Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday signed a bill reversing a controversial 2018 law that led to limited public beach access in some areas. Lawmakers in April passed the bill (SB 1622) after widespread complaints about waterfront property owners in Walton County preventing people from using beaches. Flagler County was ahead of the curve. Beating a deadline, and at the urging–and orchestration–of County Attorney Al Hadeed, the Flagler County Commission in 2018 enacted an ordinance that preserved customary use on the county’s 18 miles of shore, in essence grandfathering the county under the new law.
The Seas
As Pier Construction Begins in Flagler Beach, Major Changes to Pedestrians, Traffic, Boardwalk, Parking and Beach Access
Significant restrictions to beach-goers, pedestrians, boardwalk buffs and parking are about to change the complexion of two and a half blocks near the Flagler Beach pier as its demolition begins in coming days and for the next year and a half. Here’s a rundown.
1.3-Mile Sea Wall at South End of Flagler Complete But for Turtle Nest’s Delay, Giving A1A ‘Highest Protection’
In time for hurricane season projected to spin 13 to 19 named storms, the 1.3-mile seawall at the south end of Flagler County is complete but for a 50-foot stretch–delayed because of a turtle nest. An equally long sea wall 6 miles south, in Volusia County, will be completed by early fall, with a cover of vegetation completed by year’s end. The combined $117 million Florida Department of Transportation projects were financed mostly with federal money. DOT built them after Hurricanes Ian and Nicole again severely damaged State Road A1A south of the pier.
County Kills Half-Cent Sales Tax for Beaches as It Seeks Mystery ‘Alternatives’ to Save 18 Miles of Shoreline
The half-cent sales tax increase the county administration proposed to pay for the long-term management and preservation of Flagler County’s 18 miles of beaches died today after weeks of comatose uncertainty. Commissioners Kim Carney and Pam Richardson summarily killed it. The 18-mile beach-management plan itself may not be dead. At least the sales tax’s executioners don’t think it is. Carney moved for the commission to workshop a deep dive into the management and funding plan with alternatives to the sales tax that would generate the $12 million a year necessary to pay for beach maintenance.
Federal Judge Orders Florida to Follow Series of Steps to Protect and Feed Manatees
A federal judge Monday ordered the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to take a series of steps aimed at protecting manatees in the northern Indian River Lagoon, including requiring it to go through a federal permitting process and temporarily preventing new septic tanks in the area. U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza also ordered establishment of programs to conduct biomedical-health assessments and supplemental feeding for manatees.
Sales Tax Proposal to Protect Flagler’s Beaches Takes Another Lashing as Commissioners Talk Referendum and Other Alternatives
Flagler County’s $114 million beach management plan is looking like a sand castle on the county’s critically eroded shore, and the water is rising. The Flagler County Commission today could not give its administration–or itself–anywhere near the clear direction needed to forge ahead with a plan every one of its five members agrees is critically needed. Three commissioners find the plan’s revenue formula problematic. The workshop ended with deeper uncertainty as commissioners gave their administration direction to produce yet more alternatives.
Saving Our Beaches Is a Collective Responsibility Like Roads and Parks. Let’s Each Do Our Part.
A Beverly Beach resident explains how protecting Flagler County’s beaches through the proposed county plan is similar to supporting communal responsibilities like roads, schools, parks and libraries: not everyone benefits from those services equally, but the services all play a crucial role in the local quality of life and the economy, and must be supported evenly. So it is with the beach.
Flagler Beach ‘All In’ Behind Sales Tax Increase to Fund Beach Management, But Overcoming Palm Coast Veto Is Key
The Flagler Beach City Commission in a special workshop Thursday gave solid and unanimous backing to county government’s plan to take over preservation and management of the county’s 18 miles of beaches in perpetuity, a plan that depends on raising the sales tax by half a cent and on winning Palm Coast government’s approval. That approval is key, because without it, it amounts to a veto over future comprehensive beach-management.
Egmont Key, Ground Zero for Sea Level Rise in Florida, Is a Preview for Coastal Communities
Egmont Key is a bellwether, an observable Ground Zero for local sea level rise, our canary in the climate-change coal mine. The island you see today from the top of the Sunshine Skyway bridge is smaller than the island you saw last year. The island you see today is 300 acres smaller than it was in 1898. This may be the future of barrier island communities like Flagler Beach.
After Qualms from Palm Coast and Bunnell, County’s Beach-Saving Plan Gets a Much Warmer Reception from Flagler Beach
After a punting response from Palm Coast government and a muted one from Bunnell, Flagler County Administrator Heidi Petito’s ambitious plan to save the county’s beaches and permanently ensure their maintenance got a warmer response from the Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening, with one commissioner hoping the city will not only back the plan but be its champion.
