How a little bird is keeping some Hilton Head residents off a big stretch of beach

A federally protected shorebird is at the center of a dispute between some Port Royal Plantation residents and Hilton Head town officials over access to a large chunk of beach.

More than nine acres of beach encompassing the north end of the plantation and a small island next to Fish Haul Creek and Mitchelville Beach Park have been roped off with twine and “Area Closed” signs to protect the piping plover, a small, sand-colored bird that, according to an online scientific site, nests in soft sand away from the water’s edge along the Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes and Great Plains.

For homeowners in the Ocean Point South section of Port Royal Plantation, at least 70 such signs enclose a more than half-mile stretch of the beach, making access to the shore difficult for those residents.

The piping plovers on Hilton Head are considered a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are easily disturbed by human activity, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service documents provided to the homeowners.

Sarah Brooks, a Port Royal Plantation homeowner, addressed the Town Council at Tuesday’s regular meeting about the lack of beach access that she and plantation residents now have, and the lack of notice she said residents were given about the roped-off areas.

“You walk a few feet and there’s another ‘Do not enter’ sign,” she told council members. “I raised my kids on these beaches. They learned how to walk on them. They rode their bikes on them. It’s very different. (It was) a big surprise to everyone.”

Melissa Chaplin, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife official working with the town, said Wednesday the federal agency is considering creating an access point to give Port Royal Plantation residents an easier way to get to the beach, though a final decision hasn’t been made.

Brooks said Wednesday that having a break in the enclosure to allow residents to walk to the shore would be a solution to the problem, along with installing signage that blends in with surroundings. Other plantation residents, who declined to be identified for this story, gave similar statements.

Chaplin said the closed areas were identified based on current habitat conditions for the piping plovers and known foraging and roosting, or resting, areas for the birds. Typically, there are 15 to 21 piping plovers on Hilton Head at any given time, which speaks to the status of their population and the need to protect them, said Sally Krebs, the sustainable practices coordinator for the town.

Chaplin said the island’s winter plover population is the largest in South Carolina, noting that “winter” encompasses birds that arrive between July and May.

The “Area Closed” signs went up July 1 and will remain until May 15, 2018, according to Scott Liggett, the town’s director of public projects and facilities and chief engineer. Identifying and roping off resting areas for the plovers is a requirement of the beach renourishment permit issued to the town in 2016, he said, adding that the closed areas may change if the birds’ habitat changes.

Chaplin said the town’s beach renourishment project required a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit because the project involves U.S. waters. Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies are required to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and incorporate plans to minimize impacts to threatened species, she said.

Brian Hulbert, staff attorney for the town, said Wednesday the beach renourishment project has a five-year permit, which means the bird-protection requirements will continue until 2021 between July 1 and May 15 of each year.

“The town is very sincere in wanting to cooperate and comply with the requirements,” he said.

Steve Riley, town manager, said after Brooks’ address to the council that the protection of the piping plovers has been ongoing since 2012, but the area set aside for the birds is larger than it has been previously because of the beach renourishment project.

“This was a smaller issue in previous years,” he said. “But it is a bigger area subject to restriction now.”

Hulbert noted the town has considered applying for a new beach-renourishment permit because of Hurricane Matthew damage, and that future permits likely will be subject to similar protection requirements.

Brooks said Wednesday she is worried about the effect of restricted beach access will have on property values, and how it will impact her ability to sell her home she has owned for 17 years. She said she plans to put her home on the market next week when interior painting is complete.

“Port Royal Plantation is the oldest plantation on Hilton Head; there are a lot of ocean properties,” Brooks said. “I know a lot of people would have done things much differently.”

This story was originally published July 19, 2017 at 7:00 PM with the headline "How a little bird is keeping some Hilton Head residents off a big stretch of beach."