Posted on May 26, 2025
The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association is proud to release our annual awards of the nation’s Best Restored Beaches. The award-winning projects this year are the Canaveral Harbor Sand Bypass Project, Cape Canaveral, FL; Encinitas and Solana Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project, Encinitas, CA; McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge Beach and Dune Ridge Restoration Project, Sabine Pass, TX; and the North Wildwood Emergency Beach Nourishment Dredging Project, North Wildwood, NJ.
The goal of ASBPA’s annual Best Restored Beach award is to acknowledge community beach restoration projects around the United States that increase a shoreline’s resiliency, the beach’s ability to mitigate storm damage and flooding from severe storms, and naturally allow the beach to adjust to short-term sea level rise while remaining an important part of the nearshore ecosystem. The ASBPA created the awards in 2002 to raise awareness of restored beaches’ significant value to local communities.
Projects are judged on three criteria: the economic and ecological benefits the beach brings to its community; short- and long-term success of the restoration project; and the challenges each community overcame during the project.
“We have been restoring U.S. beaches for over 100 years! The first project was in Coney Island, NY in 1923. Beaches from all over the U.S. have received ASBPA’s Best Restored Beach award in its 23 year history. This year, we are excited to include beaches from coast to coast,” said Nicole Elko, ASBPA Executive Director.
The Canaveral Harbor Sand Bypass Project in Cape Canaveral, Florida, which was completed by GLDD, combines navigation interests with shore protection, beach recreation, and environmental interests. The scale, size, and setting of this sand bypassing project, with over 10 miles of pipeline in the Atlantic Ocean, and 1.5 million cubic yards of sand dredged from the nearshore, made for a complex project. The Canaveral Sand Bypass project is the effective management of an entire coastal system that supports wildlife, national security, space operations, commerce, tourism, and recreation and demonstrates how multiple entities (public, private, military, etc.) can work together providing innovative solutions.
The Encinitas and Solana Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project in Encinitas, California, which was completed by Manson Construction, is the first ever federal, programmatic coastal storm damage reduction project spanning multiple local jurisdictions in San Diego County, California. This unique programmatic approach, planning out a 50-year renourishment cycle, in spans of five years for Encinitas and 10 years for Solana Beach, will provide the necessary sediment buffer to minimize coastal erosion, creating a beach wide enough to dissipate the wave energy earlier enough for life and property protection. The long-term monitoring program will provide lessons learned to inform future projects and collaborative approaches throughout California.
The McFaddin National Wildlife Refuge Beach and Dune Ridge Restoration Project in Sabine Pass, Texas, which was completed by Weeks Marine, is the largest beach nourishment project in the state. The project provides protection to the largest contiguous estuarine marsh in Texas, restores beach habitat and recreational beach space, and contributes to coastal resiliency. The project overcame significant design and construction challenges including dilapidated oil and gas infrastructure, remote project area, and access restrictions. The Texas General Land Office is committed to at least five years of monitoring to measure its success, and identify adaptive management needs for future projects.
The North Wildwood Emergency Beach Nourishment Dredging Project in North Wildwood, New Jersey, which was completed by GLDD, is a critical intervention to restore its beachfront and enhance coastal resilience. By delivering a functional beach in time for the summer season, the project prevented significant economic losses, boosted visitor confidence, and protected property values. For North Wildwood, the project demonstrated the power of collaborative governance in addressing environmental and economic challenges. The restoration has revitalized North Wildwood’s beachfront for recreational use, supporting tourism and local businesses, making it an exemplary case of balancing environmental preservation, public safety and economic sustainability.
Congratulations to the Best Restored Beach award winners! The project teams will be honored during the ASBPA National Coastal Conference in Long Beach, California on October 7-10, 2025. A complete list of Best Restored Beach awards, and information on the science and policy of beach restoration are available at https://asbpa.org/about-us/awards-program/.
Beaches are the leading tourist attraction in the U.S. serving as a vacation destination for 50% of Americans. Annually, beach tourists generate $520 billion in economic output, $240 billion in direct spending, and $36 billion in taxes to federal, state, and local governments. For every $1 spent on beach nourishment annually, beach tourists generate about $3,000 in economic output, $1,400 in direct spending, and $200 in taxes. Beaches are not only magnets for tourism, but they also perform a double duty of protecting land infrastructure during storms.
