The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park to close for 2014 beachnesting season

DNREC …. LEWES (Feb. 25, 2014) The Point at Cape Henlopen State Park, including a stretch of ocean beach and dunes, and a half mile along the bay shoreline, will close beginning Saturday, March 1, for the benefit of piping plovers, oystercatchers, least terns and other threatened and endangered  beachnesters and migratory shorebirds.

The nesting habitat on the ocean side will reopen Monday, Sept. 1, when the season’s young birds are typically able to fly. The bayside beach will remain closed until Oct. 1 for use by shorebirds migrating south for the winter.

DNREC’s Divisions of Parks and Recreation, Fish and Wildlife, and Watershed Stewardship have been working together since 1990 to implement a management plan to halt the decline of beachnester and migratory shorebird populations. The Point has been closed annually since 1993.

“We appreciate the public’s cooperation in this effort,” said Park Superintendent Paul Faircloth. “DNREC is committed to providing protection for these species, hopefully to prevent them from disappearing in Delaware,”

For more information, the public can contact the Cape Henlopen State Park office at 302-645-8983.