From the Virginian(-Pilot):
A beach on Oregon Inlet, one of the most popular destinations in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore for off-road vehicles, has been closed to protect piping plover hatchlings, the National Park Service announced.
The restricted area begins about 1.2 miles south of Ramp 4 and extends 0.9 miles south and west around the southern end of the Bodie Island spit near the Herbert C. Bonner Bridge, according to a news release. To compensate, the Park Service opened an additional half-mile of seashore north of Ramp 4 and south of Coquina Beach to off-road vehicles.
A total of 3.4 miles of beach north of Oregon Inlet remains open to off-road traffic via Ramp 4, located just north of the bridge off N.C. 12.
"We recognize there is a strong desire for recreational access in this location, particularly at this time of year," Superintendent Mike Murray said in the statement.
The temporary closure, which also prohibits pedestrians, is expected to be lifted after the chicks fledge, typically 25 to 35 days after hatching.
Oregon Inlet is almost as popular for shore fishing as The Point at Cape Hatteras. I hereby declare that the cost of closing this beach to fishing is $200,000.*
*Note: Here is the analysis from a beach closure last summer. Please ignore the mis-spellings. I'm guessing that the Oregon Inlet shore fishing is worth about 5/7 of The Point shore fishing. And I'm an expert.