Flagler Beach’s Days Are Numbered. That’s No Reason for Palm Coast to Assist Its Suicide.
Flagler Beach’s days are numbered. A beach-protection plan is essential. The county has produced one that spares the cities any tax increase and ensures the renourishment and management of all 18 miles of the county’s beaches. Sending the question to referendum ensures its death, and with it the eventual death of our beaches. Flagler Beach and Palm Coast should not be so fatalistic.
Palm Coast Throws Cold, Brackish Water on County Beach Tax and Management Plan, Calling for Referendum
The Palm Coast City Council today was not receptive to County Administrator Heidi Petito’s comprehensive but expensive financing plan for a long-term solution to saving the county’s 18 miles of beaches. At least three council members favor sending the proposal to the ballot for a referendum, which would almost certainly fail and delay the enactment of an already lagging beach-management plan to 2027, after the next general election.
Get to Know Our Sand Dunes: Community Presentations in Flagler County
Participants will learn about beach dynamics, the role of sand dunes, and how to identify many of the species of plants that grow on our dunes. We will also be sharing information about the participatory science dune monitoring pilot program starting soon along Flagler County beaches and how you can get involved with monitoring the growth of newly planted sea oats.
A Shark-Injured Dead Dolphin Is Recovered from St. Augustine Beach
St. Johns County Beach Services and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked together to remove a dead dolphin from St. Augustine Beach after a beachgoer reported it to a toll worker.
Flagler’s Officials Hope Congressman Mike Waltz Will Be Their Sandman as They Dredge for More Beach Dollars
Flagler County officials asked U.S. Rep. Mike Waltz, the Republican whose six-county district includes all of Flagler County and who was visiting Flagler Beach today, to give them help in efforts to federalize larger portions of the 10 miles of shore that still need new beach sand. The county has no money to extend beach renourishment to that portion of the barrier island. But the congressman, who is not big on climate change measures, was reserved, making no promises.
An Inside Look at the Army Corps’ Beach Renourishment Along Flagler County’s Shore as It Nears Completion
The beach renourishment project that started in Flagler Beach last month after almost 20 years of planning and waiting is nearing completion at remarkable speed, with operations moving to the area of the Flagler Beach pier and north of it starting in the middle of next week and windup expected this month. The project is little short of the recreation of earth. Here’s a detailed tour for those unable to make it to the project site.
Alarms Raised Over Beach Dredging Feared Close to Live Fishery Grounds, Endangering Soft Corals and Sea Life
Backed by GPS data, photographs, and eyewitness accounts from the ground and from a fishing vessel, four people–two of them key advocates of the beach renourishment project ongoing in Flagler Beach, two of them fishing-vessel owners–are warning in dire terms that the dredging of over 1 million cubic yards of sand from the sea bottom several miles offshore is raking up live sea life and getting dangerously close to damaging or destroying a unique fishing ground.
Flagler County’s Beach Protection Tax: Right Idea. Wrong Execution.
The county has the right idea: we need a new tax to pay for expensive beach protection, or we’ll lose the beach. But the county’s execution is hurried, the plan is poorly thought-out, it is riddled with holes and inconsistencies, and it has included zero public participation and zero preparatory discussions with other governments. That’s a recipe for failure, deservedly so: the county is taking the public and its sister governments for granted, if not punting to the cities to do the heavy lifting.
Sea Level Rise Make Florida’s ‘Beach Renourishments’ More Frequent, Expensive and Vain
The barrier islands keep moving, which foolish humans label “beach erosion” as they keep trying to bend nature to their will by trucking or dredging in lots of sand from somewhere else for millions of dollars. The Corps of Engineers, the government agency in charge of playing in such big sandboxes, always claims they’re “saving” the beach from disappearing. They aren’t. They’re just saving a lot of people’s investments as “fiscal conservatives” spend tax money on beaches sure washed away in the next storm.
Sea Turtle Nesting Season Is Here: Tips to Be Caring
Sea turtles are starting to nest on our beaches. Residents and visitors can play a big part in helping to protect vulnerable nesting sea turtles this spring and summer while visiting Florida’s coastal habitats.
Flagler County Bans Beach Bonfires in Turtle-Nesting Season, Joining Prohibitions Long in Place in 3 Towns
Thirteen years ago, after much controversy, the Flagler Beach City Commission banned bonfires on the beach during turtle season. Beverly Beach and Marineland have similar bans. But it was only on Monday that the ban extended to the rest of the county’s beaches–18 miles of shoreline in all–as the County Commission voted 5-0 to approve an ordinance.
