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Jenkinson’s Lawsuit on Dunes / Easements

Oh boy, this sure does complicate things. Now big beach businesses are pushing back, against big beach replenishment and dune projects; not just single family homeowners. For the record, the lawyer quoted in this article actually seems to know what he’s talking about. By MaryAnn Spoto of the Star Ledger http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2014/12/jenkinsons_suing_feds_state_over_beach_replenishment_plan.html#incart_m-rpt-1

Can we agree that all this beach replenishment, which is really expensive, and does not really work, is getting to be more and more of a hassle? Can we try pulling back from the water’s edge a bit?  Give the most dynamic system on earth a little bit more Room to Move? We know that retreat sounds very hard, but compared to this? Maybe not so much.

 

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The Politics of Building Dunes

Natural dunes are something that everyone in a coastal community supports. Man-made dunes, the kind the Army Corps of Engineers builds, have less support often because they are less effective, they are often part of bad beachfill projects, and because a select few people don’t like the fact that their view will be blocked (although they seem to get all the headlines). But the real opposition comes when you want to build those dunes on people’s private property, and the government demands an easement on that property forever. NJ Governor Chris Christie has made a few enemies where he should have friends, as told in this AP story Nov, 30, 2014.

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Part Two of Reuters Sea Level Rise Series

Mick Huckabee feels “blessed” to have a $3 million, 11,000 square foot beachfront vacation home in Florida. We think he is blessed to have federally subsidized flood insurance and a Florida DEP that basically looks the other way and approves every application to build houses where beaches and protective dunes really should be. That is just one of the stories in part 2 of Reuters’ series on Sea Level Rise.

Part 2 is as good as the first.  http://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/waters-edge-the-crisis-of-rising-sea-levels/#article-2-against-the-tide  This is reporting at its best folks. I urge you to read the in-depth piece by Deborah J. Nelson, Ryan McNeill and Duff Wilson. 

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Beachfill in Margate could put Fishing Pier out of Business

We expect a massive amount of sand to be the federal government’s response to Hurricane Sandy in NJ.  But the problems associated with beachfill are well documented; see the Costs of Beachfill section of this article.  In some cases,  beachfill keeps people from coming to the beach, because beachfill destroyed what they enjoyed about the beach.  Be it fishing, safe swimming, wading, surfing or just enjoying a natural beach.  Here is the latest threat to fishing and a way of life in Margate NJ, covered by the Press of Atlantic City’s Elisa Lala. Continue reading “Beachfill in Margate could put Fishing Pier out of Business”