Portions of Assateague Island Nat. Seashore Closed for Bird Nesting

Image Courtesy of National Park Service

ASSATEAGUE ISLAND, Md. – Park officials with the Assateague Island National Seashore have announced that portions of the island are closed off to visitors until September to protect the nesting areas of threatened and endangered birds.

Image Courtesy of National Park Service

Signs have been installed in closed areas on the bayside and oceanside of the north end to warn visitors not to enter nesting areas in the interior of the island. This closure, which occurs every year on the north end of Assateague, protects federally threatened piping plovers and other state-listed nesting birds that lay their eggs directly on the sand or among the grasses in the dunes.

Several interior areas of the Maryland Over Sand Vehicle (OSV) range (KM #21.8-22.8 and 23.5-24.5) are now closed as well. However, all travel lanes are currently open to the state line.

Visitors are still welcome to take a walk north of Assateague State Park, but are asked to leave pets at home and remain below the high tide line.