The Coastal Commission has ordered State Parks to stop interfering with the nesting of Western snowy plovers at the Oceano Dunes after a watchdog group discovered recent work by the agency that violated the Endangered Species Act.
Since the park was closed to vehicles earlier this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, snowy plovers and terns have expanded their habitat into areas previously used by off-roaders, the Center for Biological Diversity, State Parks and the Coastal Commission confirmed.
Plovers have been one of the most threatened shorebirds in North America and are protected under the Endangered Species Act. They prefer flat, open areas like beaches and sand spits and breed between March and September, with most returning year after year to the same nesting spots.
Normally, when the Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area is open, State Parks fences off nesting areas to protect the birds from getting run over by off-roaders.
But for the last three months, the park — which attracts more than 1.6 million visitors per year and generated $2.98 million in revenue last year — has been closed to vehicles due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now that we don’t have thousands of vehicles driving through suitable nesting habitats each week, snowy plovers have expanded their nesting areas,” said Jeff Miller, senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
On May 27, the center said, State Parks confirmed that expansion, counting 35 active snowy plovers nests, with 15 of them beyond the fenced nesting areas.
To protect the birds, State Parks fenced in the new nesting areas, the center said, but on June 7, it reported 12 fledgling and 15 adult snowy plovers outside of those fenced areas, exposing them to potential vehicle traffic should the park reopen.
To dissuade the birds from spreading, the Center for Biological Diversity said that State Parks officials interfered with their nesting by grading, installing mylar flagging, scuffing out nesting ‘scrapes’ made by plovers before nesting, and directing and moving plovers to enclosed areas without permits, in violation of federal law.
The center took its complaint to the Coastal Commission, and after its own investigation, the commission confirmed the findings in violation of both the Endangered Species Act and the California Coastal Act and on Wednesday formally ordered State Parks to halt its activities disrupting snowy plover nesting areas.
In the commission’s cease-and-desist letter, Chief of Enforcement Lisa Haage said the activities by State Parks “constitute serious Coastal Act issues.”
She said that the agency “would like to discuss with you some mitigation steps …. which could include such things as additional protective measures, educational signage about threatened species in the area, and maybe such steps as adding covers to trash receptacles to discourage predators in the area. We are open to any creative suggestions you might have to mitigate for harmful impacts to the species in the area.”
Haage also said the commission would meet again with State Parks prior to the Oceano Dunes reopening to vehicles, and she urged the agency to map out plover nesting areas and develop plans to ensure the birds are protected when vehicles and camping return to the dunes.
Those options could include fencing off new areas, modifying park use or adjusting the reopening schedule, Haage said.
For their part, State Parks officials agreed to stop interfering with nesting areas, to remove fencing that discouraged nesting, and to stop herding plovers toward fenced areas, according to the cease-and-desist letter.
“The activity of scuffing scrapes at the SVRA has stopped, and we are removing mylar stakes until we further confer with the Coastal Commission to clarify the need for permits,” Gloria Sandoval, deputy director of public affairs at the state Department of Parks and Recreation, told The Tribune in an email.
Going forward, Sandoval also pointed to a Habitat Conservation Plan developed for the Oceano Dunes by State Parks.
“The Habitat Conservation Plan will allow the (Department of Parks and Recreation) to operate Oceano Dunes SVRA and Pismo State Beach in a manner that benefits numerous sensitive species while ensuring consistency with the Federal Endangered Species Act,” Sandoval said. “The public will be able to continue enjoying these parks while (Department of Parks and Recreation) implements substantial endangered species management programs for the next 25 years.”
What Happens When the Park Reopens?
Although State Parks has stopped its shorebird activities, Miller worries that opening the park early into the breeding season will lead to more plover mortalities, especially of baby plovers.
“The killing of snowy plovers mostly occurs in the fall and winter,” Miller said. “After the birds breed, some don’t migrate and spend the winter here. And that’s when most mortality occurs, where these small birds are flattened by vehicles.”
While the bird’s populations are recovering along the Pacific Coast as a whole as habitat conditions improve, its numbers continue to decline on the Central Coast, Miller said.
“The Central Coast is one of the few places on the coast that we don’t see them recover, and they are declining in SLO County,” Miller said. “At Oceano Dunes, they have poor nesting survival. With no vehicles in the park, this is an important opportunity for the plovers to have a good nesting year to bring the population back up.”
He urged the Coastal Commission to hold off on opening the park until after the breeding session ends in September. No date for a reopening has been set as State Parks continues to take precautions due to COVID-19.
“We’re happy to see the Coastal Commission step in to prevent State Parks from illegally interfering with snowy plover nesting at Oceano Dunes. It’s unacceptable for a state agency to intentionally obstruct the nesting of vulnerable shorebirds for the sole purpose of bringing cars and off-road vehicles back to the park,” Miller said.
“Snowy plovers started to thrive after the COVID closure of the beach and dunes to vehicles, and they deserve a chance to finish this nesting season without being run over by dune buggies.”
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