THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 19, 1995 TAG: 9501190378
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 92 lines
Federal refuges are for wildlife. State parks are for people.
Mingling the two is a delicate balancing act that often falls short on one side or the other.
State and federal authorities have not been successful at striking that balance at Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge and False Cape State Park, so a small group of citizens who use the facilities took a stab at it Wednesday.
``This is not easy, or this would have been solved a long time ago,'' said George Jessen, of the local Audubon Society chapter, which co-sponsored the daylong seminar with the Sierra Club.
While they did not come close to resolving nearly 30 years of hostility over access, they offered some ideas that they hope could bring temporary harmony.
The refuge in November closed most of its dikes, or trails, to the public for seven months to protect migrating birds. Those dikes are the main access to the isolated state park on the Oceanfront, near the North Carolina line.
The group of about 30, most from the conservation community, proposed ending the closure period - which now extends from November to June - in March. By then, the migrating waterfowl that use the refuge as a feeding and resting spot have moved on.
The extended closure period helps protect shorebirds, which use the refuge from March to June. However, the group reasoned that shorebirds are not specifically mentioned in the refuge's mission, which is to protect migrating waterfowl.
The group also suggested rerouting visitors from the east dike to the west dike, which is farther from the refuge's best habitat, and, in some places, more sheltered. They also want screening - vegetation or manmade structures - along the dike to lessen the disturbance to the birds.
Other suggestions include instituting limits on the number of visitors per day and putting more controls on those visitors; allowing school and other groups to take buses through the refuge for education programs at the park but limit them to eight trips per month.
The group also wants to encourage a dialogue between state and federal officials, particularly between False Cape manager Bryan K. Anderson and Back Bay manager Joe McCauley - each of whom addressed the group separately Wednesday morning.
``Getting them to talk is the first step,'' Jessen said. ``Our best chance of success is to have the local people talk.''
But there's a lot of distrust on both sides.
They last met in August and agreed to a one-year planning process to try to accommodate both birds and people. The state believed, as a result of that meeting, that the seasonal closure would not be implemented during that year.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, however, said that was never the agreement, and the agency closed the gates Nov. 1.
Since then, state park officials have refused to meet.
Proposals have been made over the years to resolve the access issue, but none have been viable. They included roads, bridges and even ferries.
The closest they got was in the 1970s when the state requested a 20-acre corridor through the refuge to build a road. In exchange, Fish and Wildlife required that the state turn over 1,500 acres of False Cape.
The state did not find that equitable and dropped the idea.
The citizens will present their proposals to state and federal officials in a letter. They also will request a meeting with managers of the park and refuge to discuss the ideas. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
CITIZENS' SOLUTIONS
Shorten the closure period to November to March, instead of
November to June.
Reroute visitors from the east dike to the west dike, which is
farther from the best habitat. Use screening on the dike to lessen
the disturbance.
Institute limits on the number of visitors per day and more
controls on those visitors.
Allow school and other groups to take buses through the refuge for
environmental education programs at the park, but limit them to
eight trips per month.
Encourage dialogue between state and federal officials.
by CNB