All about our beach
We are often asked the same questions about Crescent Beach. Why are cars driving on the beach? What is that grass? Who owns the beach? What if I find a dead seal?
We have answers read on.
It’s a “tombolo”, a natural peninsula of sand extending from the mainland or islands, often towards other land that shelters it from one or more directions. Early maps show it sometimes far from George Island, the first rocky island of the LaHave Islands. However by the mid 19th century it was reliably tidally connected to George Island & a road was built in 1911 that included causeways, crib work and a plank bridge (eventually replaced by causeway and conduit) and the steel Bush Island bridge (which still stands today). George Island’s tidal flats & salt marsh (on either side of the road) slowly began to fill in & build up so it became connected. However, on Crescent Beach itself, the dunes were steadily degraded by human activity which put the road in jeopardy – on December 31, 1956, a storm blew an 1800 foot gap in the beach & destroyed the road. When the beach was rebuilt, armor rock & cribwork was added & it has only once since had any such breach, quickly repaired. After Hurricane Juan in 2004, massive additional amor was added on the Dublin Bay side. So the beach, today is a combination of a natural sand tidal flat on the Green Bay side, a natural sand & mud tidal flat on the Dublin Bay side, a somewhat restored dune system beside the beach on Green Bay, a backbone of armor rock to protect the causeway & road, and that road.
The federal government (as the Crown) owns all lands below the mean high tide line which is fairly high up on the beach, according to a 2006 survey. It was historically wider as the natural dunes (seen on early postcards) were still high in the 1870s. At that time there was no road & generally islanders preferred to get around by boat, as there was a gap between Green Bay & Dublin Bay & George Island was not yet connected to the tombolo (see 1 above). As of owner Jacob Romkey’s death in 1872, the beach was divided into lots for purposes of seaweed gathering – still an important resource – but this was cause for lawsuits eventually clarifying that seaweed on beaches was (and remains to this day) a public common resource. The beach & dunes were at this time the only road between the mainland and the islands. Even after 1911, the beach remained a more reliable route for heavy loads & when the road was washed out or badly degraded. In 1952, the Crown acquired the beach from the Romkey family which had operated a canteen at its foot. The smaller beach known as “little Crescent” or “George Island beach” or “Oxner’s beach” at the far end on George Island, is privately owned from about 20m beyond the Crown lot at its entrance. However, it remains available for respectful public use and is likewise owned by the Crown below the mean high tide line.
Historically Crescent Beach was the only road from the islands to the mainland, and even after the 1911 road was built it remained an important alternate route, and was the only practical route to gather seaweed from the middle of the beach. Little Crescent or George Island beach likewise was accessible for seaweed gathering, was the only practical route for heavy vehicles and cattle driven to Cape LaHave Island there, and remains the only access for several houses on the Island. However, the relatively robust modern road behind Crescent Beach suggests that driving on the beach itself could be avoided, and it may appear to contravene the 1960s Beaches Act which forbade driving on beaches elsewhere. However there are several reasons why vehicles are allowed to drive on Crescent:
- The legal requirement to access seaweed as a common resource, a relatively bulky substance, means vehicles still need to access it at some times. Petite Riviere / West Dublin / LaHave area has a thriving market garden & small farm economy with its own West Dublin Farm Market, and that is due in part to access to this important resource (see below). Truckloads are often carried off at a time for farms.
- Parking on the Dublin Bay side of the road & walking over the dunes, even on prescribed paths, would accommodate far fewer visitors & result in far more dune damage, than simply permitting them to drive on the beach itself. Even if such foot traffic or seaweed hauling did not directly damage the dunes, it startles wildlife and can cause birds to lose up to 12 hours of calorie gathering from taking flight once. This can easily starve the winter resident birds to death, and cause migratory birds to exhaust their fat supply & die in long flight South.
- Crescent Beach sand is very fine & hard packed, like concrete, and cannot be damaged in any way by driving. The dry seaweed farther up near the dunes however is nesting material for Plovers, there are fox dens & mouse holes that feed them & predatory birds, and deer & birds eat the berries & rose hips & flowers. Foot traffic from parked cars on Dublin Bay would largely destroy these flora and fauna, and the Beaches Act & other policies are fairly clear that these take precedence over any imaginary harm done to the beach by mere vehicles.
- That said, the beach has a parking lot standard speed limit (15km/h) and exceeding that limit or harming birds on the beach is forbidden.
