The seasonal, partial, dog ban on Long Beach, which was initiated by the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (DFW) in 2010, will continue for the 2015 season.
The ban goes into effect Wednesday, April 1, and continues through Sept. 30. It impacts all town property on Long Beach north of the Day Parking Area, the four-wheel-drive parking area located approximately one mile north of the main parking area.
Leashed dogs will be allowed on Ryder Way and the beachfront from the main parking lot north to the Day Parking Area, excluding areas closed for shorebird nesting.
State law requires that the town comply with the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act (MESA). Under MESA, the town is obligated to protect threatened and endangered shorebirds that use the beach for nesting and foraging.
Plymouth Long Beach is a regionally significant area for nesting piping plovers, least terns, common terns, arctic terns and roseate terns, which are all protected under state and/or federal laws. The town’s obligation includes ensuring that these shorebirds are not negatively impacted by unleashed dogs.
In 2008, the DFW issued a conditional “No Take” determination for the Plymouth Long Beach Management Plan and required the town to implement certain measures to prevent unleashed dogs on the beach, which included monitoring dog activity during the 2009 season. Based on the 2009 monitoring data, the DFW determined that modifications were necessary to prevent an adverse effect on nesting shorebirds by unleashed dogs, and required the town to ban dogs from the most sensitive nesting areas to prevent a “take,” which under MESA is defined as “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, hound, kill, trap, capture, collect, process, disrupt the nesting, breeding, feeding or migratory activity or attempt to engage in any such conduct.”
As required, the town continued monitoring dog activity through the 2014 season. The level of compliance with dog restrictions has fluctuated over the years.
Last season, the highest numbers of dogs were observed off leash since Plymouth started collecting data in 2009. The number of dogs in restricted areas was fairly high as well.
In order to prevent further dog restrictions, and to create the possibility of lifting the current restrictions, the town urges dog owners to comply with the partial ban and leash laws in allowable areas. Violations of the ban and/or the leash law can result in fines up to $100.
For more information, call the Plymouth Department of Marine and Environmental Affairs at 508-747-1620, ext. 201, or go to www.plymouth-ma.gov/marine-and-environmental-affairs/pages/long-beach-information.
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