Threatened
and endangered sea turtles may take the brunt of new erosion-control
structures that property owners hope to build on Daufuskie Island’s
shoreline.
But South Carolina’s natural resources department is urging other regulators to reject the request.
The
Haig Point Club & Community Association wants permission to
construct two new erosion control revetments and to build on four
existing areas of erosion control. It would mean adding 95 feet of
rip-rap on the northern end of Calibogue Sound and a 696-foot revetment
on the southern end of the sound. The Beaufort County island stretches 8
square miles and sits between Tybee and Hilton Head islands.
The
application has been on hold pending a response from the community
association addressing the concerns of the S.C. Department of Natural
Resources.
On
Friday, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman
Jim Beasley said the Haig Point proposal is still under review.
Building
hardened structures, or creating “armored beaches,” can worsen erosion
seaward and adjacent to the structures, particularly on the downdrift
side. The result is damage to the habitat of a variety of birds, turtles
and other creatures.
“The
construction of a new revetment along this undeveloped shoreline is not
warranted and results in an unnecessary encroachment on sensitive
public trust resources,” said Susan Davis, coastal environmental
coordinator for the DNR in a letter to DHEC in December. “We are not
opposed to the 95-foot revetment on the northern end or to the repair of
existing revetments in areas where existing infrastructure is
threatened.”
If
the sea turtle nests are located seaward of structure, they’re also
susceptible to washout, leaving poor nesting habitats and incubation
areas of the beaches in front of existing armoring structures.
The
structures can also prevent females from finding good nesting sites,
leading to increased rates of the animals going back to the water
without nesting, according to DNR.
Armoring
can also shut sea turtles out of the upper regions of the dune system.
That forces them to nest at lower elevation where the eggs can drown in
water from tidal flooding. It can also upset the conditions that help
determine the sex ratio of hatchlings, according to specific studies
cited by DNR.
Davis said Friday that she had not received a response, directly from Haig Point or through the U.S Army Corps of Engineers.
Haig Point isn’t the only community on Daufuskie looking to change the coastal environment to protect property values.
The
Melrose Property Owners Association wants permission to undertake a
beach renourishment project on the Calibogue Sound, facing the southern
tip of Hilton Head Island.
The
property owners association says the purpose is to reestablish the
eroded beach and provide six to eight years of protection to upland
property and structures during normal climate conditions.
They also claim the project would enhance the nesting habitat of sea turtles.
However,
the District Engineer for the corps’ Charleston District has determined
that the renourishment project is “likely to adversely affect” the
loggerhead sea turtle, the piping plover, the West Indian manatee and
the red knot. The corps is asking either the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service — or both — to begin
formally consulting on the species and any critical habitat that could
be affected.
DHEC
spokesman Cassandra Harris said the agency has not seen an increase in
requests for erosion control devices along the beachfront on Daufuskie.
Posts
