The birds are protected by Federal and State laws. They are more vulnerable during nesting season which is for a finite period of time in suitable habitat areas. Identifying key habitat as has been attempted in the past with the roped off areas. I understand they nest between March and August with peak periods during that interval. Keeping kiter foot traffic away from and kites from overflying these roped off areas which should be near the base of dunes from the reference below, seems doable. After all, aren't the dunes set pretty far back from the water as a rule? The major threat is far from kiters but involves natural predators, dogs, trampling by foot traffic and cars, development losss of habitat, high tides and storm events, beach erosion and a great deal more not involving kites. It seems like we've been lumped into the 40 mile ban because ... I have no idea why. Our activities can be regulated like everyone else's with those regulations hopefully being reasonable and based on good science and resource management concepts.
Looking at a 2006 reference on the plovers,
http://www.flshorebirdalliance.org/p...NPL_Report.pdf
"9. It will be essential to accurately determine depredation levels, and to identify the types of predators that might be influencing nest success and recruitment at various sites. Raccoons, coyotes, and ghost crabs were notable snowy plover nest predators, as evidenced by the frequency of tracks observed around depredated nests. In addition, fish crows and laughing gulls were observed taking snowy plover eggs (R. Pruner pers. obs.) and chicks (B. Eells pers. comm.). Management actions taken to improve reproductive success should coincide with the type of predator and disturbance pressures present at each site. For example, exclosures are only effective with medium to large-sized mammals, or with avian predators (Mabee and Estelle 2000). Nest exclosures are not a means of preserving biological diversity over time, but rather as a site-specific tool for temporarily increasing nest success, while more substantial large-scale/long-term conservation plans are developed (Johnson and Oring 2002). Predator control programs should also be considered at select sites to enhance breeding success of snowy plovers."
"10. Human disturbance due to development and increased recreational pressure continue to be of concern. These two factors are the most difficult to control, and create the most permanent impact on the habitat. The impact of recreational pressures should be minimized by protecting areas of snowy plover habitat, and by concentrating human activities away from preferred nesting areas. Depending on the proximity and type of human activity (i.e. walking, running, fishing, dogwalking), shorebirds may respond by spending more time watching the potential human threat (Burger and Gochfeld 1991), than by walking or flushing to undisturbed areas. Furthermore, human disturbance can cause declines in habitat use, and can affect the hatch rates of snowy plovers. Human disturbance on publicly owned beaches is of great concern because the majority of breeding snowy plovers are now concentrated on these sites. In addition, snowy plovers that utilize barrier islands are also prone to high levels of disturbance by humans accessing the islands by boat. Nesting areas with high human impact should be roped off and/or posted against trespass prior to the start of the breeding season. Disturbance rates may fall dramatically following posting and roping around large nesting areas (Lafferty et al. 2006). In addition, minimizing development at the few remaining nesting areas on private lands should be encouraged."