DELAWARE

Point at Cape Henlopen State Park closing for nesting season

Taylor Goebel
The Daily Times

Folks who frequent the Point beach at Cape Henlopen State Park will have to flock elsewhere starting Thursday, March 1, when the annual beachnesting season begins, according to the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

The Point's closure, which includes a stretch of ocean beach, dunes and a half mile of bay shoreline, will help endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds like red knots, piping plovers, oystercatchers and least terns.

The borders of the thumb-shaped peninsula will be marked by signage, PVC poles and twine with flagging for visibility.

The Point's closure, which includes a stretch of ocean beach, dunes and a half mile of bay shoreline, will help endangered beachnesters and migratory shorebirds like red knots, piping plovers, oystercatchers and least terns.

The oceanside nesting habitat will reopen Sept. 1, and the bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for shorebirds migrating south for the winter. 

“We appreciate the public’s cooperation in this effort,” park superintendent Grant Melville said in a statement. “DNREC is committed to providing protection for these species, hopefully to prevent them from disappearing in Delaware.”

The Point has been closed annually since 1993, as part of a joint effort by DNREC's divisions of Parks & Recreation, Fish & Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations through a management plan.

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