Town, Refuge Manager Agree To Improve Communications Following Changes In Location Of Closed Sign

CHATHAM – Town officials want more frequent and better communications with the management of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge.

The select board voted Nov. 14 to have Shellfish Constable Renee Gagne, the chair of the shellfish advisory committee and board member Shareen Davis engage in a “periodic dialog” with the refuge manager about commercial shellfishing on the flats of the off-shore migratory bird preserve.

Commercial shellfishing within the wilderness designated areas of the refuge has been a contentious issue in the past, and it came up again recently when shellfishers noticed changes in the location of boundary signs delineating closed areas. Shellfishers and shorebirds share the intertidal zone, where birds forage and clammers dig, but signs have been showing up prohibiting the use of traditionally open areas.

“The question is, why now?” said Davis.

There is increasing pressure to protect more areas for migrating shorebirds, said Refuge Manager Rick Nye. The tern colony on South Monomoy, which last year hosted more than 19,000 nesting pairs, is spreading out, and with that comes the need to post areas that might not have been posted before, he said. For several years the refuge didn’t have the staff to post locations that should have been posted, but this past summer there were enough staff members; buoys were also deployed along with signs, some of them extending the closed area farther than previous, he said.

“Maybe we did more than we’ve done recently, but it’s not any different from what we said we were going to do,” Nye said.

He was referring to the refuge’s 2016 comprehensive conservation plan (CCP), which found — after significant lobbying and scientific studies by the town — that the commercial shellfishing was compatible with the refuge’s mission of protecting migrating shorebirds. The plan specifically allows seasonal closures around nesting areas, which were previously 50 to 100 meters, but are allowed under the plan to increase to 150 meters.

Studies have found that to be the distance under which some species will disperse due to human presence, Nye said. Others can tolerate people being closer, but the refuge doesn’t have the staff to move signs on a regular basis as species and locations shift, he said.

“Some birds come in right after shellfishermen turn the flats over, but others need more space,” he said.

Davis expressed “deep concern” about the situation.

“We’ve been working on Monomoy and the compatibility of our shellfishermen and the refuge for decades, and this is a bit of a surprise for all of us,” she said.

Although the flats west of Monomoy are not as important to shellfishermen as they were a decade or two ago, many still rely on the area, said Select Board member Jeffrey Dykens.

“We worked out a management plan with the Fish and Wildlife for years, back and forth back and forth, we had Congress involved, etc.,” he said. “So I’d hate to see what has been a remarkably congenial relationship degrade, and it’s difficult to turn around and tell our fishermen that they can no longer shellfish there.”

Dykens said he understood the importance of Monomoy as a stop along the Atlantic Flyway, where birds feed on their migration north in the spring and south in late summer, but the town needs to be notified if the parameters of closed areas change. A 2021 memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the town and the agency acknowledging the town and state’s right to manage shellfishing along the refuge’s western boundary also said any changes to the CCP would be discussed with town officials, he said.

“It’s too important a fishery” not to have open communications, Dykens said.

The MOU also stipulated that both parties would meet annually “and as needed to share information and discuss joint fisheries management issues.” Nye said that has been happening, but the sessions have been more of a report on the refuge and could be a vehicle for further discussions.

“I think there’s an opportunity for better communications with the refuge,” said Gagne. It would be an opportunity to share scientific studies the town did during the formulation of the CCP that showed that shellfish harvesting on the intertidal flats encouraged shorebirds foraging.

Select Board member Dean Nicastro suggested that a more formal dialog seemed appropriate. Nye was amenable. After the board’s vote, Davis said the designated trio would report back to the board.