Habitat enhancement to improve piping plover numbers and visitor access at Breezy Point, NY
Brook L. 2004. Habitat enhancement to improve piping plover numbers and visitor access at Breezy Point, NY. St. John's University. Jamaica, NY
This report evaluates a proposed action to remove American Beachgrass on the ocean side of the Breezy Point tip t help resolve a two-fold, interrelated problem: a decline in waterbird numbers, especially federally endangered/threatened Piping Plovers; disruption of visitor use on the ocean beach due to waterbird nesting activity. In the park staff's judgement, the primary problem is that American Beachgrass has become so dense at the shoreline that the sand nesting habitat of affected shorebirds has become limited, thereby forcing them to nest closer to the high tide line. The report concludes that scarification of American Beachgrass is reasonable since it likely would encourage nesting of Piping Plovers and Roseate Terns, both endangered, and also encourage establishment of a federally threatened plant species, Seabeach Amaranth.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Brook, Lauro
- Date of Issue
- 2004-11
- Publisher
- St. John's University
- Units
- GATE
- Keywords
- American Beachgrass, Endangered Species, Piping Plovers, Roseate terns, seabeach amaranth, Shorebirds, Waterbirds