Planned protest at 'Wings Over Water'?

[jckegley]

I submitted a post in the general section about the 'beach access versus the breeding bird" dilemma.

I probably should have submitted it here because I really wanted to hear your (outer banks folks) opinions.

Just wanted to let you know about it.

[jlphoto]

Joe, I think you know my opinion on this matter lol.

These birds, like wolves out west are scapegoats to a certain degree. The economy on the Outer Banks has been dipping steadily for the last few years. Its still strong, but most businesses from Corolla to Ocracoke claim a 20-30% drop over the last few years. Obviously Corolla is not effected by beach closures in Hatteras - its a completely different market up there. Yet it has suffered similar losses of business as the southern beaches.

The economy is abstract, faceless, outside of ones control. Shifting interests in vacation destinations are as well - just look at places like Emerald Isle. . . I have worked in the tourism industry on the Outer Banks most of my life - via guiding and environmental education. Over the last couple of years, the tax bracket of folks vacationing on the Southern beaches and islands of the Outer Banks such as Kitty Hawk, KDH, Nags Head, and Hatteras have been steadily dropping as well. The less income one makes, the less money they tend to spend on vacation. Hatteras typically, but not always, pulls in a lower tax bracket than other places like Duck and Corolla now. Much of this is by design and slick marketing. The Currituck County end of the OBX has been sold to people as the high end resort community. Thus the Northern Beaches tend to pull in higher end customers with more money to spend.

All of this combines to slump the southern beaches economy. The birds are now taking the brunt of this. There has been an 80% drop in nesting success in Oyster Catchers, Black Skimmers, Least Terns, and Piping Plovers over the last 20 years on Cape Hatteras National Seashore. Numbers elsewhere in the Southeast, Mid Atlantic, and the Northeast are quite the opposite however. Correlating to the decline in nesting success and nesting birds, has been a rise in off road use in Cape Hatteras.

So the Park Service has put a moratorium on driving in certain nesting areas... this equates to 11 miles out of 60 some miles that are open to driving.

In all truth, those of us that live here know we have three seasons on the Banks, not 4. These are tourist season, hurricane season, and fishing season - in that order. Beaches were opened at the inlet this year by August 1. Its not till mid September to October before the real fun begins.

But this isnt really the problem. The economy is crap, traditional land uses are being challenged, and people feel like they no longer have control over their own destinies in this sort of environment. The birds, though in reality a small issue, take the brunt of this misplaced frustration.

Joe, you have probably already read this, but I have a post on my photo journal about this issue. Oddly enough it has been circulated widely amongst the anti-bird websites and forums and I have received numerous responses to it. This can be found here (http://jaredlloydphoto.wordpress.com/2009/04/02/on-the-beach-with-endangered-species/)

Jared