SAY WHAT?

Another thing that blows my mind about all this mess is the incredible math that NPS spews forth relative to visitation to the Seashore. I don't know where on Gods green earth these people get these numbers but they are outrageous, falsely inflated and obviously intended to deceive. Clearly NPS is trying to pull the wool over the public's eye by making it seem like the impact of a closed Seashore is negligible.
NPS claims that there were 2.4 million visitors to the Seashore last year. That's 6575.342 different people here every day of the year.
SAY WHAT?
So that explains why virtually every business that would normally be packed during the spring and summer had their receipts showing somewhere between 40 and 60% off compared to a pre-consent decree year. This also explains how the county went from being the number two donor county to the one with the highest unemployment rate in the state.
Last year, for the first time ever, I was routinely driving on an empty road as I travelled from Buxton to Avon, five miles up the road. Not at midnight folks, but mid day, in the summer. And this is arguably the busiest stretch of road on the Island.
Also thrown into that figure were an estimated 380 odd thousand bird watchers. Where were they? That's over a thousand bird enthusiasts here per day all year long. As much time as I spend on these beaches, I would have been tripping all over them just to fish.
Mr. Murray, these numbers are bogus. Please tell me where they all stayed, ate, bought their souvenirs or fishing tackle? It damn sure wasn't on this island or O'coke either.
Its time to stop closing beaches for invisible birds and inventing invisible people.

Tight Lines,

Wheat