West Hampton Dunes

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[edit] Film: Incredible Journey: The Story of West Hampton Dunes

From: http://www.thestoryofwesthamptondunes.com

West Hampton Dunes is a small beach front community on the south shore of Long Island, New York. It is located entirely on a barrier island system that provides critical hurricane and storm protection to the mainland.
Due to an ill conceived and poorly planned erosion control project championed by local politicians in the 1960s, this area became known as the worst beach erosion problem in America as a result of human intervention. The combination of hostile politics and unsound engineering left this stretch of the barrier beach unprotected and vulnerable for over 30 years.
In December of 1992 a week long nor'easter created an ocean-to-bay breach that destroyed over 150 houses and caused millions of dollars in damage. It severely threatened the shell fish industry of the back bay and increased the likelihood of wide scale flooding on the mainland of Long Island.
A group of determined home owners banded together and sued various public agencies for failing to protect their property. After a long, bitter battle, the village West Hampton Dunes was born and a beach restoration project was finally put into action. The village blossomed into a thriving and vibrant coastal community.
By all accounts, West Hampton Dunes shouldn't exist today. Over three decades, nature did its best to wash the entire barrier island into the sea, and political forces worked to block the heroic effort needed to prevent complete devastation. But the group of neighbors who founded a village on a tattered strip of sand can take pride in the power of will and sheer determination. They are the story of West Hampton Dunes.

[edit] Top Restored Beach Award 2007

The American Shore & Beach Preservation Assocation named West Hampton Dunes "One of America's top restored beaches". From their press release:

"West Hampton Dunes represents a blueprint for shoreline restoration and habitat enrichment. At one time the beach was a poster child for coastal mismanagement plagued by erosion and poor responses to destructive storms. No longer. A dedicated corps of local, state and federal officials worked hard to restore its coasts and the fragile wildlife habitat along its shores, making West Hampton Dunes one of our nations premier beaches.
The shoreline of what is now the Village of West Hampton Dunes began experiencing increased erosion following the construction of a groin fields, set of finger-like extensions from the shoreline, east of the village. This eventually led to extensive over wash and a breach of the barrier island in 1992. Since that time, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Suffolk County Department of Public Works and the Village of West Hampton Dunes have worked together to successfully restore the beach, boost public access and safeguard endangered wildlife habitat.
The Top Restored Beaches were chosen based upon three criteria: the economic and ecological benefits the beach brings to its community; the short and long-term success of the nourishment project; and the challenges each community overcame during the course of the project. In addition to the West Hampton Dunes project, the 2007 winners included: Chaland Headland Restoration Project, La.; East Beach, Norfolk, Va.; Collier County Beaches, Fla.; Folly Beach; S.C.; Perdido Pass, Ala.; and Surfside-Sunset Beach, C.A."

The full press release is available here.


[edit] Recommended Reading

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