- The types of clams on Crescent Beach (Quahogs, Atlantic Surf Claims) do not live in the area of the beach normally dry at low tide, but below the mean low tide, and so are not amenable to being harmed.
- Boat launching, disabled or elderly persons, families with children & a lot of gear, all are far more easily served by driving on the beach than any amount of parking & walkways. In some cases, the ability to drive on the beach means the difference between access & not. Many residents of Lunenburg County are elderly & could not walk far up the beach either way & still be safely evacuated in any crisis.
- Crescent Beach Road has only a single lane each way and they are narrow due to the need to preserve the dunes. If both lanes are blocked by a disabled vehicle, there would be no way to evacuate persons by ambulance nor respond to a fire in LaHave Islands. So for these cases vehicle access to Crescent Beach must be maintained with minimal or no barriers, making other public use hard to exclude.
- Windsurfing & kite surfing are extremely popular activities on Crescent Beach. Due to the heavy and wind-vulnerable gear involved, it is not practical to cross dunes carrying it, nor to carry it to the middle of the beach. So if Crescent were closed to vehicle traffic, these would be difficult activities to pursue.
As mentioned above (2, 3.1) seaweed (or “sea manure” as it was sometimes described) was critical for farming & gardening & insulating. At some times of year seaweed up to a metre thick is deposited on the beach & must be rapidly gathered or it will be buried by sand or washed back out to sea to dissolve. This of course adds some substance to the beach, but not much as the weed is mostly carbon & protein. The functions of the various seaweeds are:
- “sea grass”, green when freshly washed up but rapidly turning brown, is used for insulation (piled high up to second shingle on houses in winter, then spread on gardens in spring) & mulch. It is only about 10% protein so does not rot but dries on top & retains moisture below.
- “Irish moss”, which is usually reddish when it dies & many colours growing on rocks, is used in brewing & medicines, and is full of trace minerals that many plants lack. All seaweeds are high in iodine, which is made only in the sea, and gives the dead moss its red colour.
- Kelp, a long tough orange leaf, makes forests in the ocean & provides habitat for mussels & urchins. It is about 30% protein and edible by deer, worms, pigs, cattle, sheep & humans. When eaten by worms, it does not have time to rot & becomes worm castings, which are extremely good compost.
- Rockweed & “angel hair”, bright orange with bubbles of air that make them float in the water, are about 25% protein and are also directly edible by worms & wildlife & domestic animals, though humans eat it less often. It also will rot (but slower) if not eaten directly, so like kelp is best fed to worms or mixed with soil to slow rotting until worms can get to it. It can be added into pots when steaming to ensure steamed lobster & clams do not touch the water, but are suspended above it & do not lose all their flavour into the water by boiling.
- Green bulbous weed that dries to a chalky white when dry is poor mulch or insulation, has low protein value, and came in bilge from Asia.
Sadly sometimes dead animals wash up on our beautiful shores.If you encounter a dead, stranded or injured seal or other large marine creature please visit this website or contact
1-866-567-6277
to report it. The DNR can not assist with dead, injured or stranded marine mammals. They can however answer concerns regarding wildlife, and can be reached at 1-866-567-6277.
Yes there is! We recently posted speed limit signs on the beach indicating the limit of 15k, please respect and follow this direction as there are small children and dogs playing, people walking and an assortment of other activities going on at the beach all summer long. And safety is of great importance!
Are you interested in helping the FOCB with their continued efforts to protect and safe guard the beach, dunes and the fragile ecosystem that it supports?
There are several ways you can help.
1: Join the FOCB. Membership is affordable and your support helps us to continue. (Join now!)
2: Clean up after yourself and your dog. We welcome well behaved Puppies and their people on the beach, and urge you to make use of the baggies available to clean up “puppy surprises”. There are also disposal facilities located beside the baggie stations on season. Please remove the baggies when you leave the beach during the “off season” when the waste facilities are not in use.
3: Pitch in and pick up after those who do not. It truly takes a community to protect its most vulnerable members, and our beach and her inhabitants are the ones who are harmed by debris left on the beach or washed up from the ocean. There are waste bins at either end of the beach during the “on season” and if it is “off season” and you find garbage pick it up, take it home to to the nearest bin and get rid of it there.
We can protect our beach when we work together.
4: Volunteer to become a member of the board! We NEED young people to join and carry on this important work. Attend our annual AGM, learn more about membership and the openings we have on the board. Together we are stronger!