FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 1, 2016
SECOND CHANCE SANDBAR CLOSED FOR
SUMMER NESTING SEASON
~New
Critical Wildlife Area provides protection for threatened birds~
 Least Terns on Second Chance Sandbar
NAPLES, Fla. – Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Rookery Bay National Estuarine
Research Reserve (RBNERR), in cooperation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) and Audubon Florida, has closed the emergent sandbar located one mile
southeast of Cape Romano, known as “Second Chance.” The sandbar, which is closed to public access annually from March 1 - Aug. 31, was designated as a Critical Wildlife Area (CWA) by the FWC in November.
“Protecting Florida’s
wildlife and natural resources is our first priority,” said Rookery Bay Reserve Director Keith Laakkonen. “Taking steps to protect this habitat during the nesting
season will increase the likelihood of successful breeding and help preserve threatened
Florida species such as the Least Tern.”
The area has been closed annually since 2001 to protect nesting habitat for Least Terns, Black Skimmers and Wilson’s Plover. This is the first year that the CWA rules are in place prohibiting vessels, in addition to people and dogs, from visiting the sandbar during summer nesting season. Rookery Bay offers
numerous other recreational options throughout its 110,000 acres of coastal
lands and waters.
“We work with our
partners to establish CWAs to protect wildlife from human disturbance during
important life stages such as nesting,” said Kipp Frohlich, deputy director of
FWC’s Division of Habitat and Species Conservation. “We had broad public
support and the Commission was unanimous in their decision to create this CWA,
the second one established by the Commission in the last two years.”
"Audubon cheers the efforts of the Department of Environmental
Protection and Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to manage the
important shorebird nesting site at Second Chance Shoal," said Eric Draper, executive director of Audubon Florida. "This kind of
agency coordination and action will help shorebird populations recover."
RBNERR and
FWC have installed perimeter signs on the island to clearly mark the sandbar as closed. The signs will be removed on
Aug. 31 after the birds have left and boating visitors may return.
The Least Tern
is listed as a threatened species in Florida by the FWC and Black Skimmers are listed as a
Species of Special Concern. Nesting areas will be monitored throughout the
nesting season and harassment or removal of endangered or threatened birds, their
eggs or young is a violation of state law and may
subject violators to criminal penalties. Additionally, the attempt to remove or possess any
migratory bird, their nest or eggs is a violation of federal law.
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