February Beach Report

[sheehan1414]

Nauset Beach was hit very hard by our last Nor'Easter. At the public beach the ocean severely ate away at the front dunes. The stairs to the beach are either completely gone or buried under 10 feet of sand. The sand from the front beach was pushed over the protective dunes filling in walkways and covering the public parking lot. Heavy equipment will have to be brought in to clear this area. The gate at the outer beach (Nauset ORV section) is currently locked by the Town of Orleans as it is not safe to travel. Camp owners may contact the Town to unlock the gate if you need to check on a camp. The last time I was on the beach was about a month ago. At that time there was no front beach at high tide and travel was recommended at low tide, give or take two hours or so. Much of the back trail (middle trail) was filled in with sand. In fact some access trails to the front beach where filled in to the point that they were not passable. I can say with some certainty that those conditions I observed a month ago have dramatically gotten worse with this last storm. I am hoping the town will allow us to dig previous established trails out for vehicle use. I am sure there was some wash-over in the usually spots. I have heard that the end of the beach was hit hard where there was very little dune. Much of the sand on the front beach was pushed over the back onto the clam-flats. Unfortunately creating prime habitat for bird nesting. On North Beach Island there was substantial damage to one cottage resulting in the house lying on its side. This will have to be removed from the island, as it now becomes a maritime safety hazard. I wish I had better news, but we always stay positive and hope for the best. Lets look forward to a great spring and all the clean ups right around the corner.

Hope to see everyone soon

Bill Sheehan