Plymouth Beach 2007 DOGS OFF LEASH PLYMOUTH LONG BEACH

Plymouth Beach 2007 DOGS OFF LEASH PLYMOUTH LONG BEACH

Pets should be leashed and under control of their owners at all times from April 1 to August 31 on beaches where piping plovers are present or have traditionally nested. Pets should be prohibited on these beaches from April 1 through August 31 if, based on observations and experience, pet owners fail to keep pets leashed and under control. Guidelines for Managing Recreational Activities in Piping Plover Breeding Habitat on the U.S. Atlantic Coast To Avoid Take Under Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act Northeast Region, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Guidelines For Managing Recreational Use of Beaches to Protect Piping Plovers, Terns, and their Habitats in Massachusetts Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program 2

Persistent Pattern of Failure to Keep Pets Leashed On Plymouth Long Beach Dog walkers without leashes were the most common offenders of the current PLB Management Plan. Source: 2003 Plymouth Beach Summary Report, Coastal Waterbird Program, Mass Audubon Another example was their (staff s) inability to enforce the leash bylaw resulting in significant and repeated breaches of this bylaw. My clients observed daily incidents, often multiple incidents in a single day, of dogs off leash. Frequently, even after an NRO or other beach staff spoke to a violator, the person walked on and simply took their dog off leash again. Source: 2003 Letter to Town Counsel Dogs: It certainly would go a long way toward solving the problem if there were a by law change prohibiting dogs on public beaches during periods of nesting and migratory bird activity. I was pleased to see that Wildlands Trust is implementing that policy on Ellisville Beach. Short of a bylaw change, the management issue comes back to enforcement; that is, there need to be consequences for people who violate the leash law. I doubt that signs will make much of a difference. In fact, over the last two years, there is probably close to 100% saturation of people being politely informed by one of your staff about the bylaw and requirement to keep their dog on a leash. People know the law; they prefer not to follow it. Source: 2003 Email to David Gould Two main problems plagued the management of PLB in 2004, both were related to canids. Dog walkers who refused to keep their dogs on the leash were one part of the problem. Due to the large size of the beach and the refusal of many dog walkers to obey the authority of beach staff, enforcement of leash laws was an ongoing and frustrating problem throughout the summer of 2004. In the future, aggressive enforcement of this law by NRO's (who have the authority to ticket violators) may be able to curtail unleashed dog use on PLB. In many cases, simply requesting that dogs be kept on a leash will suffice. Yet a minority of leash law offenders are repeat 3

offenders, and their persistent refusal to keep their dogs on leash takes up the resources of the beach staff. Source: 2004 Plymouth Beach Summary Report, Coastal Waterbird Program, Mass Audubon Not withstanding the improving general compliance noted above, my clients have observed repeated violations in a number of areas. These include numerous instances of dogs off leash on the beach during the Piping Plover and Least Tern nesting season Because of the threat that unleashed dogs pose during nesting season, my clients are especially concerned about these violations. Source: 2004 Letter to Town Counsel Saturday dawned bright and sunny with tons of shorebirds...and people with their big dogs running loose all over the beach chasing them down. I saw three dead and mangled black-bellied plovers on the beach later in the afternoon. Whether or not they were a result of the dog issue I'm not sure, but as it's the only time I've seen this, I have to wonder? Source: 2006, Field Report, Wildlife Photographer During almost every observation period, entire flocks were flushed repeatedly by beach walkers, boaters, and dogs on and off leash. In some cases flocks would resettle nearby after disturbance; in some cases the entire flock would depart the beach upon disturbance, flying to an offshore sandbar on more than one occasion (when available at high tide). More data is available regarding these disturbances upon request. Source: 2007 Report on Roseate and Common Tern Staging on Plymouth Beach, Becky Harris PhD, Director Coastal Waterbird Program, Mass Audubon 4

June 30, 2007 Mr. David Gould Director, Department of Natural Resources Town of Plymouth City Hall 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360 Dear Dave: Re: the recurring problem of unleashed dogs on Plymouth Long Beach This summer, as in previous summers, from the second floor of our cottage at 421 Ryder Way, we regularly observe dogs off leash on the beachfront. As you know, unleashed dogs pose a serious threat to the endangered and threatened birds protected by state and federal law and nesting on the beachfront. We write to share recent observations of this problem. As you also know, a set of federally protected piping plover chicks hatched on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 on the beachfront just north of our property. Every day since the birth of these chicks, we have observed unleashed dogs in the vicinity of the nest where these chicks hatched. In addition, there are also state-protected least tern chicks in the same vicinity. What follows is a day-by-day account. On Wednesday, June 27, between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., Cate observed a woman running on the beach with an unleashed dog. Kerin McCall later told Cate that she (Kerin) had also observed the woman and spoken to her about leashing the dog. The same day, at approximately 6:15 p.m., shortly after we returned to our cottage from being away all day, we observed a man with his golden retriever unleashed just north of our property and of the vehicle restriction line south of our property where the beach staff was stationed. We brought the issue to your staff s attention. They spoke to the dog s owner, who leashed the dog. Approximately half an hour later, we observed the same man with the same dog unleashed further north of the beach, on this side of the groin. The following morning, at approximately 6:05 a.m., I observed an individual with two dogs unleashed and moving north on the other side of the groin. When I went for a swim at approximately 6:45 a.m., I noticed dog tracks inside the symbolic fencing on our property, no more than 50 yards from where the piping plover chicks had recently hatched. The tracks were not straight, like a coyote s. We found quite alarming the idea that an unleashed dog could be in the vicinity of these federally protected chicks. Yesterday, June 29, a dog s barking awakened me at 6:20 a.m. I looked out at what may have been the same individual as yesterday, just north of our property, calling for his dogs, who were running in opposite directions, one apparently chasing something. As I walked out to speak to this individual, I noticed one of his dogs hunching over to defecate within the symbolic fencing to my right. I spoke to this man who appeared to be in his 30 s and asked him to leash his dogs, advising him of the endangered species on the beach. 5

