Posted on June 1, 2026
By Tyler Gallagher
Presque Isle State Park is known for its picturesque views and sandy beaches, but the very sand that makes up the peninsula’s shoreline is diminishing.
The park operations manager said about 38,000 cubic yards of sand a year would naturally flow to the park, but made-made structures like harbors are inhibiting that migration, and the park doesn’t have the necessary funding to replenish it.
“Typically, it’s a 50/50 match. The federal government puts in 50%, we put in 50%. This will be the second year in a row now where the federal government has not put in that 50% where we have added in our 50%, which turns out to be about $1.5 million for beach nourishment,” said Matt Greene, Park Operations Manager with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Without that $1.5 million, Greene said they won’t have enough sand to replenish the entire peninsula.
Adding rising fuel costs to the equation, they’ll likely have to spend more money to power the vehicles that move the sand and won’t be able to buy as much sand as they did last year with half their funding.
However, getting that funding back hasn’t been easy, and on Thursday, the Presque Isle Advisory Committee met at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center to strategize ways to restore those federal funds.
“What we’d like to do is solve the big question, and that’s so we can count on sand being on the beaches every year. Right now, we’re in this situation where it’s year by year, and if the funding isn’t there then the sand doesn’t go down,” said Joe Pfadt, Presque Isle Advisory Committee Chairman.
At the meeting, the advisory committee heard from representatives at every level of government, but if they can’t find a long-term source of funding, Presque Isle’s beaches could suffer.
“The impacts that people would see in the near term, like two to five years, is definitely shrinking beaches, not as much room between the dunes and the water line,” said Greene.
Greene said high water levels can add to that problem, which can chip away at the sand dunes that protect the park from erosion, and he’s already noticed Beach 8 narrowing.
He said contractors will be able to bid on the sand nourishment work soon, and they hope to start replenishing in June.
