Sargent Beach Dune Restoration

There is a program called living shorelines - in Texas. Obviously part of our ongoing flooding and erosion issues, if we had dunes, we would be better off.  And there are funding and grants for this. So I contacted the living shorelines people and got a great response back - pretty quickly - so there are things we can do and help we can get to restore some of the dunes and put plants that will help keep those dunes in place.  Lots more research to do here. But a great call today. 

The person that responded to me already referred me to the right people and I am reading the through the Matagorda beach plan (which is mainly Matagorda and not Sargent).

The bottom line is that there is funding and programs to help - we just have to highlight the problem, find the right solutions and then start pushing to get help to implement those solutions. A lot of work.  But we can Save Sargent Beach. 

Mr. Saba,

Wow that is some erosion going on! You have great photos and documentation. I will need to refer you to our Beach and Dune team as well as the PSC (permit service center) for the upper coast, as they can give you more specific information and would be handling any sort of permitting/leasing/authorization that will be required. I’ll do that email introduction, but first I wanted to get some information from you –

 

Are you considering recontouring the sand or only revegetation?

 

Have you reviewed the Matagorda County Dune Protection and Beach Access Plan? It has tons of information I think you would find useful.

 

Do you think your neighbors would also be interested in some sort of restoration project?

 

Have you contacted Artist Boat? It is a non-profit located in Galveston, and in the past they have done dune planting projects so they might have some information or insight.

 

I left a message for you earlier – we are working from home so feel free to call my cell 903-279-7775 and we can discuss further. I’m sorry it has taken me a while to get in touch, I was out with some health issues.

Thank you for reaching out to the GLO about dune restoration options on Sargent Beach. The GLO does have a dune protection manual that provides some guidance that could be useful for you. I have included the link below. Typically, for dune restoration, we recommend dunes are built with at least a 20’ wide  base, no less than 4 feet high, with a gentle sloop of 45 degrees to help ensure successful dune growth and stability. If you are bringing in sand to build the dunes, it must be of similar color, grain size, and minerology to the sand on site. We recommend planting dune vegetation soon after constructing new dunes as the plants will help to stabilize the dune sand, but they do take some time to become fully established. Dune vegetation must be indigenous plants such as sea oats, bitter panicum, and marshhay cordgrass.  These recommendations are all in the dune protection manual.

 

https://www.glo.texas.gov/coast/coastal-management/forms/files/dune-protection-manual-gpb.pdf

We do not recommend sand fencing in your area as there is a not enough wind blown sand to accumulate behind a sand fence and feel it would not be a worthwhile activity.

 

You will need to contact Lisa Krobot with Matagorda County, copied on this email, to obtain a Beachfront Construction Certificate and Dune Protection Permit for the dune restoration project and it sounds  like you are already aware of and in contact with the USACE to obtain permission to  work on USACE land adjacent to the revetment.

 

I hope this helps you with your next steps to move forward with the dune restoration project. Please reach out if I can be of any further assistance.