For the second time in one week, a bird closure in Cape Hatteras National Seashore was vandalized, but this time it was in an area that had been accessible only by pedestrians.
Twenty fence posts were discovered broken at an American oystercatcher closure on the oceanside about four-fifths of a mile north of Buxton, National Park Service Outer Banks Group spokeswoman Cyndy Holda said Monday. Five signs were pulled up and three closure signs were taken.
Under terms of a legal agreement, the closure was automatically expanded by 50 meters, or 164 feet, to the south. Off-road vehicles have not used the narrow area for years, but the expansion now excludes people from accessing the beach.
Bare footprints came from the beach, over the dune and toward the fence line along N.C. 12, said David Carter, Hatteras Island district ranger. The prints had entered the closure, but the nest was not disturbed.
More than 1,300 feet of fencing was damaged on the west side of the dune and about 274 feet total on the north and south sides of the open beach.
Carter said he believed the vandalism happened around high tide early Friday because the water had washed over some of the prints.
There are no suspects for either act of vandalism, he said.
"When something happens in the dark of night, with nobody around," Carter said, "you can't catch them."
In vandalism at a least tern closure discovered on May 10 at South Beach in Buxton, 12 posts had been knocked down, but no one appeared to have entered the buffer zone. That closure was also automatically expanded by 50 meters.
A consent decree signed on April 30 settled a lawsuit brought in October by the Defenders of Wildlife and the National Audubon Society against the National Park Service. The Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance and Dare and Hyde counties later joined the suit, and they agreed to the settlement.
Geoffrey Gisler, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represents the environmental groups, said they were expecting violations, but not in such a short time.
"We didn't put the provision in there," he said, "anticipating that within weeks there would be two intentional acts of vandalism."
Larry Hardham, president of the Cape Hatteras Anglers Club, a group that supports beach driving, said ORV users are just as puzzled about the vandalism.
The Anglers Club has posted warnings on its Web site to alert beach drivers about the penalties for disturbing a closure, he said, but visitors are often unaware of the closures.
"I think it's people who are not aware of the repercussions of their actions," he said. "Obviously, I can't speak for them, but I would guess they're frustrated and mad."
He cautioned that with the high stakes involved in the issue, anything is possible.
"Let's not assume that beach drivers did the vandalism as no one knows who did the vandalism," he wrote in a later e-mail. "Beach drivers stand to lose access by these acts of vandalism, but those trying to end beach driving could further their cause."
A $1,000 reward has been offered by the United Four Wheel Drive Associations for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the vandals for each incident.
Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com
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The culprit is///
an environmentalist who is expanding the barriers by default.
re: WHERE IS THE DEPT OF THE INTERIOR?
Good comment, donm22211. Where are they? Since this is a National Park, doesn't it fall under the purview of the federal government? That said, doesn't any trial have to take place in a federal court. I may be wrong, but I thought I read this was all done in local courts.
Are there any lawyers out there?
I love this quote:
When something happens in the dark of night, with nobody around, Carter said, you can't catch them.
Have to throw the BS flag on this one...a cheap, used DV cam with night vision capability (which almost all have) would do the trick. If anyone is truly interested in finding the culprit, I suggest a stake-out to get your evidence (even though it is the DOI's job).
Hatteras birds
I have been reading about this subject for sometime and I read the comments posted here. And I am disheartened by the name calling of either a redneck or a treehugger. I have been going down to hatteras all my life and have enjoyed some great memories there. Every year for memeorial day weekend my friends from college and home all meet there and enjoy the beach, fishing, playing horseshoes, having bombfires and yes drinking beer. I've been all over the world and it's my favorite place and it's right here close to home. Last year I proposed to my now wife right there on the beach. It's a special place not just to me, but to many others and gives people a natural, affordable and most enjoyable vacation. A chance to reconnect with nature and it's elements. I guess by the activites listed above I will be categorized as a redneck, but it seems the little bit of beach we have is getting taken away. Not by the birds but by the people who favor them over all others. Nature has a way of correcting it self and if nature finds a way to not let these animals coexist, then the strong will survive. These birds will have to learn different migrating patterns, adapt. Who's idea was it t
I told you so...
After the first story that came out about this, I said it wouldn't be too long before the enviro-nazis did it again. If you actually use your brain and think about who benefits the most and can further their cause by destroying these signs, you can come to the obvious conclusion that it is the enviro-nazis. I'll bet it happens again and again til they get their way and the beachs are closed.
Tastes Good
Roasted Piping Plover tastes really good with my Pabst!! Buzz off Eco-nazis
Makes you wonder , if it
Makes you wonder , if it really was the "coors light rednecks" as some other quick to judge poster mentioned
Rednecks really have never been scared of 'killin them there critters..'
