With the number of trespassing violations climbing and more than half the season still to come, officials are reminding people to follow the rules so that the beaches at Vandenberg Air Force Base stay open for the remainder of the Western snowy plovers nesting season.

Since March 1, only one-half mile of the publicly accessible Surf Beach has been available for use. Limited stretches of Minuteman and Wall beaches on the base also are open. All other beaches at the base are closed through Sept. 30 under an agreement to protect the Western snowy plover during its nesting season.

At Surf Beach, 50 violations are allowed before the beach is fully closed, and beach-goers already had racked up 26 by mid-week, Vandenberg officials said.

Ten violations each are allowed at Minuteman and Wall beaches, both of which are accessible only to people with regular access to Vandenberg.

Yet, beach users have accumulated six violations at Wall Beach plus one at Minuteman Beach.

To help halt the rising number of violations, Vandenberg officials sent out a basewide alert advising employees and residents of the quickly climbing tally with more than half of the nesting season still to go.

This exceeds 50 percent of the seasonal limit allowed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These beaches will be closed to recreational access until 1 October if this trend continues," the notice said.

Once the limit is reached, the beach must close completely for the remainder of the nesting season, which ends Sept. 30.

Most of the offenses are documented by footprint evidence, which suggests they are occurring after the beaches close for the day, said Samantha Kaisersatt, 30th Civil Engineer Squadron biological scientist.

More than a decade ago, the Air Force and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hammered out an agreement that allows people access to a portion of the beaches while still protecting the plover.

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Trespassing violations climb for VAFB beaches