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Panel Rejects Expansion of Piping Plover Habitat

December 10, 2008 - BIDDEFORD -- A state advisory panel has rejected a plan to expand habitat protection for piping plovers after some residents of Hills Beach in Biddeford opposed the measure.

The Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Advisory Council voted 5-3 against the plan during a meeting last Thursday in Augusta. It is believed to be the first council rejection of an essential habitat proposal in Maine since such habitat has been protected under state law – at least 20 years.

Some who opposed the measure said that they wanted to work with the neighborhood on an alternative plan.

State wildlife officials and biologists were surprised and disappointed by the vote, and said the measure would have helped save the endangered birds.

"They (piping plovers) are very endangered, and in the absence of essential habitat and these other tools we've got, I think our ability to recover the species is clearly jeopardized," said Mark Stadler, director of wildlife division for the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department. He described the future of the plovers in Maine as "very tenuous."

Gary Archibald, a resident of Hills Beach, said he and other neighbors hope to work with the state to protect the plovers, but thought designating much of the beach as essential habitat was unwarranted regulation.

The decision could be revisited. A Maine Audubon biologist said she will consider some form of appeal, and some council members said they hope to see a revised plan.

Plovers are small migratory birds that nest on white sandy beaches, where they and their nests are camouflaged from predators. They have been protected as endangered in Maine since 1986, when there were only 15 nesting pairs on beaches in southern Maine.

The number of piping plovers nesting in Maine grew to 60 pairs in 2002, but dropped back to 22 pairs this year, a 20-year-low.

The state and Maine Audubon have led restoration efforts, such as watching over the beaches and protecting nesting sites with fences and warning signs.

The state also formally designates some nesting areas as essential habitat. In those areas, any activities that require a state or municipal permit – from building a retaining wall to having a bonfire – must first be reviewed by biologists to see if the birds would be harmed.

In some cases, the state asks that activities be moved away from a nest or delayed until after the birds have left the nests in June, said Stadler. Despite concerns of over-regulation, the state has never flat-out rejected a routine permit application because of essential habitat, he said.

This year, the department proposed to add four new areas to the list of essential habitat zones in Maine. Two of the proposed new areas were in Old Orchard Beach toward the Scarborough border, one was in Cape Elizabeth near Ram Island Farm and one was in Hills Beach in Biddeford. Each of the beaches has had a nest for most of the past eight years, according to Maine Audubon.

Property owners around Hills Beach circulated a petition and spoke out against the proposal at meetings and public hearings through the summer. Many were concerned the added restrictions on the privately owned beach would interfere with beach cleaning, home improvements, the market for seasonal rentals and other things.

Gary Archibald, a Hill Beach resident, said a primary concern is that the beach is eroding and that neighbors hope to have sand dredged up and brought onto the beach next year. Dredging and replacing sand on the beach would trigger a permit application and review by state biologists.

"It shouldn't be taken the wrong way. A lot of people are very supportive of doing what they can for the birds," Archibald said Monday. "I felt the IF&W should work with Hills Beach for a couple of years and see if we could get an education program" to protect the birds.

Hills Beach residents argued that there have not been any nests on the beach since 2004, so the protection was unnecessary.

Maine Audubon, however, has said there was one or two nests on Hills Beach each year from 2002 through 2007. There was no nest there this year, but Hills Beach is important to restoring the species in the future, said Maine Audubon biologist Jody Jones.

Jones didn't attend the meeting last week and said Monday she was surprised by the decision, and will look into challenging it. "Usually these things are unanimous," she said. "We're going to look at the rationale."

The advisory council is a board of 10 citizen volunteers from various parts of the state who review rules and policies of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Department.

Two council members who voted against the plan said Monday they were as surprised as everyone else that the motion failed. Both said the local opposition in Biddeford was a factor.

"We have 22 nesting pairs. That seems to be coming back," said Council Chairman Joe Clark of Millinocket. "I thought, personally, those resources could be used more effectively for other things. We told the department, 'Maybe if you come back and come in a different direction with Biddeford out of it next time it might pass.' "

Ron Usher, a council member from Buxton, said he voted against it because he wanted to take Biddeford out, too.

"As we monitor it, we can always add Biddeford to it," he said.

By JOHN RICHARDSON, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, December 9, 2008


Lakes:
Regions: Sebago, Sanford, Calais, Mid Coast, Downeast


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