Scores of large dogs have changed Willard Beach | Letter

South Portland Dog Owner Calls for Better Protection of Shorebirds at Willard Beach

South Portland, Maine – A local resident has urged the town to collect data and adopt rules that would curb the impact of off‑leash dogs on the beach’s wildlife.

Donaldo Gotelli, who lives just four houses from the Willard Street entrance to Willard Beach, sent a letter to the press expressing concern about how large, active dogs on weekends are driving shorebirds away from their usual feeding and nesting spots. “Weekends aren’t really safe for older people like ourselves, or small dogs like Mazie, because of the number of very active, mostly large dogs (numbering as many as 80),” Gotelli wrote.

Gotelli’s family has been frequenting Willard Beach for nearly two decades. He recalls the days before the influx of dogs, when sandpipers, plovers and other waders could be seen foraging in the surf and seaweed, and when migrating birds used the cove as a stopover. “I remember flocks of migrating birds making a stopover on the beach to eat and rest,” he wrote.

Now, the writer notes, even in the early hours before the dog‑off‑leash period, the beach hosts only a handful of waders—a single heron and a few egrets at low tide. “Before dogs arrive, I see only a few waders… Otherwise, it appears most of the wildlife is gone from the beach and the bay cove,” Gotelli said. He also observes that on the rocks farther out from Fisherman’s Point, cormorants and gulls compete for landing space, a scene that has become less crowded in recent years.

Gotelli’s letter emphasizes that while dog owners need accommodation, local governments should take responsibility for the ecological health of public beaches. “While acknowledging the needs of dog owners, municipalities have the responsibility to collect data, monitor and make regulations supporting and protecting wildlife,” he wrote.

The letter was published in the September 13 edition of the Press Herald and highlights a growing debate in South Portland about how to balance recreational use of public beaches with the protection of vulnerable shorebirds and other wildlife. The town’s beach authority and wildlife agencies have yet to issue new guidelines, but the concerns raised by residents such as Gotelli may prompt further study and policy review in the coming months.