On Saturday, November 6, 2021, the Okaloosa County Tourism Department, in partnership with Trees on the Coast, will be installing 10,600 feet of sand fencing along 3-miles of Okaloosa Island public beach, from El Matador condos to Beasley Park.
- Pre-existing sand fencing allowed the dunes to build, but recent storm damage and erosions has destroyed and covered a large portion of that fencing.
The fencing will assist with dune restoration while mitigating impacts that have been made to nesting sea turtles, piping plovers (👈 that’s a bird btw) and other nesting birds in the area.
- The dune stabilization provides additional wildlife habitat as well as protection for upland structures during storm events.
According to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, sand fences can also assist dune vegetation and placement of beach compatible sand in rebuilding sand dunes by trapping windblown sand.
Standard fencing used in dune restoration projects consists of wooden slats wired together with space between the slats as originally designed for snow fences.
- These fences are recommended to have a 40% open space to 60% closed space ratio for most effective sand trapping.
- Sand fences are usually 2 to 4 feet high.
Sand Fencing Project Map Overview
The project is funded by Okaloosa County Tourist Development and a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant, and will install 2,046 posts with the help of over one hundred community volunteers.
