Your recent article on beach access contained some references to the position of the MV Surfcasters Association which I, as a member, don’t necessarily support.

Over the past few years, several MVSA members, on their own, have worked hard with The Trustees of Reservations to maximize beach access during shorebird breeding season. While the outcome of these discussions may not please everyone, TTOR and these concerned fishermen have succeeded in improving communications and creating a climate where everyone can at least understand what is occurring on Chappy beaches and at Norton Point, and perhaps even establishing a framework for future increased beach access.

Sure, it can be frustrating to have over sand access limited for a period of time but to characterize the beach closures as “unfair” and claim that “closures are avoidable” does not fairly reflect the effort that goes into trying to manage the competing needs for that resource and is just not a responsible approach. TTOR undertakes extensive, expensive and time-consuming measures to make these beaches available for fishing and recreation while meeting the federal mandate to protect endangered and threatened shorebirds. TTOR efforts to manage shorebird predators may lead to shorter beach closure periods as birds whose first nests are successful and not lost to predators such as cats, gulls, crows and skunks will not likely lay a second clutch.

Of course, if one is simply going to take the position that “it’s over a little bird” and dismiss the need for protection of endangered and threatened species, then this discussion ends here, but I feel that many of the surfcasters association members would not support unilaterally aiding the extinction and destruction of a species even if it does not have gills. Many of the members realize and understand the relationships among our fish populations, bird populations and all of our natural resources and support the science that goes into understanding and managing all those resources. The laws and regulations that exist to manage these resources are complex and not always popular, but the alternatives would leave us with less diversity in our environment and could conceivably lead to unilateral federally-mandated beach closures.

I really don’t believe the MVSA president speaks for “nearly” all the members. I believe the MVSA members hold themselves to a higher standard as it is their stated mission, in part, “to encourage the sport of surfcasting; to promote and uphold sound conservation practices and laws, and to see that these laws are properly carried out by members; and to seek and protect public access to fishing areas on Martha’s Vineyard.”

We should all try to enjoy what we have while we have it and appreciate all that nature has given us.

David Nash
Edgartown