The Heroic Effort to Save Florida’s Coral Reef from Devastating Record Heat
As water temperatures spiked in the Florida Keys, scientists from universities, coral reef restoration groups and government agencies launched a heroic effort to save the corals. Divers have been in the water every day, collecting thousands of corals from ocean nurseries along the Florida Keys reef tract and moving them to cooler water and into giant tanks on land.
Army Corps Issues Permit Notice for New, 828-ft Flagler Beach Pier, Detailing Construction and Seeking Public Input
In what one of the designers of Flagler Beach’s new pier described as “a big milestone in the federal regulatory process,” the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued notice that it is reviewing the permit application for the new pier, and soliciting public comment about detailed construction plans that had not been disclosed until now.
A Reminder to Anglers: Release Reef Fish with the Right Tools
Florida requires a descending device and/or venting tool be rigged and ready for use when fishing for reef fish from a vessel in state waters (within 3 nautical miles on the Atlantic and 9 nautical miles on the Gulf).
Reclusive, 15-ft Beaked Whale, Likely Sick, Strands in Flagler Beach Near Water Tower
For the second time in only 10 weeks, a rarely seen whale beached on Flagler County’s sands and was put down hours later before it was to be removed from the surf and transported by truck to Orlando’s SeaWorld for a necropsy.
A1A Protection Plan in Flagler Will Rely on Beach Renourishment, and a Sea Wall at South End
The state Department of Transportation’s much-anticipated plan to protect State Road A1A will mostly rely on existing plans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild 2.6 miles of beach and dunes south of the pier, plans by Flagler County to rebuild beaches north and south of that stretch, and a DOT secant wall along the shore straddling the Flagler-Volusia county line.
No Evidence Links Wind Turbines to Whale Deaths, But Ship Strikes May
A string of articles from local and national outlets have linked wind development and dead whales over the past several months, but there is no evidence linking the two. On the other hand, there has been an increase in whale deaths linked to shipping strikes.
Lawyers to the Rescue: County Ratifies Agreement Clearing Historic Dunes Project in Flagler Beach
The Flagler County Commission this morning ratified the final agreement clearing the way for a historic dune-rebuilding project on 2.6 miles of shoreline in Flagler Beach, starting in April 2024–almost a quarter century after the federal government started considering the stretch for long-term safeguarding from erosion and rising seas.
Sea Walls, Granite, Dunes: FDOT Options to Strengthen A1A Are Nothing Flagler Hasn’t Seen Before
Some 150 people, including numerous Flagler Beach and county officials, turned out to see the state Department of Transportation’s four options to more permanently strengthen State Road A1A, with sea walls taking precedence over dune rebuilding. But a combination of the four options is likely ahead.
Catastrophic Loss: Dunes All But Gone Along Flagler’s 18-Mile Shore, Leaving A1A and Properties Dangerously Exposed
While Flagler County was spared the brunt of Hurricane Ian’s fury, its shoreline was ravaged, and what remained of its already battered dunes and rock revetments sacrificed themselves to protect A1A and properties. There is no more protection should another storm strike. The disappearance of the dunes is stunning in Flagler Beach north of the pier, and in many other places along the 18 miles of beach.
Exorbitant Costs to Save Beaches, and Doing Nothing is Not an Option, Flagler Commissioners Are Told
The county commission this morning heard the results of the $250,000 beach management study it commissioned last year, and was left with two certainties: doing nothing is not an option. Starting to do something is unaffordable for now, even with six options presented by Olsen Associates, the Tampa-based consultants the county hired for the study.
Study: Flagler’s Beaches Are Eroding Critically, and Will Cost County Alone $5 to $13 Million a Year to Slow
The most comprehensive study to date about Flagler County’s beaches paints a stark picture of the consequences of climate change and sea level rise, accelerating erosion, potentially crushing costs to local taxpayers to slow down the erosion with beach renourishment, and few sources of funding to do so.
Massive Erosion Strikes North and South of Pier; Flagler Beach Commission Calls Emergency Meeting
Erosion north of the Flagler Beach pier and around 13th Street South has left portions of the shore without beach, with sheer cliffs of sand instead, as was the case along much of the Flagler shore following Hurricane Matthew. Yet there’s been no major storms. County and Flagler Beach officials are concerned, and examining options.
In Silver Lining for Flagler Beach, $25,000 Not Spent on Fireworks Redirected to Dodge Dunes Campaign
At the behest of Flagler Beach Commissioner Ken Bryan, Flagler’s Tourist Development Council this morning agreed by consensus to award some or all of the $25,000 that the city did not spend on its ill-fated July 4 fireworks show back to efforts focused on the Dodge the Dunes campaign, primarily in Flagler Beach.
