A portion of a state park in Kansas will be closed off to the public until late June to help an endangered bird rear its young.
According to reporting by KSNT, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks moved to close part of the Webster State Park's swimming beach area after a sighting of a piping plover nest.
As a social media post announcing the closure stated, the area will remain closed until the bird and her fledglings have left the area. The department advised visitors wishing to catch a glimpse of the rare bird:
"Visitors may observe from outside the areas marked with yellow caution tape, taking care not to disturb the birds."
The piping plover is an endangered bird species that winters on the Gulf Coasts and returns to the East Coast, upper Great Lakes, and northern Great Plains to breed. Although they migrate hundreds of miles each year, they tend to return to the same spot for nesting year after year.
They forage along lake and ocean coastlines for food and use their tiny size and sandy plumage to stay out of trouble, per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They primarily eat insects and invertebrates, playing a helpful role in the ecosystem by keeping their prey population in check, and their foraging habits help aerate the sand.
Habitat loss and hunting have caused their numbers to decline, and they are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Additionally, several states have listed them as endangered, including New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maine.
Nature is resilient when given half a chance, and sometimes all that's needed is to just give species a little breathing room. A similar tale had a happy ending in Oregon, as the related snowy plover made a comeback from the brink of extinction.
Such stories serve to underline the importance of effective legislation and community-based solutions.
Preserving critical habitats is possible by taking local action and backing political candidates who prioritize conservation issues. By taking a proactive approach to conservation issues, Kansas is giving the little bird a big chance to return next year.
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