LEWES, Del. - A portion of Gordons Pond beach in Cape Henlopen State Park will be temporarily closed starting next week to protect the first piping plover nest discovered in the area since 2016. The closure aims to safeguard the nesting area and potential piping plover chicks, as the species is listed as both state-endangered in Delaware and threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The closure starts on Monday, June 26. Approximately 800 feet of beach at Gordons Pond will be closed to the public. The closure will enable the department to install fencing around the nest and potentially extend it to accommodate the movement of piping plover parents and potential chicks withing the Cape Henlopen State Park.
Another stretch of the beach at The Point is currently closed through Sept. 1, and through Oct. 1 for The Point's bayside beach, to protect threatened and endangered beach-nesting and migratory shorebirds like piping plovers and red knots.
While drive-on surf fishing reservations for weekends and holidays will continue, access to surf fishing will be limited due to the proximity of the closed beach area to the piping plover nest. Drive-on surf fishing access will still be permitted from Herring Point and Gordons Pond, but access between the two will not be allowed.
The pilot surf fishing program's reservation sales portal has been updated to offer separate reservation options for drive-on access to either Herring Point or Gordons Pond to accommodate the restrictions during the closure period, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Delaware Natural Resources Police Park Rangers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will enforce the piping plover area closure. Driving through the closed area or disturbing the nests or birds will be strictly prohibited and violators may face fines.
Though this is the first closure for the protection of piping plovers at Gordons Pond in seven years, the species has nested there on a number of occasions since they were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 1986.
Closure restrictions at Gordons Pond are expected to be in effect into August. For more information about piping plovers and volunteer opportunities for monitoring the beach-nesting species, interested people can contact Avian Conservation Program Manager Sam Robinson at samantha.robinson@delaware.gov.