Piping Plover citizen volunteers sought, with Sleeping Bear Dunes employment in flux

Piping Plover photo by Alice Van Zoeren

From staff reports

Ready or not, here they come. The endangered, migratory Piping Plover birds will return to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in April and set up their stony nests—regardless of National Park staff cuts and federal politics.

Sleeping Bear staff might not be able to hire all the seasonal employees it needs to work with the shorebirds—or those workers might not arrive on time—since the federal hiring process resumed late in the winter. In their potential absence, volunteers are stepping forward.

Grawn resident Maryellen Newport is recruiting local volunteers to monitor and protect the Piping Plover from predators. Click on this Google form to sign up to. She’s looking for volunteers to install fencing and signage once the birds arrive in early-mid April, after their nests are identified and protected with exclosure cages, and to walk the beaches and monitor Plover nests this spring and summer. The work will include documenting the presence of the birds and whether or not they are banded, and educating visitors about staying out of fenced areas and keeping dogs on leashes.

Newport, who has volunteered as a member of Sleeping Bear’s avian botulism “Bot Squad” for more than a decade, estimates that the Plover volunteers with fence off and monitor as many as a dozen areas within the Lakeshore, including Platte Point, Peterson beach, the Dune Climb and Sleeping Bear Point. She estimates needing three-four volunteers per beach to install fencing and signage and as many as 50-70 volunteers for monitoring.

“I felt moved to initiate a volunteer effort in anticipation of staffing shortages,” Newport told the Glen Arbor Sun. “We’ve made such good progress in helping the Piping Plover population recover. I’d hate to see that interrupted. I’m confident there are enough people in our area who are interested in supporting the project.”

Newport recalled that during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, which temporarily closed services at Sleeping Bear Dunes, people went into the park on their own accord and emptied trash bins.

Sue Jennings, a former wildlife biologist with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore who managed the Piping Plover project, applauded the enthusiasm of volunteers who want to help in the Park. But she emphasized the long-term importance of park rangers and highly-trained biologists who work closely and communicate effectively with biologists from other agencies.

Jennings encouraged training to understanding the National Park Service preservation mission and Endangered Species Act to give volunteers the tools to safely and effectively communicate with visitors.

“Citizen science has a role and can have positive benefits,” Jennings told the Sun. “But we need to be aware of the challenges and drawbacks, and manage any citizen science program accordingly and with proper oversight. I applaud what [the volunteers are] trying to do. It’s about protecting the birds and preventing predation mortality wherever we can.”