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Committee approves sending DeVoe Bank intertidal closure regulation to floor
Summary
The Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee voted to move a regulation closing DeVoe Bank’s intertidal area from March 15 to Oct. 15 to the Senate floor after DNR staff described nest declines and the site’s importance to migratory shorebirds.
The Senate Fish, Game and Forestry Committee voted to move to the Senate floor a Department of Natural Resources regulation that would close the intertidal area at DeVoe Bank from March 15 through Oct. 15 to protect nesting and migratory birds.
Committee members heard DNR testimony that DeVoe Bank is a highly dynamic, eroding inlet site that has shrunk sharply in recent decades. "It's very dynamic," Will Dillman, assistant chief of wildlife for DNR, told the committee, adding that more than 27 bird species use the site and that in an average year the department documents about 3,800 nests. Dillman said counts have fallen from as many as about 7,000 nests in previous years to 5,709 nests in 2021, roughly 3,200 in 2022 and 2,316 after 2023’s Hurricane Adelo.
Dillman said DeVoe Bank has been designated a sanctuary since February 2006 and that the site is an important stopover for long-distance migrants such as red knots and whimbrel. He described the closure period as the island’s nesting season and urged protection because disturbance during nesting can lead to predation by gulls and loss of eggs and chicks.
Committee members asked DNR staff for additional data on bird population trends and horseshoe-crab resources that support shorebird refueling; staff said marine-resources division personnel were examining horseshoe-crab data and offered to follow up with the senators about signage and site postings. One senator asked whether the prohibited areas would be posted; DNR staff said it was their understanding that the areas would be posted and offered to follow up with details.
A motion to move the regulation to the floor was made, seconded and approved by voice vote; the chair declared "the ayes have it." A committee member urged expedited consideration to meet the March 15 protection start date.
The regulation, as described in committee, would close DeVoe Bank’s intertidal area March 15–Oct. 15 each year; the regulation adds DeVoe Bank to existing site rules and leaves other posted areas unchanged.
No formal roll-call tally was recorded in the provided transcript excerpt; the committee advanced the regulation to the Senate floor for further consideration.
