Town Officials Meet To Discuss Yirrell Beach Management Plan

By Adam Swift

Town officials and consultants met with members of the Point Shirley Association on Saturday to discuss the beach management plan the town has submitted to the DEP.

The beach management plan was submitted on May 31, and the town is waiting to hear back from the DEP to see if any additional edits are required or if the plan will be approved as is, according to Town Manager Tony Marino.

The town has been in conversation with the DEP about the beach management plan since early this year.

The DEP had taken issue with a mound that the town had historically constructed with sand off the seawall to protect the nearby roadway, as well as with some of the beach raking practices. Earlier this year, Marino said the DEP stated that the mound impacted the coastal dune.

At Saturday’s meeting, the town’s environmental consultant, Dwight Dunk of Epsilon Associates, discussed some of the highlights of the submitted beach management plan.

The plan calls for removing large storm debris and installing signs describing shorebird management in the spring. In the summer, the plan includes beach raking, cleaning and clearing walkways, mowing and landscaping maintenance, trash and recyclables collection removal, and sanitation and disposal of portable toilets and pet waste.

The shorebird nesting habitat management includes managing vegetation to maintain beach characteristics to promote shorebird nesting; monitoring for return of adults and establishing nests on the beach; installing fencing and signage around nests and foraging areas; routine monitoring of nesting, hatching, movement, and foraging; and routine monitoring for vandalism and removal of trash and debris.

The storm damage management portion of the plan includes establishing eight sacrificial dunes along the beach.

Conservation Commission Chair Kim Dimes also attended Saturday’s meeting to represent her board.

“I presented a handout published by Coastal Zone Management for primary frontal dunes and the need for them and the reason for them and the laws to protect them, and spoke a little bit about us as a community to make sure we get this beach management plan in place and that we continue to monitor the plan afterwards so that we can enjoy our beach and have the flood protection we need for people down there,” said Dimes.

Residents from the area did raise concerns about flooding issues and how the beach management plan would affect those concerns.