Finally, this morning at approximately 9:20 a.m., we observed a man with his dog off leash walking north on our property on the beachfront. I alerted Kenny of your staff, who said he would notify Allison. We know that you and Kerin take seriously your responsibility in enforcing local, state and federal regulations of endangered and threatened species. We have watched the difficulties that your staff has had over the years in enforcing the Town s leash laws on the beachfront, and have recorded our observations. We look to you and the Town to take appropriate measures to eliminate these daily violations of Town law and federal and state guidelines. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Sincerely, Dennis Aftergut Source: 2007 Letter from Property Owner to Director of Natural Resources 6

September 1, 2007 Mr. David Gould Director, Department of Natural Resources Town of Plymouth City Hall 11 Lincoln Street Plymouth, MA 02360 Dear Dave: Re: The recurring problem of unleashed dogs on Plymouth Long Beach I write to follow up on my letter of June 30, 2007. I regret to report that the problem of unleashed dogs continues as the beach season ends. This morning, at 9:30 a.m., Cate and I observed a couple with unleashed dog it appeared to be a brown lab running free north of our property at the water line on the south side of the groin and heading in our direction. No staff were in sight. At 11:40 a.m., I observed a second couple with an unleashed dog this time a boxer running free and fetching items thrown by one of the owners, just south of our property. As I watched, the dog defecated at the water line. The owners did not pick up the feces. There were no staff in sight, or anyone else in close proximity. Indeed, perhaps because of the cool breeze coming from the East or the rising (extreme high) tide, there was but a single vehicle parked between our property and the kiosk, and only a few cars on the beach altogether. I walked to the beachfront and approached the couple. After greeting them with Great day isn t it? I said to the couple that we would appreciate their keeping their dog on a leash. The woman responded, Why? Does it bother you? Yes, I replied, for three reasons: 1. Leashes help prevent dogs from defecating away from where their owners can clean up, as I just observed a few minutes ago; 2. There are protected birds on the beach; and 3. It s the law. The woman said, Ok after I gave the first reason, and did not dispute my observation. The persistence of this problem over many years strongly suggests that the only way to remedy it is to ban dogs, leashed or unleashed, on the beachfront. Thank you for your attention and consideration. Dennis Aftergut Source: 2007 Letter from property owner to Environmental Management Division 7

Last year, while documenting shorebirds and terns on Plymouth Long Beach, I observed lots of folks with their dogs on the beach at various times throughout the season. While many of them were leashed during the period between Memorial Day and Labor day, they were frequently let loose by their owners to run free, especially when none of the beach monitors were within eyesight. Obviously the monitors can't be everyplace along a beach of this size. In a number of instances, especially during the period after Labor Day when birds were massing to rest on the southbound migration, dogs were for the most part roaming free, ahead of their owners, both on the beach and bay side. The dogs frequently would run into groups of shorebirds and scatter them continuously, causing them to take flight en masse, scattering out over the ocean and returning to roost, only to be harassed again when they recongregated at a different spot. As these birds are using the beach to feed and gain weight required for their long journeys, this added stress has to take a toll on them. Especially frustrating to watch was when the red knots, a species whose numbers are declining rapidly, would be put into flight constantly by both dogs and people. Whether these folks are oblivious to why the birds are staging there or whether they simply reveled in making thousands of birds take to the air themselves, this absolutely adds stress to these creatures. In addition, Merlins, Peregrine Falcons and Sharp Shinned hawks, quickly learned that they could sit in the dunes or on top of the cottages and wait for the birds to be pushed into flight by these dogs, allowing them to become easy targets for these raptors. While raptors would feed naturally on these congregated birds, it appeared that a larger number of raptors than I'd typically expect to see, congregated to take advantage of their continual dispersion into the skies I had two dog owners actually approach me and ask if they minded if they let their dogs chase the birds as they enjoyed doing so. A person knowingly allowing their dogs to engage in this activity is something I simply don't understand. At the very least, it's my opinion that dogs should not be allowed on the beach during the period between April 1st and the end of November, in order to remove the stress, which they cause on both the resident and migrating bird populations. In addition, I think it's critical that we find some way to educate folks using the beach as to why these birds are massing in these numbers to begin with Source: Field Observations 2007, Wildlife Photographer 8