Kurt, re. beach condition..

I have noticed in several of your recent property VT's that the black sand or "peat" is still very much visible. Any idea how long until the sand is totally white again?

Most of what you're seeing was uncovered by tractors "scraping" the beach to pile sand up along the dune line. Doesn't seem like a real smart practice to me. But new sand will wash up and blow across the beach soon enough and all will be white again.

Most of the beaches are looking good and probably would be in better shape without the scraping.

I have noticed in several of your recent property VT's that the black sand or "peat" is still very much visible. Any idea how long until the sand is totally white again?

If you go to the Beaches of South Walton tourist center, the kiosk has an explanation on how the white sand changes. I'm not sure if their website has the same info, I'll check it out.

Speaking of beach scraping, the last time we were down was early March and there were still tractors scraping and piling east of Eastern Lake. Aside from the lack of vegetation on the dunes, the whole stretch from Eastern Lake to Seaside seemed in pretty good shape.

We have a place just to the West of Eastern Lake, and they've piled up a fair mound of sand in front of our place and the TDC state of the beach messages from Brad Pickle says their permit for scraping runs until mid April.

Does anyone know if they did this amount of beach work post-Opal? I heard a rumor that they'd done some beach scraping and dune-shoring at Blue Mountain Beach, but were halted by the DEP before they'd done much. I got the impression it wasn't anything near as extensive as this, which is a county-wide effort, excluding state-owned lands.

Also, in the same TDC message, Brad Pickle mentions something about plans for dune re-vegetation. I've asked about that but haven't run into anyone that knows what that means exactly. Are they planning on planting vegetation across all the mounds they've already created? Are they making vegetation available to beach-front owners? Are they planting around walkways, or is it something else.

And does anyone know where you can buy sea-oats or dune grass or anything else to help the dunes? Is that a home-depot thing?

It seems that the TDC will not be doing any sand fencing. Some places it is sorely needed, if for no other reason than to keep folks off the dunes - like at Garyton beside the boardwalk.

I certainly hop that sea oats will be planted on alll the sand that was piled up or it will be at risk of washing away. In any case it probably didn't need to be done. It's almost like they give into resident pressure to do something - even if it's wrong.

The initial results of an experimental beach stabilization process in Inlet Beach have yielded something folks usually do not see this time of the year - a beach.
"It?s nice having a beach there in the winter time," said South Walton Tourist Development Council?s Beach Management Director Brad Pickel.
"Going into the spring, it is a good thing to have," he said. "During the winter, many beaches experience additional erosion."
Benedict Engineering installed the porous groin system along a 2,000-foot section of Inlet Beach on Nov. 9. Sand accumulates as waves wash through the mesh panels attached to the series of poles that extend into the gulf. The project has added as much as 2 feet of sand in some areas.
While the additional sand is welcome, Pickel is more encouraged that with height of the beach increasing, the dunes have stayed dry.
"It takes dry sand, blown by the wind to rebuild dunes," Pickel said.
The ultimate success of this project will not only be measured by an increase in the width of the beach, but the growth of the dunes, explained Pickel.
"The key is to build dune volume," Pickel said.
The project will continue until the end of April. For more information on the progress of the porous groin system: www.protectwaltoncountybeaches.com or (866) 4MY-BEACH for a recorded message.

Benedict Engineering installed the porous groin system along a 2,000-foot section of Inlet Beach on Nov. 9. Sand accumulates as waves wash through the mesh panels attached to the series of poles that extend into the gulf. The project has added as much as 2 feet of sand in some areas.

The thing about groin systems is they basically encourage accumulation at the groin-point by robbing downward areas of sand that would otherwise be pushed there. They've proved this time after time. I wonder how the Rosemary beach and Seacrest folks feel about the effects of the experiment on them.

Also, just because 2 feet accumulated with the groin doesn't mean the same wouldn't have accumulated without it. We've had quite a bit of accumulation since Ivan as well. Is that due to the Inlet beach groin? Must be.

On the re-vegetation plan, according to Mr. Pickle, Walton County is contracting to plant 750,000 sea oat plants along the 13 mile stretch where they've scraped and piled sand already. If you do the math, that works out to a fair number of plants per linear foot.

On the re-vegetation plan, according to Mr. Pickle, Walton County is contracting to plant 750,000 sea oat plants along the 13 mile stretch where they've scraped and piled sand already. If you do the math, that works out to a fair number of plants per linear foot.

