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SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
Very interesting audio/photo presentation on seawall in SoWal. Once you enter the presentation, click on each number for a narrative.

Seawalls in SoWal

Was contained in an article in Pensacola News Journal:

Seawalls in Walton County

"BLUE MOUNTAIN BEACH -- Beachfront homeowners in Walton County are taking desperate measures to keep their luxury homes from sliding into the water, and state officials seem either unable or unwilling to stop them.

Since Hurricane Dennis blasted ashore last July 10 at nearby Navarre Beach, construction crews have thrown up steel girders, buried giant sand tubes and erected dozens of seawalls along that 26-mile stretch of sugar-white beaches.

Although much of the construction appears to be illegal, bureaucrats appear reluctant to invite a showdown and are seeking ways to let the barriers remain.................."
 

JB

Beach Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
1,446
40
Tuscaloosa
Does anyone know when the photos in this piece were taken? Unbelievably, we are staying at one of the houses shown in these photos in mid-May.

I am really worried now. I wonder if we need to look into moving somewhere else. Does anyone know of an area with small gulf front rental houses where seawall construction is NOT going on?

Unbelievable :bang:
 

ecopal

Beach Fanatic
Apr 26, 2005
261
7
A different version of the same article also showed up in Florida Today:
ARTICLE TITLE:
Sea wall building frenzy worries coastal advocates
By PAIGE ST. JOHN and LARRY WHEELER
FLORIDA TODAY
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060325/NEWS01/60325003

I found the following quote from this article particularly interesting because it represents the feelings of some beach front owners. In fact some friends of mine have said about the same thing:

" House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, a coastal developer by trade.
... said, "if I saw my home was falling off into the water, I would do everything I could to protect it as well. I'd fight the bureaucracy as hard as I could. You can't fault them (property owners) for trying to preserve their homesteads." "

I have other beach front owner friends that are concerned that spending considerable money on a seawall is foolish since they can't be certain if the wall etc. will be worth it in the long run and may end up doing more harm than good. Also they are concerned about liability issues with their neighbors and potential fines from government agencies. They feel the risk of putting in a wall/ geotube is more risky than not.

Some are putting in white sand, plant sea oats, and install sand fencing since it is less risky and less expensive and more environment friendly.

Some figure that it would be cheaper to just rebuild further back on their lot if they lose their home.

I would like to hear more from beach front owners that chose not to put up walls and their rationales.

The following article is very interesting.
I suggest you read the entire article but I quoted some of the passages for your convenience.

EXCERPTS...
"....Coastal advocates are alarmed at the unprecedented number of walls installed with so little oversight.

...."We never envisioned this number of walls," said county planning director Pat Blackshear. "People got really afraid they were going to lose their property."

......Twenty-eight of the 30 permits issued in the first 24 hours went to a company owned by Rosier "Ro" Cuchens, one of the county commissioners who voted to take advantage of the emergency law.

....Homeowners moved ahead with their erosion-prevention measures with no environmental reviews and no concession to Walton County's other notable denizens - endangered beach mice and leatherback sea turtles.

.....Three years ago, Georgia builder Tony Burton bought a sand-cliff lot in the area for $1 million. ....Burton and other homeowners are defiant at the possibility they could be ordered to pay federal fines and to remove their expensive new barriers.

.....Beach engineers cite the sheet-metal battlements being erected in Walton County as the second leading man-made cause of erosion in Florida, behind dredging.

......Local activists are alarmed at how quickly the Walton County beachfront homeowners installed their armoring.

......."Are we becoming like other areas where we are going to have walls but not beach?" asked Anita Page, executive director of the South Walton Community Council. "I'm frightened we may have created a situation where we are ultimately going to harm the beach itself."

.........Florida need look no further than the concrete coastlines of Texas and New Jersey to see how quickly concrete can replace sand, warned Orrin Pilkey, director of Duke University's Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines."
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
Officials seeking temporary ban on new seawalls
Paige St. John
News Journal capital bureau


TALLAHASSEE -- Save the sea turtles or save the homes?

Environmental regulators want control over seawalls that go up after hurricanes under the guise of an "emergency."

They point to Walton County following Hurricane Dennis, which set off an unregulated spree of armored walls, barricades and tube systems. The county is battling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the impact to endangered sea turtles and beach mice.

Link: Pensacola News Journal March 30
 

Paula

Beach Fanatic
Jan 25, 2005
3,747
442
Michigan but someday in SoWal as well
Great link to Fowlkes' photo documentary on sea walls. Thanks. It's a great resource because he says clearly that he defends the right of gulf front owners to protect their property, but to do so in a way that is consistent with the law and doesn't harm the environment.
 

Richard

Beach Comber
Feb 16, 2005
30
5
JB said:
Does anyone know when the photos in this piece were taken? Unbelievably, we are staying at one of the houses shown in these photos in mid-May.:bang:
The photos were taken 3/21/06.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
Richard, you and Celeste made a great presentation. I must have just missed you at BMB on the 21st. Judging by the water lines, I was only an hour or so behind you.
 
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