C. BEACH/DUNE PROTECTION AND RESTORATION

SCOPE OF THE ISSUE

Beaches and their adjacent nearshore areas are the buffer zones between the open ocean and the land. Beaches are formed from sediment deposition and are collectively influenced by the nature of sediments carried down rivers, transported along coasts by nearshore currents and redistributed by tides and wave action. Their forms vary from wide to shallow with fine sands to steep and narrow with rocky deposits. Beach and dune morphology are dependent on local geology, the season, the degree of wave action, sediment replacement sources, coastal contours, and other factors. While beaches are present in nearly all of the coastal states, dunes are not nearly as common. Dune habitats are typically made up of primary and secondary dune structures and dunes themselves, are noted for their shifting surfaces and susceptibility to disturbance. Because of these two factors, dune habitats can be heavily impacted by human activities.

Impacts to beach/dune complexes come from a number of sources. Some of the human causes include removal of sediment for construction purposes and blockage or alteration of downstream or longshore sediment deposition. Alterations such as the construction of barriers to the longshore drift can lead to higher deposition rates on to beaches, a phenomenon in need of greater investigation from a restoration standpoint, as it could provide valuable information regarding how to recreate and/or restore these systems.

Coastal America's beach/dune projects have addressed a number of the consequences of the impacts discussed above. Projects have undertaken revegetation of dune systems following some disruptive event. Other projects have sought to protect dune structures from continued erosion by using education and the construction of elevated boardwalks and sand fences.

SELECTED PROJECT SUMMARIES

For the purposes of this discussion and for ease of analysis our Beach and Dune Restoration and Protection Projects have been divided into two categories: Construction of Structural Systems and Revegetation of Dune Habitats.

Shell Island Dune Habitat Restoration, FL

This estimated $100,000 project is restoring degraded dune systems at Tyndall Air Force Base (AFB), located on the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Mexico adjacent to Panama City, Florida, using funds from the DOD's Legacy Resource Management Program. The primary dune system has been severely eroded and threatens further erosion of the interior dunes from wind and human use. To prevent further damage, Tyndall AFB developed a project aimed at stopping further deterioration of dune habitat while stabilizing the entire dune system. To eliminate future damage from pedestrian traffic, an elevated boardwalk system, including picnic areas, was constructed that permits close examination of the dune ecosystem without actually walking on it. To protect the dunes from wind erosion, sand fences and plantings of appropriate native vegetation were conducted.

Partners with the Air Force included the FWS who provided endangered species guidance and overall project monitoring and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for state endangered species coordination and for developmental information, as the state park that adjoins the Air Force property is also to be modified as part of the overall restoration effort. Nongovernmental partners included the Sea Oats Garden Club and Friends of St. Joe Bay, both of whom provided additional manpower and public support for the project.

Cape San Blas Ecological Study, FL

Cape San Blas is located in the panhandle of Florida, on the Saint Joseph Peninsula in Gulf County. Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) controls approximately 500 acres of the Cape, including over 3 miles of shoreline along the Gulf of Mexico. The Air Force's property is primarily used for radar tracking of missions being flown over the Gulf of Mexico, for various missile launches, other military activities, and the recreational operation of motor vehicles on the Air Force's beaches.

In a desire to be good stewards of their property and comply with federal environmental statutes, Eglin AFB began investigations into the natural resources of this area. A one-year pilot study, conducted by Eglin's Natural Resources Division, helped to identify and define issues of concern, document impacts to critical resources, and aid in the development of research objectives. The pilot study documented a number of significant issues on the Cape, including: severe erosion, e.g., the largest historical rate recorded in Florida was at this site; significant numbers of shorebird species including several endangered species; significant numbers of loggerhead turtle nests; and impacts to these and other natural resources associated with recreational use of the Cape by the public.

Armed with the results of the pilot study, a three-year, $260,000 investigation was initiated in 1993. The project is being funded by DOD's Legacy Resources Management Program and is being conducted on the Eglin AFB's portion of the Cape. The purpose of the ecological study is to provide an integrated inventory of significant biological, geophysical, cultural, and historical assets at the Cape in order to aid in the development of management strategies to protect and enhance these resources. Several cooperators and partners are playing an active role in this research project: the FWS Cooperative Research Unit at the University of Florida is the lead researcher and is providing project oversight, specialized personnel, e.g., endangered species specialists and soil scientists, as well as sophisticated equipment, i.e., GIS; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection is providing aerial photography, coastal erosion data, the necessary permits, and dune stabilization methods; the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission is providing funding and logistical support to the researchers; and the Florida Natural Areas Inventory is providing data on natural plant communities on the Cape. To date the investigations have continued to document severe erosion, in some cases threatening structures and the nests of loggerhead turtles and least terns, and the presence of several other endangered species, again, the nests of which are being threatened by natural and human causes. It is anticipated the investigation will be completed in 1995 and lead to a set of management recommendations to be undertaken by Eglin AFB.

