Vandalism forces expansion of Ocracoke beach closure

Five signs marking a closed section of beach on Ocracoke Island were vandalized Monday morning, resulting in expansion of the closure as required by a court agreement, the National Park Service reported today in a news release.

“This was the first deliberate act of vandalism of the 2009 season,” said Cyndy Holda, spokeswoman for the National Park Service Outer Banks Group.

The beach at South Point is one of the pre-nesting closures established in Cape Hatteras National Seashore before March 14 to protect anticipated breeding areas of shorebirds.

The 2-inch-by-2-inch wooden posts were broken off at the ground, the statement said, and vehicle tracks were evident at three of them. No footprints were found.

Under the terms of the consent decree signed last April, vandalism of fencing requires a 50-meter expansion of the closed area. Off-road vehicle access is possible along the ocean shoreline to the southeast corner of the point, but it is stopped beyond that because of the width of the buffer. Pedestrian access is permitted past the buffer below the high tide line along portions of the inlet shoreline outside of the pre-nesting closure.

On Thursday, two citations were issued to a juvenile male and an 18-year-old male for violations at a pre-nesting closure on Bodie Island. There was no vandalism, Holda said, so that closure did not require an expanded buffer.

Source: http://hamptonroads.com/2009/03/vandalism-forces-expansion-ocracoke-beach-closure

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