Part of Jersey Shore park to close for endangered bird
The Piping Plover has been listed as endangered in New Jersey since 1984. Vehicle traffic will be barred beginning June 23, and fencing will be put up in the part of the park where the chicks are expected to hatch.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/63U6SFBLQZB7BIZ5NNQCJ2UW5I.jpg)
Beachgoers won't be able to use part of Island Beach State Park in Ocean County, N.J., for a while.
The New Jersey State Park Service has issued an advisory to accommodate the piping plover, a small shorebird that is listed as endangered by the state. The birds are nesting in the park's Southern Natural Area, NJ.com reported.
The park, just south of Seaside Park on the Barnegat Peninsula in Berkeley Township, is required by law to close off the area where eggs are expected to hatch. Wildlife officials will put protective fencing around the area north of the jetty, which will close to vehicle traffic on June 23, the story reported.
While pedestrians can enjoy the area that is not fenced off, dogs will not be allowed in that part of the park, the story reported.
The piping plover is distinguished by a black neck band and black bar across the forehead. It typically nests on the stretch of beach between the dunes and the high-tide mark in flat areas with shells and sparse vegetation. In 1984, the piping plover was listed as endangered in New Jersey, with an estimated 120 pairs of nesting birds in the state.