Caring For Our Living Shoreline

Importance of preserving our beach

Storm protection - a wide sandy beach helps separate storm waves from hotels and homes.

Habitat restoration - numerous species such as the Kemp's Ridley sea turtles and Piping Plovers rely on wide, healthy beaches as a place to live, feed, and nest.

Economic Impact- every year, there are over 2 billion visitors to America's beaches that support local economies.

Image by US National Park Service 

Importance of a Healthy Dune System

Dunes are important because they are our first line of defense from major storms and flooding. Coastal communities are protected from the storms that occur in the Gulf by a system of vegetated sand dunes which provide a protective barrier. Vegetation helps with the easily eroded dunes by creating a barrier between the sand and the wind that will blow them away. The Texas General Land Office has directed coastal communities to protect these dunes because stabilized, vegetated dunes offer the best natural defense against damage caused by storms. 

The desired outcomes of these efforts are two-fold:

To solidify a continuous dune line, offering storm protection

Act as a reservoir of sand to replenish eroded beaches during high energy wave events

Image by NY Sea Grant - Stony Brook University

A New Take on Sargassum

Image by Florida Museum of Natural History – University of Florida

Sargassum species found on SPI have berrylike gas-filled bladders that help keep the fronds afloat to promote photosynthesis. The thick masses of Sargassum provide an environment for a distinctive and specialized group of marine animals and plants, many of which are not found elsewhere. However, since they float, they occasionally end up on our shores.

If you have visited our City in the past, you know that the beaches were typically raked or groomed on a regular basis in an effort to remove any natural debris such as Sargassum (beach raking is the mechanized removal of seaweed and other natural materials from the beach). Sargassum on the beach is often viewed as aesthetically unappealing. While superficially appearing to be a nuisance, if we let nature take its course, Sargassum plays a number of critical roles in the beach and dune system:

Beaches return to natural cycles

Stops beach erosion by trapping and keeping sand in place

Allows dunes to re-vegetate and strengthen by adding nutrients to the system used by dune vegetation

With this knowledge, the City will strive to rake the beaches only when there is a significant amount of seaweed on the beach. Any seaweed that is removed will be placed strategically at the toe of the dunes (and possibly relocated at a later time) to assist with dune restoration. The City will make every effort to remove any and all non-natural material from the seaweed deposits.

How Can You Help

The most important thing you can do, is to stay within the beach area and away from the dunes and covering vegetation. This will make sure that there are no unnecessary disturbances to the dune system.  
Another great thing to do to help your local beach ecosystem, is to volunteer! There are many different organizations just within SPI that have volunteer work for many different aspects of our beach ecosystems. 
And the easiest way to help is to simply be educated, which you are doing right now by reading all about our dune ecosystems. The Shoreline Department thanks you for the time you put into our lovely home!