Charlotte County completed its first major Erosion Control Project along three miles of critically eroding beaches adjacent to Stump Pass. This dual purpose project includes beach restoration and navigation components. The beach restoration component consists of placing 560,000 cubic yards of sand on Knight and Don Pedro Islands' gulf-front shoreline to restore the recreational beach, create new habitat for nesting turtles and shore birds, and provide storm protection for the upland development; placing 170,000 cubic yards of sand along the northern shoreline of Knight Island to assist in the closure of the existing Stump Pass channel; and placing 100,000 cubic yards of sand on the inlet�s updrift beach, Manasota Key, along the State Park beach to serve as advanced mitigation for potential inlet improvement impacts.

The navigation component involves dredging the Stump Pass 1980 channel. The primary borrow area was sited along the 1980 alignment corresponding to the most hydraulically efficient channel. Excavation of this area resulted in severing the southern end of the Manasota Key spit from the State Park beach. Permit requirements include the County taking over the management activities on the new island created by the project such as debris removal, predator control and environmental monitoring. The comprehensive monitoring includes sea turtle and shore bird nesting as well as implementing shore bird protection measures such as fencing off and creating buffer areas for documented nests.

In addition to the channel borrow area, a supplemental nearshore borrow area was used to provide the sand necessary to complete the project. Other permit monitoring requirements include additional turbidity monitoring of the interior waterbody, Lemon Bay, which is an Aquatic Preserve; sea grass monitoring of the grass beds within the zone of influence of the Project; and hydraulic monitoring to record the changes in the tides and currents in the restored channel allowing for post-Project comparisons to the historical measurements and the predicted changes for the hydraulic parameters from channel restoration.

Coastal Engineering Consultants, Inc., as part of the Consulting Team including Coastal Technology Corporation and Jeff Bouton, provided the comprehensive engineering, geotechnical, permitting, funding, and construction administration services.