THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 26, 1996 TAG: 9601260512
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 103 lines
A plan to end a 30-year conflict over access to False Cape State Park through Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge has been formulated, but could be doomed because state and federal officials cannot agree on the permanence of the arrangement.
After six months of painstaking negotiation, both sides concur with the specifics of how to end the long-standing controversy of getting people into the park without disturbing the wildlife in the refuge. They include year-round, but limited, access routes and a transportation system or tram for
visitors.
The proposed settlement calls for a renewable, five-year permit, which can be terminated by the park or the refuge with 60 days notice.
State officials, hoping for a more permanent solution, have balked at the termination clause. ``Sixty days, by any definition, is not long-term,'' said Gary Waugh, state parks spokesman.
State officials fear investing a lot of money in the park only to have public access revoked after a short time.
But federal officials said the clause is standard and the agreement is as close to permanent as the law will permit, short of purchasing rights-of-way or easements. Federal and state negotiators ruled out land transfers and purchases from the start, as those options were explored and dismissed as too costly.
``We think this is a long-term agreement,'' said John Stasko, refuge manager.
``It's as permanent as Fish and Wildlife gets.'' (Federal wildlife refuges are part of the Fish and Wildlife Service.)
Additionally, refuge officials said, they need some flexibility in the arrangement because of changing biological conditions.
``We don't know what mother nature is going to do,'' said Joe McCauley, assistant refuge manager.
``We can't predict what Back Bay or False Cape will look like 20 years from now.''
Tired of the bickering, Congress last April directed refuge and park officials to find a permanent or long-term solution to the access dispute. It gave them a deadline of March 1, 1996.
The lead players in the conflict met Thursday night with a group of residents, ``Citizens for Solutions,'' to apprise them of where the negotiations stand and to solicit suggestions to end the impasse.
At the meeting, the state offered alternatives that would make it harder to dissolve the agreement. They include requiring concurrence of both refuge and park officials to end the agreement, and listing specific criteria that would be grounds for termination.
State and federal representatives said Thursday, for the first time since the stalemate began in November, that they would consider another round of talks to resolve this issue.
``I think you've done a magnificent job of negotiating,'' said George Jessen, who co-chairs the citizens group. ``It's a shame you got this far then got stuck.''
The controversy over access to isolated False Cape, a barrier spit that is cut off from Virginia Beach by Back Bay refuge, escalated about 18 months ago when the refuge restricted public use of its interior trails, or dikes, in winter months to protect migrating waterfowl. A refuge study concluded that public use of the dikes disturbed the birds that flock there to rest and feed.
Those dikes, used by hikers and bikers, are the main access to the park. False Cape also uses the dikes to bus visitors to its environmental education center. Private vehicles are prohibited.
The seasonal closure forces park visitors to travel 10 miles round trip on the beach to reach the park. The beach is a more formidable route because of sand, tides and weather. The only other access is by boat.
The northern 1 1/2 miles of the refuge, which includes trails and the visitors center, as well as the beach remain open year round.
The negotiated agreement allows additional trips through the refuge, but with more controls. It's based on counting the number of disturbances to the birds, instead of numbers of people. For example, a single biker can cause as much disturbance as a busload of 40 people.
The agreement:
Provides shifting access routes through the refuge depending on the season and where the majority of birds are congregating.
Hikers and bikers will continue to be prohibited from using interior dikes during winter months. However, the park will be allowed limited use of one of the dikes to transport visitors in vehicles.
Supports a jointly operated transportation system for shuttling visitors between the two facilities on the beach and the dikes. The negotiating team is working with consultants to develop an alternative fuel vehicle that can operate on the beach.
A preliminary design has been prepared. More than half of the estimated $440,000 cost has been pledged, primarily from a consortium of private interests and a federal agency interested in developing and testing alternative vehicles.
To compensate for creating additional disturbance to wildlife, the state would transfer the management of about 200 acres in the northern end of the state park to the refuge, which would provide more habitat for birds. The land, however, would remain in state ownership.
Additionally, the state would designate about 95 percent of the park that's not developed or slated for future development as Natural Area Preserves. ILLUSTRATION: Map
The Virginian-Pilot
KEYWORDS: FALSE CAPE by CNB