3 Florida beach restoration projects celebrated by Army Corps, counties

By Timothy O’Hara

Army Corps of Engineers officials were in Martin County April 27 and will be in Fort Pierce April 28 for two ribbon-cutting ceremonies on three of their most recent beach restoration projects in Martin and St. Lucie counties.

The first event was at 1 p.m. April 27 at Bob Graham Beach at 3225 NE Ocean Blvd. near Stuart and the second event will be at 10 a.m. April 28 at Fort Pierce Jetty Park, 2098 Seaway Drive on South Beach.

Col. Brandon Bowman, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fort Pierce), Martin County Commissioner Sarah Heard and Martin County Don Donaldson talked about the benefits of the project, despite it being done during sea turtle nesting season. Over 4,100 eggs from at least 45 nests had been relocated as of April 15. TCPalm is awaiting updated numbers.

Florida sea turtle nesting season and beach restoration

All state and federal sea turtle regulations were followed, the work was done before most sea turtles started nesting, and the new sand will give turtles more sand for nesting, Bowman said Monday. The new sand will “benefit the community” and “reduce the risk (from storms) for families and their homes,” Bowman said.

Environmentalists were concerned about the projects being done during nesting season, which invokes special protections from Brevard to Broward counties. And there’s always a concern about the new sand being compatible, meaning it has the same characteristics as the old sand, such as color and grain size.

Crews will demobilize the bulldozers and other heavy equipment for the Martin County project starting this weekend, Bowman said.

The projects cost $44.4 million and Army Corps contractors placed nearly 1.08 million cubic yards of sand on the beaches:

• $15.1 million: Manson Construction Co. placed 400,000 cubic yards of sand from Fort Pierce Jetty Park to about a mile south.
• $14.7 million: Manson Construction Co. placed 315,000 cubic yards of sand on 3.3 miles of beach from the south St. Lucie County line north.
• $14.6 million: Great Lakes Dredge and Dock placed more than 360,000 cubic yards of sand along 4 miles of “eroded shoreline” on Beachwalk-Pasley Beach in northern Martin County. The amount of sand placed in Martin County could fill a football stadium stacked 200 feet high, Bowman said.

Sea turtle eggs relocated

Crews were working 24/7 with bright lights and noisy, heavy equipment, so eggs were relocated to protect them:

• 3,422 eggs from 37 leatherback nests had been relocated from Beachwalk-Pasley Beach as of April 15
• 122 eggs from the first loggerhead nest had been relocated from the same location as of April 13.
• 562 eggs from 7 leatherback nests had been relocated near the south St. Lucie County line in March.

Special projections from Brevard to Broward

Florida sea turtle nesting season typically begins in May, but it’s earlier from Brevard to Broward counties, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. On the Atlantic coast, the season is March 1 through Oct. 31.

Special protections are required on those beaches “because of the high density of turtle nests,” FWC says. Noise, activity, obstacles, uneven sand and the wrong kind of sand can stop sea turtles from nesting, the FWC website says.