THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 3, 1996 TAG: 9610030346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 69 lines
A long-sought agreement that permits limited public travel through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge to False Cape State Park has been approved and will go into effect next month, state and federal officials said Wednesday.
A finding that the novel plan, including the use of ``people movers'' in winter, will not significantly harm wildlife ends a 30-year standoff between Virginia and the federal government.
The plan, which seeks to ``separate the large concentrations of birds from the largest concentrations of people,'' received the official blessing of a regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sept. 23 and was made available for public review this week.
The action clears the way for an official signing in mid-November and sets in motion a limited-access plan, starting Nov. 1.
The plan is designed to reduce the impact of people on the shorebirds and migratory birds that seek refuge in the sprawling barrier island refuge and park between the Atlantic Ocean and Back Bay.
After decades of disagreement over how best to travel through the federal wildlife refuge to the state park, then years of study on how much disruption birds can stand without harm, U.S. and Virginia officials have adopted a complex plan that changes with the seasons.
The plan permits year-round access by an electric tram that will move visitors along the refuge's dikes during spring, summer and fall and a specially engineered bus that runs along the beach in the winter. The tram and bus will not be available, however, until early next year.
It will not be a sightseeing bus, Refuge Manager John P. Stasko said. ``This is not something you can hop on and take a tour of the refuge,'' he said. It will be by reservation only, to the state park and back.
From Nov. 1 through March 31, the public is free to make the 10-mile round trip from the refuge to the park on the beach, but biking and hiking along the refuge dikes that run alongside critical feeding areas and ponds will be sharply restricted.
The state is allowed six ``disturbances'' per day in either direction, whether on foot, bicycle or bus. A disturbance is defined, experts say, as an action that causes nesting or standing birds to walk or fly away.
``The birds between those disturbances can settle back down, rest, eat and return to normal winter activities,'' Stasko said.
There is evidence that if the disturbances are too frequent, Stasko said, migrating birds are weakened and don't make it back to their breeding grounds or don't reproduce if they do make it back.
The public also is free to visit the northern part of the refuge during the winter and see plenty of wildlife activity, he added. The refuge is accessible by car via Sandbridge Road.
Hiking and biking through the refuge are unlimited from April through October.
When False Cape State Park was created, state officials envisioned 25,000 visitors per day, then 2,000 per day and, finally, 600 per day. But state and federal officials could never agree on how to get to the park without disturbing wildlife.
Thousands of people, from public officials to citizens and environmental groups, took part in a process that ended earlier this year when the complex plan was drafted.
Joe Elton, director of parks for the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, said the state and federal agreement took place because ``both sides did a better job of listening and recognizing the advantages that working together offered.
``The beauty of this plan is that, depending on the time of year, we've found a way to provide vehicular access for park visitors.'' ILLUSTRATION: Map
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