North Beach/big Beach, Fort Desoto Closed To Kiters Through August

[TritonKiteboarding]

As of this year from April 15th through the end of August all of the west facing beaches of Fort Desoto will be closed to kiteboarders due to new bird nesting regulations for Piping Plovers and Great American Oyster Catchers.

This includes Big Beach and all of North Beach not just the northern lagoon and the swim area like it used to be. If any incidents occur with nesting patterns getting disrupted by kite related activity the rangers said they will close the park to all kiting. Including east beach.

I was asked today to relay this message to all members of the kiting community by the head park ranger for the park. East beach is one of the best spots around so to preserve it make sure you ride backside or the regular gulf beaches on Norths and Wests.

If someone could sticky this it would be appreciated.
-Matt Sexton
TritonKiteboarding.com

[robertovillate]

Matt,

Thanks for raising awareness of this again.

It might be a good idea to either:

a. ask the Park officials to post a conspicuous sign right at the bridge...or
b. allow us to create a sign to be posted there

the sign could be used year after year during this time period.

Does anyone run a sign company? or know of one that can make a nice sign cheap...everyone pitch in a few bucks to pay for it if the Park will not make one themselves.

We need to make sure some out of area kiter doesn't accidently violate the Parks order and potentally ruin it for others. Not everyone reads the local forum as religiously as others. Let's put heads and efforts together on this ASAP.

Count me in for a donation if someone can head this effort up. I would offer to assist but I am going North soon.

I'll make a phone call to the Park tomorrow to get some initial feedback if I get a few "seconds" to my motion

Roberto,

A sign out there is an excellent idea, imo. Then, it's not Matt's or my word, or a "rumor" about NB being temporarily off limits. There is a sign and it "is fact". Also, there is no way an out of towner is going to know not to ride there without a sign. The rangers told us about a month ago that NB and the surrounding area would be closed mid April due to nesting and I made a couple posts about it, so this shouldn't be coming out of the blue or as a surprise. But, how would a guy from Minnesota know?

From the contact I have had with the rangers, they simply love having us in the park and have no desire to boot us out.
But, they also have birders with conflicting interests/concerns and this presents them with a challenge. Imo, if we show respect toward their situation and the park's natural residents, we will be in a win/win.
Jim Wilson, the Park Superintendent, is very approachable, nice and understanding. If someone takes it upon themselves to approach the rangers to arrange for a sign, I recommend talking with him. He is the one "who matters most" and he already has a very good impression of the kiting community.

[shogun1204]

Yes if there is a cost for the sign, count me in. I will chip in to help pay for the signs.

[toby wilson]

I'll chip in...