents, because your most likely wrong!!! Ok sorry, just had to get it off my chest...
I dont know but I was actually refering the assateague island because we have the piping plover problem with closures and all. It affects local surf fishermen. So stop being a d bag. Sorry just had to get it off my chest.
actually, the Outer Banks is one of the plover's natural breeding grounds. that's why it's such a big deal. they may not live there year round, but during breeding season, they migrate to coastal regions (OBX, delmarva, etc.). and that's not something that just started happening, it's part of their natural life cycle as a species.
