Federal officials are looking at moving the Assateague recreational beach around a mile and a half to the north.
In addition, the draft plan would ban the commercial harvesting of horseshoe crabs.
It is part of the comprehensive draft version of the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge’s comprehensive conservation plan.
The Salisbury Daily Times reports that the plan is an effort to adjust for the instability of Assateague’s southern end which is subject to over wash from storms.
This has caused the destruction of parking places at a cost of up to $600-thousand.
The new plan would include the same amount of parking with 961 spaces.
It’s estimated that the cost of the project would run between $12 to-$14 million.
With the release of the plan the public will not have 60 days to comment.