That is good news as I was worried it wasn't going to happen. All the scraping would have been a total waste with nothing to anchor the new sand piles. Even with the plantings we'll need to get lucky and not get any storms for a couple of years.

From Walton Sun:

The dunes aren?t made for walking
March 24, 2005
By Pasha Carroll

A Santa Rosa Beach couple has taken dune restoration into their own hands.
Since Hurricane Ivan hit in September, Stephen and Debbie Holmes have spent their own money to restore the original 10-foot dune in from of their home. Stephen Holmes said he doesn?t know how much he spent as dune restoration is for ?necessary protection.?
?We had one of the highest dunes on the beach,? Debbie Holmes said. ?(In nature) the height would have taken 10 years to be restored.?
?It is important to the whole ecology of animals and protection (to beach homes) in storms,? Stephen Holmes said.
?If another storm came through we would have lost our first floor,? Debbie Holmes said.
While restoring the dunes, the Holmes have encountered a significant obstacle -- keeping people off the dunes.
?It is a natural attraction for kids and adults to roll down dunes and slide down them,? Stephen Holmes said.
To deter those who don?t know about dunes and their restoration, South Walton Tourist Development Council has posted signs to keep people off the dunes. Those signs can also be purchased for $10 and posted by private property owners.
?We are trying to deliver a serious message in a friendly manner,? Stephen Holmes said.
Last Christmas, tourists were sledding down the Holmes? sand dunes, which even now look a lot like snowy slopes in the heart of winter. The Sheriff?s Office had to be called even though signs were posted and the dune was roped off, Stephen Holmes said.
?I don?t like to call the Sheriff. But my God, if they can?t respect the sand dunes and private property I have to,? Holmes said.
Debbie Holmes credited county beach scraping with ?how back-to-normal the beach already is.?
?They have done a phenomenal job,? she said of the county?s efforts to restore the beach and its dunes.
Dune restoration is accomplished, initially, through beach scraping. Thus far approximately $1.3 million has been spent on beach scraping, Brad Pickel, Director of Beach Management, said.
?By the end it will cost somewhere between $1.75 and $1.8 million,? Pickel said.
Money has been appropriated through Federal Emergency Management Agency and state funds, Pickel said. The local cost is paid with TDC taxes. What portion of the final bill to be paid by the county will come down to what is actually covered by FEMA and the state, he said.
Next, what has been scraped will be pushed up on a hill into dunes for the shaping process, Pickel said.
The next step for the Holmes? to restore their once towering dune, said Stephen Holmes, is to plant more sea oats and bring in irrigation water to encourage growth.
?It provides lots of stability for the dunes,? he said.
The Holmes plan to retire in about three years from San Francisco to their Walton County home.
?We are trying to wind the clock backward,? Stephen Holmes said. They have owned their south Walton property for approximately 14 years.

Sally,
It may seem trivial, but thanks for naming your source.

The sand on our beach in Seagrove looks better than I ever expected in this short of a time period. I'm thrilled!
Dr. Fay A. Gator

The sand on our beach in Seagrove looks better than I ever expected in this short of a time period. I'm thrilled!
Dr. Fay A. Gator

Thanks for the input. Some are better than others, depending on how long it's been since scraping.

Go Gators! :clap_1:

Just got a report from my brother who is at High Pointe in Seacrest. He said the beach looks real bad. The people "in the know" said when Ivan hit the dunes it uncovered some underground springs and the dark soil is still seeping out.

The people "in the know" said when Ivan hit the dunes it uncovered some underground springs and the dark soil is still seeping out.

eh? what does that mean? I knew about the peat or whatever it's called from the buried mangrove swamps, but I never heard about it springing out of the ground.

Maybe it's oil, that is, black gold, texas tea.

eh? what does that mean? I knew about the peat or whatever it's called from the buried mangrove swamps, but I never heard about it springing out of the ground.

Maybe it's oil, that is, black gold, texas tea.

Well.... The next thing ya know ol RiverOtter's a millionaire. His kinfolk said RO move away from here So they loaded up the Burb and they moved to GraytonB

Well.... The next thing ya know ol RiverOtter's a millionaire. His kinfolk said RO move away from here So they loaded up the Burb and they moved to GraytonB

Beach, that is. Tidal pools, recording stars.

