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Since May 2005 • Volume 19 • Issue 11 • IslandEyeNews.com
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September 8, 2023
IOP beach restoration project changes after visit from Idalia By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News The contractor was ready to start hauling sand, a grant from the state had been approved Photo by Mary Pringle.
and work was within weeks of beginning on a project aimed at protecting Isle of Palms properties that back up to the beach near Breach Inlet. All that changed the night of Aug. 30, when the remnants of Hurricane Idalia skimmed past the Carolina coast and brought the Atlantic Ocean a little closer to the few dozen homes between 100 and 314 Ocean Blvd. According to IOP City Administrator Desiree Fragoso, plans to have a contractor haul in approximately 6,400 cubic yards of sand to build a 6-foothigh, 20-foot-wide, 1,450-foot-long dune Relocated nest #35 on the Isle of Palms was overwashed by the remnants of Hurricane Idalia but survived. Another nest behind it was higher on the dune. from 114 to 304
Ocean Blvd. have been scrapped because those properties and several others are now within 20 feet of where the beach erosion begins. Instead, the dunes will be restored by scraping the beach, which the state allows under emergency conditions. Trucking in sand was the city’s only option prior to Idalia’s arrival. Work was scheduled to get underway Sept. 1 on an area of the beach from 100 to 314 Ocean Blvd. The project originally was expected to cost the city approximately $250,000, with South Carolina Parks and Recreation reimbursing IOP for around half that amount under the Beach Renourishment Funding Assistance Grant Program. Fragoso said Aug. 31 that the revised project would probably have a similar price tag, “maybe more because there’s also going to be debris removal.” She added that she wasn’t sure if the city would still be able to benefit from the state grant. The original project, approved by the IOP City Council June 27, hit a snag when only five of 21 homeowners agreed to give the city a permanent easement on their property. Fragoso told Council members at (Continued on page 9)
For the Turtle Team, Idalia evoked memories of Irene
Coyote interactions a cause of concern on Sullivan’s Island
By Mary Pringle For The Island Eye News As Hurricane Idalia approached South Carolina, the Island Turtle Team, just like other nest-protection groups, became anxious about nests that were laid in mid-July through the beginning of August that were still on the beach. We remember 2011, when Hurricane Irene came in on Aug. 26 and destroyed nine nests on the Isle of Palms, mostly between 31st and 37th avenues, and two nests on Sullivan’s Island at Station 20. These dunes washed away even though Irene did not cause much damage or severe weather in our area. By Aug. 30 of this season, there were still 10 unhatched nests and one hatched but uninventoried nest left on the Isle of Palms as well as two unhatched on Sullivan’s. Based on the major storm response guidelines (Continued on page 6)
By Brian Sherman For The Island Eye News The town of Sullivan’s Island is encouraging its residents and visitors to be cautious, especially at dawn and dusk, after several reports of interactions with coyotes, including one involving a dog that was dragged into the Maritime Forest. According the Police Department incident report, Caitlyn Marie Buxton of (Continued on page 10)
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