Scarborough finds balance in rules for beach access

On a foggy Sunday morning, the tide comes in on Pine Point and Shiva waits impatiently for Steve McCall, barking to get his attention.

Shiva, a 4-year-old English setter, loves to run, and she loves it when her owner tosses a well-worn tennis ball down Pine Point Beach along the surf. She races for each throw, often catching the ball on a bounce in her mouth.

“This is great for her down here,” said McCall. A Pine Point resident, he is not alone this morning in letting his dog stretch her legs.

As neighboring South Portland takes sides ahead of November’s referendum to keep dogs off Willard Beach, Scarborough provides one example of a coastal community working to balance use of a signature asset, its beaches, with protecting both rare birds nesting there and beachgoers hoping to cross the sands undisturbed.

Scarborough’s rules ban dogs from Higgins, Pine Point and Ferry beaches from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from June 15 to Sept. 15. Dogs can run free from sunrise to 9 a.m. under voice control by their owners, though many mornings owners keep their dogs on leashes. The most recent change placed dogs on leashes after 5 p.m.

At Scarborough Beach State Park, pets are not allowed from April 1 to Nov. 1. The rest of the year, pets must be under control and on a leash.

Town Manager Tom Hall said he has not heard any complaints about the rules this summer, describing Scarborough as not being unique in having to deal with dogs on the beach issues.

Mary Thurlow has walked with her dogs on Pine Point over at least the past 20 years, she said. A dog trainer who travels to competitions, Thurlow had a pair of rescued Labrador retrievers with her Sunday.

“I think (the rules) are fair for everybody,” she said. She said she believes the rules are working, but echoes the sentiment that no matter how many dog owners act responsibly, it takes just one or two “to cause problems for all of us.”

“A lot of people just don’t like dogs,” said McCall, who described Shiva as a dog that is friendly around people. “I think the rules work well.”

McCall does admit the beach walks are better in the winter when there are fewer people and other dogs around. Dogs are not banned at any time from September to June, and leashes are not required.

Thurlow believes dog owners have adjusted to the recent rule changes regarding leashes after 5 p.m. in summer, even if it means something as simple as tossing a ball in the water becomes more difficult.

“I think people and dogs are coexisting,” she said, noting that she’s experienced the occasional request from a beachgoer to keep her dogs at a distance. These incidents are few and far between, she said, and dog owners can take steps to make sure this is the case.

For example, Thurlow said, she asks people not to feed her dogs. “I’m the only Pez dispenser here,” she said.

The town’s history regarding dogs on the beach includes long debates in front of the Town Council, lobbying for and against restricting access and highlighting long-running conservation efforts on behalf of piping plovers and terns.

Scarborough adopted its current animal control ordinance in 2000, with changes made in 2004. Whenever the Town Council took up the ordinance, residents and interest groups turned out at every opportunity to voice their opinions and shape the debate.

In 2004, the council rejected attempts to allow dogs on beaches without leashes during the evening along with suggestions to reset the summer rules to apply from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Councilors also debated how to continue the ongoing education efforts regarding piping plovers, an endangered species that nests on beaches along the Maine coast every summer.

“Piping plovers are certainly one of the challenges, with dogs on beaches,” Hall said. According to the July 23 update on the Maine Audubon Society’s Web site, nests have been seen on Scarborough beaches but were either abandoned or destroyed by tides.

Scarborough Conservation Commission Chairman Paul Austin said efforts to protect the small, sandy-colored shorebirds are one of the issues the commission follows regarding dogs on beaches, along with making sure owners clean up after their pets.

Austin said he’s not heard any complaints about Scarborough’s beach-use rules. “I think that 99 percent of dog owners try to be responsible,” he said.

Steve McCall of Pine Point in Scarborough plays fetch with his English setter, Shiva, Sunday morning. Rules for dogs on Scarborough’s beaches appear to generate less controversy than in neighboring South Portland. (Dan Bustard photo)