Inventory of Habitat Modifications to Sandy Oceanfront Beaches in the U.S
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INVENTORY OF HABITAT MODIFICATIONS TO SANDY OCEANFRONT BEACHES IN THE U.S. ATLANTIC COAST BREEDING RANGE OF THE PIPING PLOVER (CHARADRIUS MELODUS) AS OF 2015: MAINE TO NORTH CAROLINA January 2017 revised March 2017 Prepared for the North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Terwilliger Consulting, Inc. Tracy Monegan Rice [email protected] Recommended citation: Rice, T.M. 2017. Inventory of Habitat Modifications to Sandy Oceanfront Beaches in the U.S. Atlantic Coast Breeding Range of the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) as of 2015: Maine to North Carolina. Report submitted to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Hadley, Massachusetts. 295 p. 1 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................... 4 METHODS ............................................................................................................................................... 5 Development ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Public and NGO Beachfront Ownership ............................................................................................... 9 Beachfront Armor ............................................................................................................................... 10 Sediment Placement ............................................................................................................................ 12 Beach Scraping ................................................................................................................................... 13 Sand Fencing ....................................................................................................................................... 15 RESULTS ............................................................................................................................................... 18 State-specific Results .............................................................................................................................. 27 Maine .................................................................................................................................................. 27 New Hampshire .................................................................................................................................. 32 Massachusetts ..................................................................................................................................... 35 Rhode Island ....................................................................................................................................... 48 Connecticut ......................................................................................................................................... 55 New York – Long Island Sound Shoreline ......................................................................................... 62 New York – Peconic Estuary Shoreline .............................................................................................. 69 New York – Atlantic Ocean Shoreline ............................................................................................... 76 New Jersey .......................................................................................................................................... 87 Delaware ........................................................................................................................................... 106 Maryland ........................................................................................................................................... 110 Virginia ............................................................................................................................................. 114 North Carolina .................................................................................................................................. 120 DISCUSSION ....................................................................................................................................... 138 Development ..................................................................................................................................... 139 Armor ................................................................................................................................................ 141 Sediment Placement .......................................................................................................................... 144 Beach Scraping ................................................................................................................................. 149 Sand Fencing ..................................................................................................................................... 150 Habitat Sustainability ........................................................................................................................ 151 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................................. 157 2 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................................... 157 Appendix A – Imagery Sources ............................................................................................................ 190 Appendix B - Maine .............................................................................................................................. 193 Appendix C – New Hampshire ............................................................................................................. 199 Appendix D – Massachusetts ................................................................................................................ 202 Appendix E – Rhode Island .................................................................................................................. 221 Appendix F – Connecticut .................................................................................................................... 227 Appendix G – New York – Long Island Sound Shoreline .................................................................... 235 Appendix H – New York – Peconic Estuary Shoreline ........................................................................ 247 Appendix I – New York – Atlantic Ocean Shoreline ........................................................................... 255 Appendix J – New Jersey ...................................................................................................................... 263 Appendix K – Delaware ........................................................................................................................ 274 Appendix L – Maryland ........................................................................................................................ 277 Appendix M – Virginia ......................................................................................................................... 279 Appendix N – North Carolina ............................................................................................................... 285 3 INTRODUCTION Sandy beach habitat has been modified throughout the United States (U.S.) Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), from Maine to North Carolina. Threats to sandy beach ecosystems include development, hard shoreline stabilization structures, sediment placement projects, beach scraping, sand fencing, and more. Sandy beaches are a valuable habitat for piping plovers, red knots (Calidris canutus), other shorebirds and waterbirds for nesting, foraging, loafing, and roosting. The North Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) has designated the piping plover as a representative species in all three subregions, standing as a surrogate for other species using dynamic beach systems including American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus), least terns (Sterna antillarum), black skimmers (Rynchops niger), seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) and migrating shorebirds. Sandy beaches and/or dunes are designated as a key habitat in the state Wildlife Action Plans for all of the states in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic coastal states – Maine (ME), New Hampshire (NH), Massachusetts (MA), Rhode Island (RI), Connecticut (CT), New York (NY), New Jersey (NJ), Delaware (DE), Maryland (MD), Virginia (VA), and North Carolina (NC); the piping plover is listed as a species in greatest conservation need by each of those states as well (CT DEP 2005, CT DEEP 2015, DE DNREC 2006, MD DNR 2005, MDIFW 2005, NJ DEP 2008, NYDEC 2005, RDFW 2005, MDFW 2006, NC WRC 2005, NHFG 2006, VA DGIF 2015). The Long Island Sound Study lists both beach and dune habitat and the presence of piping plovers as environmental indicators for the health of the Long Island Sound ecosystem (LISS 2015). The Peconic Estuary Program also has designated piping plover nests and nesting productivity as an environmental indicator, as well as the extent of shoreline hardening from shoreline stabilization structures (Balla et al. 2005). Recovery Task 1.2 of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Recovery Plan for the piping plover prioritizes the maintenance of “natural coastal formation processes that perpetuate