Abstract
Sea-level rise (SLR) is a stressor that affects coastlines by increasing erosion and inundation. Sandy beaches in particular are affected by sea-level rise as are species that depend on them for any part of their life cycles. Local, state, and federal regulations and policies may serve as a foundation to manage beaches as habitats, thereby improving resiliency of those species from the threat of SLR for sandy beach habitats. In Southwest Florida, sandy beaches and are heavily managed, primarily by local and municipal agencies but strongly affected by state and federal guidelines, policies, and regulations. One widely-implemented practice is beach nourishment, which is deposition of sand onto beaches that have eroded or are in process of eroding to a point where residential property, recreational activities, or other human activities may be affected. The practice of nourishment clearly has a profound effect on other species, many of which are intended to be protected by local, state, and federal policies; however, beach nourishment projects may not be designed to consider habitat for these species and may not be designed to increase resiliency for SLR – and if improperly designed may have adverse impacts on all of those concerns. This study reviewed the regulations, policies, and actions related to beach management of a group of 28 municipalities, along with the state and federal regulations, policies, and guidelines to which those municipalities are subject. study addressed in particular the beach-nourishment actions implemented by the target municipalities over the period 2000-2015, and the policies and regulations that control those actions, as they affect two groups of organisms that rely on those beaches for the breeding portion of their life cycle: nesting sea turtles and beach-nesting birds. Those two groups may be particularly impacted by loss of habitat from SLR, and so beach management in a way that responds to SLR may be crucial if it is desired to protect those species. Doing so is particularly important in southwest Florida as nearly 45% of the sandy shoreline in the study area has been nourished, and this figure is likely to rise as SLR results in greatly increased erosion. This study had three main objectives: 1) to critically assess the effectiveness of existing federal, state, and local policies that will positively affect these two groups of species, and effectiveness at responding to SLR among current coastal management policies and management strategies in Southwest Florida, using publicly available agency documents; 2) to critically assess the effectiveness at protecting those species, and at responding to SLR, in the ways in which coastal management projects, particularly beach nourishment projects, have been implemented over the 15-year target period; and 3) to make recommendations for actions that can be included in policies and coastal management plans in Southwest Florida to improve resiliency of sandy beach habitats, especially as habitats upon which nesting bird and sea turtle species depend. The research reviewed 28 municipalities’ Comprehensive Plans and Land Development Codes (LDCs) that were reviewed. Only four of those made direct mention of SLR, and all of those were written by county-level agencies (as opposed to cities or other sub-county units): Collier County, Charlotte County, Sarasota County, and Pinellas County. Documents for the majority of the reviewed municipalities investigated made little or no mention of nesting sea turtles or beach-nesting birds. The research then reviewed state and federal policies for consideration of sea-level rise, nesting sea turtles, and beach-nesting birds. There was some overlap and considerable gaps in protective policy or application of existing policy toward beach nourishment project permits. The United States Army Corps of Engineers is required to incorporate current and projected sea-level rise into coastal management projects; however, this guidance is subject to interpretation, economic factors, and political decisions. The State of Florida and local municipalities do not have any requirement to incorporate sea-level rise into beach nourishment projects. Most permitted beach nourishment projects were not designed for nesting sea turtles and did not incorporate a turtle-friendly slope or one that mimics natural beaches. Not one of the 36 nourishment projects in these counties was built with a turtle-friendly lower slope as none of them specified a change in slope below the berm. Of the 36 beach nourishment project permits reviewed, 83% did have turtle-friendly upper slopes, and 74% did not have a turtle-friendly berm, defaulting to a flat 0% berm slope. The research makes several recommendations for coastal managers and planners for increasing resiliency for nesting sea turtles and beach-nesting birds under the threat of sea-level rise. Local, state, and federal coastal planners should incorporate local and predicted SLR rates into beach nourishment and coastal zone management. A beach built with more volume would be more resilient to SLR and storm events and increasing the elevation of the beach would reduce overwash and flooding of nesting habitat. Development of policy that requires sea turtle friendly slopes is a vital step to properly managing nesting habitat for sea turtles. Using a site-based approach, coastal managers can work with biologists to identify areas where beach-nesting birds occurred historically or where they can incorporate beach-nesting bird habitat into their beach nourishment projects. Many conservation measures can be incorporated into the beach nourishment permitting process to help provide resilience for these species that will increase the amount of preferred nesting habitat for sea turtles and beach-nesting birds in concert with beach nourishment projects.