Banana River Shoreline Stabilization, FL

Patrick AFB, located on a barrier island off the east central coast of Florida, just south of the City of Cocoa Beach, has been losing coastal property from erosion during storm events. This erosion loss had threatened a number of important coastal habitats in the area and was potentially degrading the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary. A multi-habitat proposal for the restoration of the shoreline was presented to the State of Florida, in which the establishment of mangroves and other native species was proposed. After deliberation, this plan was not approved because it was determined that the vegetative proposal would establish a shoreline that would not be able to survive substantial storm action. The plan was revised to reduce the impacts of wave energy by hardening the shoreline with large coquina rock over filter cloth following backfilling and the proper grading of the shoreline.

Project partners and support involved the following: the FWS provided endangered species guidance and overall monitoring; the COE provided project design, approval, and engineering supervision; the NMFS provided technical advice and consultation; the Florida Department of Environmental Protection provided project approval and oversight, including state endangered species information; the Florida Marine Resources Council provided guidance on the monitoring of aquatic species; the St. John's River Water Management District provided information and guidance on water quality; and the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (NEP) coordinated potential impacts from the project on the NEP's long-range plan.

Technical Lessons Learned:

1. The fragile nature and erodibility of dune structures makes their "permanent" restoration nearly impossible, thus monitoring and periodic maintenance programs should be strongly considered as an integral part of any proposal.
2. The complex nature of coastal ecological communities requires a thorough knowledge of the natural resources, their locations, conditions and susceptibility to damage, both natural and human-induced, prior to developing a strategy for their collective management. This can be achieved with a collaborative investigation such as that being carried out at Cape San Blas, Florida.

Procedural Lessons Learned:

1. Dunes are complex systems, integrating a flowing substrate, harsh environment, and specialized plant and animal communities. Thus, the educational opportunities to emphasize these physical and biological features to the general public should not be overlooked, e.g., signage, brochures, public seminars geared to homeowners, and newsletters associated with beach/dune restoration projects.

Naval Postgraduate School Dune Revegetation, CA

This $295,000 project was jointly funded by the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command through their respective natural resources management programs. The City of Monterey, California accepted the funding and implemented the work through the City Parks Department. The City of Monterey has the responsibility for managing these coastal beaches and the Navy felt, as part of its "good neighbor" policy, that such a collaborative effort to restore the native plant community was worth undertaking. The project was required after a severe winter freeze in 1991 left approximately 44 acres of coastal dunes without any protective vegetative cover. The vegetation that had existed was a combination of exotic plants, primarily African ice plant, Carpobrotus edulis, that could not, ironically, tolerate the freezing temperatures experienced that year. Thus, without its protective vegetative cover, the sand dunes were in jeopardy of shifting and causing severe damage to the NPS facilities and to adjacent private properties.

With funding secured, the City of Monterey and the NPS agreed on the project scope and its implementation. All exotic vegetation was removed using volunteers from the Monterey Dune Coalition and the Big Sur Land Trust and over 150,000 seedlings, representing 26 species of native dune vegetation, planted. Only native plants were used to enhance the habitat for the endangered species known to frequent the area, specifically, Smith's blue butterfly, Euphilotes enoptes smithi, the black legless lizard, Anniella pulchra nigra, as well as the dune gilia, Gilia tenuiflora ssp. arenaria, an annual herb of foredunes and coastal scrub communities. Additionally, the use of native plant material would minimize the re-occurrence of vegetative loss on the dunes should another freeze occur. The project has been endorsed for its use of native plant material in the restoration of a coastal dune bluff ecosystem by the California Coastal Commission, the FWS, the Monterey Dune Coalition, the Big Sur Land Trust and the California Native Plant Society.

Technical Lessons Learned:

1. Engineering solutions must be compatible with dune ecosystems. An attempt should be made to minimize the use of hard structures or construct them in such a way as to minimize their impact on the dynamics of the beach/dune system, for example, elevated walkways with handrails allow access but minimize the direct impacts of foot traffic on the dune system.
2. Use of native species to restore a coastal dune habitat is highly recommended to avoid the intolerance of exotic species for extreme conditions, e.g., winter freezes and droughty summers, and to provide plant material that will enhance the site for use by native wildlife species. Extensive weeding must be employed in the early stages of the restoration while native plants are reseeding and filling in exposed sand areas.

Procedural Lessons Learned:

1. Dunes are complex systems, integrating a flowing substrate, harsh environment, and specialized plant and animal communities. Thus, the educational opportunities associated with restoration projects should not be overlooked to highlight these physical and biological features to the general public, e.g., signage, brochures, public seminars geared to homeowners, and newsletters.
2. Use of volunteer assistance can come from any number of appropriate nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), as demonstrated with the Naval Postgraduate School Dune Revegetation project. Often these organizations have expertise that exceeds that of the implementing agency(s) will greatly benefit the restoration effort in addition to providing no cost labor and strong local support.

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Go to Subsection D: Offshore Habitat Protection and Restoration