BUXTON, N.C. — Part of Hatteras Island that's popular with surf fishermen is closed because the first piping plover nest of the season has hatched there.
The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk reported (http://bit.ly/LJy2Ak) three miles of Cape Point are closed to both vehicles and pedestrians. The closure shuts down Cape Point completely.
The National Park Service says this leaves 17 of the 64 miles of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore open to vehicles and about 31 miles open for pedestrians.
The closures are part of a management plan intended to balance recreation and preservation, but anglers say the rules are too restrictive.
The park service says the rules are necessary to help federally protected species. The piping plover nests from April to July on the North Carolina coast, where it's considered a threatened species.
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Information from: The Virginian-Pilot, http://pilotonline.com