August 3, 2013
Letters, Massachusetts

We have a responsibility to protect piping plovers

Cape Cod Times | August 03, 2013 | www.capecodonline.com

You don’t have to look too far to find a piping plover flittering across Cape beaches. Locals in Sandwich aren’t the only ones who have to worry about tourists visiting in the summer and crowding their beaches; piping plovers do, too.

As a 16-year-old, I’m not bothered by most town issues, but I am by the issue of piping plovers. Many don’t see it, but there is a clear difference between plovers and humans when it comes to sharing the same Cape beaches every summer. Plovers don’t threaten human extinction; humans threaten plover extinction. The beaches we return to every summer are the prime nesting spots for the plovers, and because of human activity the plovers are still battling to survive.

The Atlantic Coast plover population has increased during the heavy recreational season. With nearly 15 percent of the plover population nesting on Massachusetts barrier beaches, we have a relatively greater responsibility to conserve this species.

Current potential threats to the plovers are land-based wind turbines and other coastal structures. It would take more money and time to further protect the birds and try to stop the proposal of the wind turbines. However, it would be a shame to our society if we weren’t able to preserve this species.

Mackenzie Campbell

Sandwich

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/08/03/we-have-a-responsibility-to-protect-piping-plovers/