Endangered species to get extra protection
“In situations like this, a pet’s owner could face up to $20,000 in associated fines,“the release said.
While a fine that large, or even potential criminal charges, would be the worst possible scenario faced by careless dog owners, the law that takes effect Oct. 1 will enable police to hand out infractions for treading on restricted nesting areas, Audubon Connecticut’s Policy Director Robert LaFrance said Monday.
House Bill 6813, which was signed into law by Gov. Ned Lamont on June 27, will allow state environmental law enforcement officers to write tickets for incidents that might threaten or cause harm to protected seabird and shorebird nesting areas, LaFrance said.
According to the bill, the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may designate seabirds and shorebird protection areas from a list of endangered species during the period of March 1 to Sept. 15.
An infraction can be issued to any person who enters a seabird or shorebird protection area identified with string fencing, posts or signage.
“We’re really happy that the General Assembly took up the bill,” LaFrance said. “We’ve had trouble with dogs and bicycles. We wanted to give law enforcement a simple tool that they could use to help enforce and protect shorebirds and seabirds in Connecticut.”
Harkness remains a popular spot for dog owners, some of whom said in interviews at the park and surrounding neighborhood last week that they recognize the importance of heeding warnings and staying away from the birds.
The park is generally dog friendly, Phyllis Freeman of Montville said while she sat with her leashed dog Porsche on Monday.
“There are lovely shady spots, and it’s very quiet,” she said.
Geoff Bolte of Thompson said that he and his wife, Jess, enjoyed having open space to let their dog Mia do her own thing. Mia was also leashed.
“Obviously, with the bird spaces there’s limited spaces where we can take her,” Bolte said. “At least here there’s plenty of spaces for dogs to be.”
“We have to share our space,” Jess Bolte said. “Technically, it’s not even ours. We have to share their shore.”
Meanwhile, Sharon Williams, whose husband and inlaws own a vacation home on the other side of the beach, said she has not seen anyone in her neighborhood taking dogs into the protected area.
There are signs at Harkness
that warn visitors against trespassing and bringing dogs onto the beach.
“The person who did this would have had to ignore those signs,” Folsom-O’Keefe said.
“Typically, everyone is good about following the signs,” Williams said. “They stop where they’re supposed to.”
Harkness is a popular spot for dog walkers, and there are dogs on the other side of the beach, belonging partially to a neighborhood called “the Strand.”
Folsom-O’Keefe said there are only four places in the state where least terns can nest. For their safety, she did not wish to disclose the locations of the other three sites.
“We’re fortunate to be able to share our shores with these birds,” Folsom-O’Keefe said.
The incident at Harkness was the latest in a series of incidents that have threatened the safety of endangered birds in the state. Folsom-O’Keefe gave a few tips for parkgoers:
Don’t bring dogs onto the beach, stay outside of the fenced in nesting areas, limit the use of drones on the beach and carry your trash out with you.
“This year has been a learning lesson for everybody” Folsom-O’Keefe
said. d.drainville@theday.com