myiW Current Conditions and Forecasts Community Forums Buy and Sell Services
 
Hi guest · myAccount · Log in
 SearchSearch   ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   RegisterRegister 
Kiteboarding has been cancelled....
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Eastern and Central USA & Canada
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
WaterKook



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 1713
Location: The Dude abides!!!!!

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 12:15 pm    Post subject: Kiteboarding has been cancelled.... Reply with quote

Just saying.
Though once they start cancelling one sport it just makes it that much easier to cancel other sports. Crying or Very sad

Shocked
Kiteboarders bemoan National Seashore ban


By Doug Fraser


dfraser@capecodonline.com


July 04, 2014 2:00 AM

WELLFLEET — A sport that has captivated millions worldwide has few admirers among those charged with protecting shorebirds.

Last month, the Cape Cod National Seashore enacted a ban against kiteboarding for all the waters that fall within its boundaries — ocean and bay — except for one quarter-mile-wide corridor in Wellfleet.

The stated purpose is protection of both migratory and nesting shorebirds such as the threatened Atlantic piping plover; the endangered roseate tern; and the red knot, which has been proposed for a listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

"It's all about shorebird protection," said Seashore Superintendent George Price.

The large colorful kites are inflatable bowed rectangles that vary in size from 70 square feet up to 170 square feet and propel a rider on a short surfboard over the water and sometimes into the air at high speeds. The concern is that they will scare birds off nests or disturb feeding that is critical to migrant species.

In April, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also proposed banning kiteboarders from the waters surrounding the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge as part of an update to its management plan, also to protect the birds that nest and feed on the islands.

But kiteboard enthusiasts contend there is very little science behind these decisions. They say kiteboarders co-exist with shorebirds in other locations, such as Revere Beach in Boston and Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, without any detriment.

"I'd like to see the Seashore do a balanced analysis of the situation," said kiteboarder Christa von der Luft, a Boston attorney and part-time Wellfleet resident. Von der Luft requested the scientific research behind the Seashore's kiteboarding ban along its Cape Cod Bay beaches two years ago and was given a single master's thesis study. That is also the study cited by the wildlife service for its ban at Monomoy.

"As far as we are concerned, we have ample evidence with the research and our own staff observations that they are disturbing the birds, acting as a predator would," Price said.

If plovers, for example, leave their nests to distract what they believe to be a predator, the eggs can be destroyed by summer heat. Roseate terns could be impeded from teaching young fledglings how to feed and get the vital nutrition they need for an arduous migration south, Price said.

New research has shown that a very high percentage of terns gather on Cape Cod after fledging out chicks, Price said. The Seashore is cooperating on a new study with the Massachusetts Audubon Society on this critical massing of birds. Price thinks the park needs to be cautious given the presence of so many populations on the edge of extinction.

"We just don't know why the roseate tern isn't rebounding," he said.

Richard Lay, a Wellfleet native and a founding member of the town's Conservation Trust, doesn't believe that kiteboarders harm shorebirds in any significant way. The kites are too large and move relatively slowly across the sky to be considered predators, he said. And, with the exception of launching and returning, kiteboarders spend almost their entire time at sea, nowhere near nesting birds or chicks, he said.

And kiteboarders aren't out every day, said kiteboarding instructor Eric Gustafson of Wellfleet. There are few kiteboarders along the Outer Cape, he said, and they need specific wind conditions, preferably parallel to shore, that occur so rarely that he gets in less than 30 days a year.

Wellfleet Beach Administrator Suzanne Grout Thomas wondered who would enforce the kiteboarding ban, which extends to a quarter mile from shore. Five of Wellfleet's town beaches are within park boundaries, but she said her lifeguards are not authorized to enforce federal regulations.

"I let our lifeguards know it is banned, but I'm not comfortable with them enforcing Seashore regulations," Thomas said. "I'm investigating what it means."

Lay echoed the concerns of many off-road vehicle users angry over ever-expanding beach closures because of federal and state mandates to protect nesting piping plovers. He said the National Park Service went from having a buffer area around nests a couple of years ago to shutting down the whole shoreline to kiteboarding.

"They keep taking and taking it all away from us, and they never give anything back," Lay said. "We have hundreds of people coming to (the Cape) to kiteboard, and they don't have anyplace to go other than the two or three beaches that are massively overcrowded."

Von der Luft thinks the closure is unnecessarily broad. The park knows where the nesting and staging areas are and could simply close those, she said.

As of June 29, Price said, there were 29 plover nests within park boundaries, nearly all in the northern portion.

Price said he would be willing to meet with kiteboarders but was cautious about possible compromises.

"What I've learned is that compromise in human terms means the birds lose," he said.


