Maggie Kearney eased her Jeep onto the access road that runs from the opening of Duxbury Beach all the way to the foothills of Gurnet Point. Where the sand runs deep and soft, it can be a difficult balancing act. She managed to find leverage on  higher ground and shifted back and forth to where the ground offered more leverage. But this is no day at the beach for Kearney. Navigating that road could be a metaphor for her responsibilities as president of the Duxbury Beach Reservation, Inc. It’s a place she knows intimately having been a volunteer for about twenty-five years.

For Kearney and the rest of the all-volunteer members of the Reservation, managing the daily demands of the beach, and the people and wildlife that use it, is a labor of love – and an enormous responsibility. Often, she said, residents aren’t pleased with some of the restrictions the Reservation must place on the beach or even some of the access points.

As she passed the first crossover, a designated path that rises up a graveled sand berm where cars have access to the beach, Kearney said, “A lot of people don’t like the four-wheel drives on the beach, but there are only 440 parking spots. There wouldn’t be enough. The Reservation has a long history of battling the state to keep the beach, and we feel a big reason we kept it is because we’ve kept it open to everyone, not just Duxbury residents.”

To assure those who are concerned with preservation and to ensure the quality of the beach, Kearney said her group commissions a study each year to determine if there are any adverse effects caused by vehicles. So far, they’ve found none.

Perhaps the greatest challenge to managing the beach isn’t the objections of a few residents, but the federal restrictions placed on the Reservation. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services (FWS) officially designated those tiny birds nesting on Duxbury Beach as a threatened species in 1985. For Kearney and her board that means striking a balance between preservation and public access and federal and state requirements under the Endangered Species Act.

“What we do to keep the beach open is to monitor the piping plover and least terns,” said Kearney, referring to the small gull designated endangered by FWS. “We do that in cooperation with Massachusetts Audubon and by returning $150,000 [in town lease fees] to Duxbury’s endangered species officer and his assistant.”

Driving along, Kearney points out recently installed signs the Reservation had specially made for their beach. Each is tasteful and in keeping with Duxbury’s high standards.

“We had these designed,” said Kearney. “We’re trying to brand the beach the way the National Parks are branded. We want them to be friendly and attractive.”

She points to a sign that welcomes dogs -- with restrictions. It’s a way in which the Reservation tries to accommodate everyone’s needs and desires.

“We all love dogs, birds and people,” said Kearney, standing beside one of the artful signs. “The whole thing about this beach is that it is a balancing act. Yes, dogs are permitted, as long as they have their permit and dog tags.”

Continuing on the narrow gravel road the Reservation must grade before the birds’ nesting season, with breathtaking views of Duxbury Bay to the east and the Atlantic to the west, Kearney speaks about the kind of shellfish that inhabit the area, the way in which the Reservation studied how best to incorporate fencing so as not to impact wildlife, but to help prevent beach erosion. She waved at the nubs of beach grass volunteers helped plant weeks before and mentioned how helicopters fertilized the existing grass and rose rugosa to nurture the vegetation. Then she slowed the Jeep even more to point to a fenced off area strung with red twine.

“We scraped out areas free of beach grass and shrubbery where predators hide,” said Kearney, of the sandy area where the plovers nestle themselves a nest to lay their eggs. She said it’s the time of year when the birds begin to seek out ideal spots.

Kearney said maintaining the beach is both cost and labor intensive. Each spring, the Reservation makes a list of winter damage and prioritizes repair projects. From year to year that list may include hauling in sand with the proper grain, reconstructing fencing, beautifying the opening – all with limited funds. Apart from the $400,000 the Town of Duxbury pays to lease the property, the Reservation earns a small sum from parking and renting out the Pavilion, a small snack bar on the north end of the beach. The balance of their $600,000 annual income is the result of private donations.

Kearney is quick to give credit to the town for assisting the Reservation in managing the four-mile stretch of beach, road and dunes. She said Conservation Agent Joe Grady and Harbormaster Don Beers, as well as the entire Harbormaster staff are all a part of the beach’s success.

“Joe Grady is a wonderful resource in our town, said Kearney. “They put up the birdhouses along the beach for nesting swallows.” Kearney described how greenheads swarm the beach for three weeks in August and the swallows feed on them, relieving beach-goers. “The Reservation takes care of the road and all the beach, and the town manages the road and the birds, though we pay for management of the birds.”

Driving back from the far stretch of road that reaches nearly to Gurnet, Kearney stops to talk to Jake Emerson, an employee in the Harbormaster’s office. They greet each other like old friends and compare notes on the goings-on.

“This morning a snowy owl was out there,” said Emerson, gesturing to a grassy patch on the bay side.

He said a nearby pole is a frequent nesting spot for osprey. As he drives off, Kearney said, “They patrol all the time because if an automobile were to run over one of these plovers… ugh. It’s a very serious thing to lose a plover, either a chick or an adult. The Environmental Police are involved, the state’s involved. It’s a very scary thing and why we support our endangered species officer.”

Nearing a red twine area, Kearney slows again and turns into a pull off where a Massachusetts Audubon truck is parked. There, Vicky Selesnick, a monitor with the South Shore Mass. Audubon Coastal Water Bird Program, searches the area for signs of nesting birds.

Over the previous few days, she said she’s been tracking the plover.

“I look up for vocalizations,” said Selesnick as she continued to scan, “and for scraping behavior in the sand.” She described how male plovers scrape their breasts in the sand to create a nest as enticement for a female. It’s a behavior they may do over various spots before finagling a nesting area.

As Kearney navigated the Jeep out of a deep gulley of sand, righting the truck again, she looked off over what is one of the most beautiful vistas on the South Shore.

“I really do think this is a huge balancing act,” said Kearney. “It’s not perfect, but we all have to make concessions and, hopefully, cooperate with one another. It really is a beautiful place.”