Officials are closing several climbing areas and hiking trails in places throughout the Northeast to protect nesting peregrine falcons.
Closures occur each spring in areas of New York, Vermont, and Maine’s Acadia National Park to provide peregrine falcons—an endangered species—with adequate space for nesting and to protect them from inadvertent human disturbance or harassment during the nesting period. The nesting period can last into August, although it often ends sooner.
Officials with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation have announced they are closing rock climbing routes at at least seven locations as of April 1. Locations with closures include Chapel Pond, Poke-O-Moonshine, Crane Mountain, and Potash Mountain, among others. View the full list of New York rock climbing closures here.
Earlier this month, officials with the National Park Service announced that, as of March 1, several hiking trails in Acadia National Park would be closed due to peregrine falcons. Those areas include Jordan Cliffs Trail, Penobscot East Trail, Precipice Trail, and Valley Cove Trail. In addition, the parking lot for the Precipice Trail will remain closed to vehicles until further notice.
Meanwhile in Vermont, officials with Vermont Fish and Wildlife have announced more than a dozen locations are now closed to protect nesting peregrine falcons. Those locations include Bolton Notch, Dummerston Quarry’s upper quarry, and the entire western trail of Snake Mountain. View the full list of Vermont rock climbing closures here.
