PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- To help protect endangered piping plovers, public access to the East Beach/Ninigret Conservation Area Sand Trail will be restricted to pedestrian traffic for the month of July, beginning at 4 p.m. Monday.
Because of superstorm Sandy, there are many over-wash areas on East Beach that provide access for young birds, and piping plover chicks have been feeding and taking refuge along the sand trail. Staff and volunteers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service monitor the plover nests and broods every day.
The sand trail will be reopened to vehicles, and protective roping will be removed once the young piping plover chicks are able to fly, according to an announcement Monday from the R.I. Department of Environmental Management.