A photo of a beach with criss-cross tracks through its sand may appear as harmless fun on an electric bike, but the markings expose a damaging trend wreaking havoc on Aussie coastlines. The latest incident of beachgoers riding e-bikes along dunes occurred at Peregian Beach near Noosa Heads in Queensland over the weekend and a local blasted those responsible.
“More idiot behaviour by kids on e-bikes riding over the dunes. Never mind the turtle nests!” the local wrote. Yahoo News reported the incident to Noosa Shire Council, and while it appears there are no rules stopping people from riding e-bikes on the beach, riders are expected to keep off the sand dunes.
Noosa Shire’s Environmental Services Manager Ben Derrick explained dunes play a vital role in the environment, creating a natural flood barrier and a buffer for wind erosion.
“Dunes protect and buffer communities, infrastructure and terrestrial ecosystems from coastal hazards and it’s important they are maintained in their natural condition as much as possible,” he told Yahoo News Australia. “It’s disappointing that people choose to do the wrong thing.”
Tyre tracks on the sand can cause turtles to get stuck, endangering their lives. Source: Supplied/Darren Jew
Driving on beach dunes ‘seriously’ threatens wildlife
Not only does driving on dunes pose a risk to the land, but it can also have a catastrophic impact on wildlife — especially during nesting and hatching season.
This was seen recently at Seacliff Beach in Adelaide, where a plover chick was found dead along e-bike tracks by wildlife rescuers, believed to have been hit by a passerby.
Turtles are also at risk of being injured as they use the dunes to nest their eggs before hatching and many have recently perished along the Cooloola Coast, north of Noosa Heads, due to 4WD motorists driving along the dunes.
“The destruction of fragile root systems by vehicles can disturb feeding or roosting shorebirds and seriously threaten the nesting season for loggerhead and green turtles,” Derrick said.
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