Copyright © Cape Cod Media Group, a division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

_________________
www.Clew-View.com
[Jerry's World] www.waterkook.com
www.chathamwindandtime.com
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website
flaherty



Joined: 01 May 1997
Posts: 437

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Police state!


600x465px-LL-f96d2f60_color-piping-plover-web.jpeg
 Description:
 Filesize:  204.94 KB
 Viewed:  24334 Time(s)

600x465px-LL-f96d2f60_color-piping-plover-web.jpeg


Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
mat-ty



Joined: 07 Jul 2007
Posts: 7850

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 7:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't they keep falcons at some airports to keep the birds away? I guess a silent 12m kite moving through the sky is more frightening than a 20ton bone rattling airplane..
This sounds like the same mentality that cancels Halloween because one kid in school does not recognize the tradition.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
gokemeijer



Joined: 30 Jul 2001
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If kiteboarding is a crime, only criminals kiteboard!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
danothemano



Joined: 25 Jul 2007
Posts: 77

PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 9:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"As far as we are concerned, we have ample evidence with the research and our own staff observations that they are disturbing the birds, acting as a predator would," Price said.javascript:emoticon('Laughing')

It obviously looks like huge birds are grabbing kooks and smashing them into the ground...like when gulls drop shellfish on the rocks...

Kite launches are usually a complete kookfest....


WDX should be next? Laughing Laughing Laughing
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
iceratz@comcast.net



Joined: 16 Feb 2009
Posts: 346

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The decision to ban kiting on National Seashore beaches due to plovers is ridiculous.....
When NP Service bans access, regardless of the activity, we all need to take this serious with intervention if possible. Pretty soon you might not even be able to walk a beach.....let alone sail, kite , swim, fish or whatever.

Wish you guys luck with this battle.....



Rolling Eyes
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
windswell



Joined: 20 May 2010
Posts: 211

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:33 pm    Post subject: It's also a general access issue Reply with quote

As a town beach committee member and elected landing commissioner, I struggle annually with Audubon around the plover issue, which Audubon officers have said is also about roping off as much wildlife habitat as possible whether plovers are there or not.

There is rarely Audubon talk about prohibiting bird watchers from using the outdoors, despite how much bird watchers harassed Snowy White Owls for a closeup look or photo up and down the coast this winter and particularly at Gooseberry.

I have concerns about kite strings on the beach snagging small children and taking up a lot of space. I am clear with my town that kiting and windsurfing are VERY different activities as far as public impact and hazard. At the same time, we should be careful about protecting public access rights in general.

Will fishing be next? Windsurfing is a obvious target. Birds will often find alternative habitat which may not be as accessible as a public beach. They can fly and don't need a parking lot. The beaches are not just there for birdwatchers. Attend your local beach committee meetings and lobby for access, whether you're a taxpayer in that town or not. Your input does make a difference.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
justall



Joined: 30 Jul 2007
Posts: 442

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 9:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Wow. I have no problem roping off some shore for the birds, but the entire town seems ridiculous. For us windsurfers who will be on the Cape, let's look respectful and keep our on-beach footprint tight. If that restriction applied to windsurfing and my preferred locations, I'd go to pieces.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
inlandsea



Joined: 29 Sep 1996
Posts: 174

PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The good news is from what I have seen they like to make laws and rules, they often don't bother enforcing them,
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
jkrug



Joined: 30 Apr 2000
Posts: 50

PostPosted: Sat Jul 12, 2014 6:11 am    Post subject: Re: It's also a general access issue Reply with quote

windswell wrote:
As a town beach committee member and elected landing commissioner, I struggle annually with Audubon around the plover issue, which Audubon officers have said is also about roping off as much wildlife habitat as possible whether plovers are there or not.


i think that's the main point. They want to close off these areas, and are basically using any excuse possible. this isn't about kiting, it's about the govt taking away everyone's freedoms. environmentalism is just the newer vogue way of doing it. IMHO, if a species cannot co-exist with the rest of nature, including mankind (and we're not hunting it), if it goes extinct, that defines nature...it does not defy it. in effect, the environmentalists are fighting against nature, the very thing they claim to be protecting. but all they're really interested in is protecting their narrow view of the way the world should work.

in FL, turtles come on shore and lay their eggs. such areas are roped off, usually no more than a few square yards. they do not close the beaches or ban anything. it works. the environmental nazi's in Mass could learn a lot from them...but again, they're not interested.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    iWindsurf Community Forum Index -> Eastern and Central USA & Canada All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5  Next
Page 1 of 5

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You can attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum

myiW | Weather | Community | Membership | Support | Log in
like us on facebook
© Copyright 1999-2007 WeatherFlow, Inc Contact Us Ad Marketplace

Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group