If there is no nest there is no buffer.
Being as the nests are still there; who knocked over the fences again?
With wireless technology
With wireless technology being what it is, some of this nonsense could be eliminated and those causing the problems could now be sitting in jail. I think the new rules were a joke. I think they're being manipulated to take advantage of a poor ruling. The ruling was designed to fail. I like the birds, appreciate the concern, but complete and total restrictions on access to the area is a little bit of a stretch.
Surprised
I'm surprised no one has labled them gang banging thugs yet. . . oh, it's probably because their destructive behavior is for a cause. Good thing they're vandalizing the beach and not the side of grocery store, because that would be bad.
The Econazis....
Unless you are just plain blind, you would know the Econazis are to blame for this. They know exactly what they are doing by disrupting the "sanctuaries". Geeesh, give em an inch and they will find a way to take miles and miles and miles. This is how they do business, ask Ingrid Nazikirk.
WHERE IS THE DEPT OF THE INTERIOR?
Cape Hatteras National Seashore falls under control of The National Park Service which is a bureau of the Dept of the Interior(DOI). Don't believe I've seen any input from the Dept regarding the beach closures at Hatteras. With an issue this big, that seems to affect so many people and the livelihoods of entire communities, you would think they would be directly involved instead of hiding in the shadows. The very first sentence in the DOI's Mission statement is as follows: "The Mission of the Department of the Interior is to protect and provide access to our Nation's natural and cultural heritage and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian Tribes and our commitments to island communities". After reading the rest of the DOI's mission statement, seems what has been allowed to happen at Hatteras is the direct opposite of what the Dept's goals are. I'd like to see what position they take.
Civil Disobience
I call this "civil disobience." One day there will be a war between the humanist and the animalist. I can't wait!! I loaded for bear!
I told you so...
After the first story that came out about this, I said it wouldn't be too long before the enviro-nazis did it again. If you actually use your brain and think about who benefits the most and can further their cause by destroying these signs, you can come to the obvious conclusion that it is the enviro-nazis. I'll bet it happens again and again til they get their way and the beachs are closed.
Mr. Fabulous not everyone that goes down there to drive and enjoy the shoreline is a coors light drinking redneck whacko, but I can already see where you stand with your obvious attempt to paint such a broad stroke on a certain group of people.
amazing, yes
Amazing that know-it-alls can come here and point fingers with no proof. It was the rednecks!! Nah, it was them dang tree-huggers! You stink! No, you do!!
Takes the cake, really. You people who have all the answers should go down there and ID the culprits, then this crime will be solved.
jmo
Amazing
Amazing that posters are quick to blame enviromentalists instead of the obvious culprit - disgruntled rednecks upset that their 24/7 beach access has been curtailed. Get a clue, people. This was the work of a yee-hah with too much Coors Light in his gullet.
Did it ever cross your mind?
That maybe these acts of vandalism are being performed by the environmentalists rather the than the ORV owners? Both acts have had NO IMPACT on the birds or their eggs, so I can easily see some wacko enviros deciding to do this to increase the impact of the restrictions while having no impact on the wildlife. PROOF should be the prerequisite before the arbitrary consequences!
Vandalism?
This seems to me like the tree huggers are breaking the signs, causing the Parks Service to expand the range everytime they do; hence, getting their way, perceiving to be the drivers?
Just a thought? I do like driving on the beach though, been doing it with my children for 15 years...
can't help but wonder.
Did they by chance notice any deer tracks in the sand? Think about it, these incidences were in a pedestrian access area, there are a fair amount of deer that live in the dunes of the outer banks, it would make sense that deer could go unnoticed by park officials. Another group of animals that would be high on the suspect list are the extremist that claim to be protectors of the birds and turtles. Fact is they are just fat couch potatoes that have no clue what it's like to use the beach and be part of nature and being a responsible user of the beach. Oystercatchers are large, conspicuous birds that were hunted to near-extinction along the Atlantic Coast. Given total protection, they have once again become numerous and now nest in numbers as far north as Massachusetts, where just a few years ago they were very rare. With a nesting ground that runs from the Keys of FL to MA, is it too much to ask that the birds share a little beach with the humans for six months out of the year?
C'mon guys
You keep wrecking you keep losing
Fix it legally
real genius
it takes an amazing amount of ignorance to believe that trashing the buffer zones is going to do anything for the parties affected by the restrictions. if anything it is having the very opposite effect it was intended to have. you are not proving or accomplishing anything through vandalism. evolve past high school and make the system work for you.