Happy Easter, Otter.

Beach, that is. Tidal pools, recording stars.

Happy Easter, Otter.

:clap_1: :laughing1

Drilling permit is in application process. Currently letting out bids for drilling rig. 55 truckloads of rig equipment due to arrive any day now. High Pointe #1 exploratory oil well will likely spud by June 1st. If successful, offset well will likely be drilled in the vacinity of Rosemary Beach common greenbelt area.

We have property in Seacrest and actually were relieved when we saw the beaches after Ivan (because we had heard so many scary things in the press). The front of the dunes were indeed washed away, and they're being built up again now. There isn't any vegetation on them yet, but that will come either through replanting or nature. The sand has a small stream that runs from the dunes to the ocean, but that was there before Ivan and our children play in it to build sand castles and wade (it's great for young children because it's about 2 inches deep at most). In fact, I was hoping that the little stream would still be there after Ivan and am thankful that it is. There are a few piles of black peat exposed, and that's the remnants of what used to be a cypress forest. The sand is now white and clean, the ocean is emerald green, and the sunsets are awesome. I think the biggest difference people will notice is the look of the dunes.

Frankly, I think we've gotten so used to "fake" scenery that we forget what nature really looks like (just like we forget what people really look like because magazines and the press and shows like "The swan" promote the belief that what what nature does isn't good enough so we try to hide our pores and have a "flawless" complexion, get unreasonably thin, tan our skin, and try to hide the fact that we get older - and I think better).

Anyway, back to the topic of the beach. When I was at the beach a few days after Ivan, I thought it was an awesome and humbling sight to see the beach after a hurricane. I was spellbound. As a northerner, I'm new to the "beach life" and am quite naive about how nature works on the coasts. I wish my children had been there with me to experience the aftermath of the hurricane. I never knew that the area had once been a cypress forest and probably would not have learned that if I hadn't seen the peat peaking out through the sand. I would not have seen the changes in the landscape (which I had taken for granted) and understood how mother nature works, nor would I have learned that it is good for the beaches for nature to clean them up once in a while with some good wave action. Ironically, what we see as messy, nature sees as cleaning up.

I wouldn't have learned about the real risks of hurricanes to the endanged beach mouse and sea turtles. I wouldn't have seen the community pull together with gratefulness and helpfulness, as when the upscale restaurant Creola's prepared a free picnic dinner for all of the workers who worked so quickly to get 30A together again within days. Or when people who were in the area took the time to check on the property of others who could not make the trip to the area and thus put their minds at ease. Or when people volunteered to clean the debris off the beach.

The way I see it, we get so used to "fake" (e.g., beaches without any sign that they're nature-made not man-made) that we can't see the natural beauty. A little pile of peat from an age-old forest seems like a blemish rather than a small area for children to explore or a fascinating lesson in ecological changes over time. And when we see the beautiful beaches of South Walton this spring and summer, it will be easy again to forget that nature and humans work together to bring us such an wonderful sight and experience year after year. And I'm counting the days before I can get back there in May (and again in July and again in August with my family)...

Great post Paula!

What a beautiful post Paula-It certainly puts nature into perspective. Thanks for the insight-I just might make a lesson about the whole beach rejuvenation thing-I think my students would enjoy that.

Thanks for the kind words about the posting. I, too, was so worried about the beaches (which is why I came to the area right after Ivan) and then I learned to have perspective -- and to appreciate the beaches and natural beauty even more after Ivan. I figure if we're lucky we'll all live long enough to see the beaches change several times over many decades! I also figure that the dunes to damaged in the line of duty -- they protected property and endangered species (and probably a few people, too) from huge waves that could have done so much more damage. Kudos to the dunes, with or without vegetation!

And I should also say thanks to Kurt and others who posted photos of the area to keep everyone informed.

Paula,
Thanks for your post. I will have my teenage daughter read it too!

Wonderful post, Paula! I really enjoyed reading it. Nature is such an amazing and intricate thing!

Agreed, that was a good post. The area should really consider itself lucky in many ways. I have numerous friends who own property in and around Gulf Shores. They weren't as lucky. It still looks like a war zone over there.

In Walton County, I think within a year, the only noticible remnant from Ivan will be lack of vegitation in the dunes. First-time visitors to the area probably won't even notice anything unusual.