Web page updated 12/15/06

The southern end of South Beach officially attached to the northeast tip of South Monomoy Island as of November 25, 2006. Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1944 to provide important resting, nesting, and feeding habitat for migratory birds, including federally protected species. Monomoy was once a peninsula, but eventually broke off from the mainland after a storm in 1958. This recent attachment will allow a person to walk from the Chatham Lighthouse to the Monomoy Lighthouse, a feat which has not been possible since the early 1960’s. The two lighthouses are separated by approximately 15 miles of sandy beaches. The attachment junction between South Beach and South Monomoy Island is about halfway the distance between the two lighthouses.

Rules and Regulations

Persons who plan to hike down to the attachment are reminded that there are rules and regulations that should be followed on South Monomoy, where refuge rules and regulations will be strongly enforced:

The following activities are not allowed on the refuge: camping, hunting (on land), fires, metal detectors, feeding animals, leaving of personal items, and walking in closed areas are not allowed on the refuge

The disturbance, destruction, or removal of wildlife, vegetation, and government property are prohibited

Dogs are not allowed on any of the Monomoy Islands, or the newly formed part of the peninsula in which the Service has jurisdiction, known as South Monomoy; dogs on a short, hand-held leash are allowed on the Morris Island portion of the refuge

Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge is a Congress-designated Wilderness Area and no motorized vehicles are allowed on the beach, unless an emergency arises

The refuge is currently open from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset to all who wish to enjoy it. Portions of the refuge will be closed to public access in the spring and summer to protect nesting and staging birds. Area closures will likely include the attachment site

when nesting terns and plovers arrive in April and May. Please check the Refuge website: (http://www.fws.gov/northeast/monomoy) or the Refuge Visitor Center for the most up-to-date closure information in the spring and summer. Closures are dependent on where and when birds nest, but are typically implemented from April through August with seasonal variations. Closed areas are monitored for nesting activity and checked frequently so that they can be re-opened as soon as birds are finished nesting or have moved out of the area.

Predator Management

The Avian Diversity Program, which was initiated in 1996, has now been in operation for approximately 10 years. The Refuge has seen an increase in the diversity of species and overall abundance of migratory birds using the refuge. The Refuge has gone from less than 300 pairs of Common Terns to a nesting colony of over 10,000 pairs in 2006, which is the largest Common Tern colony on the Atlantic seaboard. The program has also aided in the recovery of many other species including the federal-listed Roseate Tern, the federal-listed Piping Plover, and the increasingly rare American Oystercatcher and Black Skimmer, as well as benefited numerous other bird species that frequent coastal habitats.

Active management (both habitat manipulation and predator control) has been an integral component to this project’s success. Refuge staff annually evaluate the project and apply knowledge from the previous year when planning for future years. Habitat management techniques employed to date include prescribed burning, herbicide application, and hand removal of vegetation to create optimal tern nesting habitat. Predator control has included efforts (both lethal and non-lethal) to minimize impacts of Great Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls, Black-crowned Night-herons, Great Horned Owls, and eastern coyotes. Predators are only removed during the bird nesting season when birds are actively setting up nesting territories, laying eggs, and rearing and fledging chicks.

The new land bridge will likely facilitate mammalian movement from the mainland to South Monomoy. Refuge staff may be required to employ additional predator control techniques. We hope that natural geologic patterns are such that a break will occur sometime in the future, which will again create the island effect and limit predators onto South Monomoy.