Peter Pfeiffer writes...
> > Not all 4wdrivers trash beaches. I know the relevant parts of
> > the Coorong
> > are closed to 4wds during the Hooded Plover breeding season.
> >
And the Devil's Advocate represented by Lawrie Conole wrote..
> Is it enough to close beaches to 4WDs during the Hoodies breeding
season
> but use their foraging habitat as a road for the rest of the year? I
> don't know the answer, but it strikes me that harrying the birds year
> round & giving them a short break to breed is a rather odd
conservation
> strategy, albeit a commonly adopted one.
Both of the above comments have merit, and I certainly agree that not
all 4WDs *intentionally* "trash" beaches. As Peter writes, it is true
that in South Australia the main stretch of ocean beach at the Coorong
is closed to 4WDs during the breeding season of the Hooded Plover.
However my impression during my visits at other times is that these
beaches can turn into relative highways, and I've idea how the Hooded
Plovers fare under these conditions. I'm not sure how many Hooded
Plovers are left on the strecth of beach from Goolwa to the Murray
Mouth (any?) but the traffic levels here can be "high" (one Sunday
morning we - walking - were passed by one vehicle every 10 minutes or
so), although this location is not technically "Coorong".
I think a good source for some more informed input into this debate
would be the South Australian Department of Environment and Natural
Resources, as I believe they funded studies of the Hooded Plover some
years back, and I would assume that this issue was covered, if not the
main reason, for both the study and the resulting traffic control
measures.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Keith M. Martin Tel +32 16 32 18 62
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Fax +32 16 32 19 86
Dept. Elektrotechniek-ESAT
Kardinaal Mercierlaan 94
B-3001 Heverlee
Belgium
http://www.esat.kuleuven.ac.be/~martin/
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