Flagler Beach Reduces Its Lifeguard Zone By Two Towers, and Asks County for More Money
Reducing Flagler Beach’s lifeguard-protected zone by four blocks will save about $25,000 a year, but the city is still seeking more than the $84,500 it is getting from the county to run the $240,000 lifeguard program.
Cost to Save Beaches and Properties in Flagler from Rising Seas: $6.3 Million a Year, Year After Year
Flagler County commissioners and other local officials heard the sobering conclusions of a seminal beach management study today, and the large costs ahead that will fall on all local governments and residents if the beaches are to be preserved. That money is nowhere in place for now, nor is a management plan.
Plastics Trashing Oceans Have Their Biggest Source in US
On a per capita basis, the U.S. produces an order of magnitude more plastic waste than China – a nation often vilified over pollution-related issues.And only a small fraction of plastic in U.S. household waste streams is recycled.
Are Wind Turbines About to Whirl Off Florida’s Shore?
The Biden administration is turning its back on offshore drilling rigs such as Deepwater Horizon. Instead, it’s planning for wind farms along the entire coastline. When it comes to wind, though, Florida is known more for its balmy breezes than any steady gusts that would make wind turbines an energetic proposition.
Cautionary Tale for Coastal Towns: What Miami’s Sea Wall Will Not Protect
The sea wall the Army Corps is proposing – protecting only 6 miles of downtown and the financial district from a storm surge – can’t save Miami and Dade County. Most of the city will be outside the wall, unprotected; the wall will still trap water inside; and the Corps hasn’t closely studied what the construction of a high sea wall would do to water quality.
DeSantis Rebuffs Calls for Red Tide State of Emergency, Accusing Environmentalists of ‘Politicizing’ Issue
DeSantis pointed to $4.8 million in the current state budget allocated for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Center for Red Tide Research, adding that an emergency declaration would only be warranted if the state needed to access unallocated general revenue.
Their Boat Sank in Minutes 10 Miles Offshore of Flagler Beach: How 4 Men and 2 Boys Kept Their Cool Until Rescued
A group of six Palm Coast boaters off on a snapper fishing trip Saturday (July 10) rapidly sank two hours into their trip, 10 miles offshore. Quick action, level heads and a series of fortunate events led to their rescue by another fishing boat, then the Coast Guard. here’s their story.
Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program Releases 5 Endangered Sea Turtles in Ormond Beach
The fruits of The Florida Aquarium’s Sea Turtle Conservation Program labor were realized with the release of five rehabbed sea turtles including two Kemp’s ridley and three greens yesterday in North Ormond Beach.
Road Signs May Not Be Enough to Stop Sea Turtles’ Carnage on Flagler’s Beachside
A dead or stranded turtle on the side of the road is common, but prevention is not complicated, whether it’s reducing clutter and pollution on the beach or following up on the Flagler Turtle Patrol’s awareness tips.
This Supermoon Has a Twist: Expect Flooding, But a Lunar Cycle is Masking Sea Level Rise Effects
A “super full moon” is coming on April 27, and coastal cities know that means one thing: a heightened risk of tidal flooding. Because of the moon’s long-term cycle, these are the years to implement infrastructure plans to protect coastal areas against sea level rise.
All But 4 Easements Secured, Flagler Beach Dunes Project Will Go Forward as Will Court Action Against Holdouts
A year-long effort between Flagler County government and a grass-roots group and its Go Fund Me campaign to secure easements from 13 hold-outs so 2.6 miles of shore can be rebuilt with ample dunes in Flagler Beach has paid off. Only three owners and holding four parcels remain. All others have signed.
15 Years On, $25 Million In, Flagler Beach Dunes Project Near ‘Dead In the Water’ as 13 Property Owners Hold Out
Just 13 property owners are essentially holding hostage a fully funded beach and dune-rebuilding plan Flagler Beach and the county have worked toward for 15 years, a resistance based on what the county considers extortionist motives for money that doesn’t exist.
‘We’re Fighting For the Life of Flagler Beach’: County Urges Property Owners’ Cooperation in Beach Rebuilding
Flagler County government is looking for permission from almost 150 property owners along the shore in Flagler Beach to use their beachside properties over the next few months–and in perpetuity–to save the beach in what one official describes as the single-largest public works project ever conducted in Flagler
Wine, Water and Song: Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade Deadline Extended
Organizers for the 37th annual Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade have extended the deadline for boat registrations to December 6. The parade is scheduled for Dec. 7. A record 47 boats participated in the parade last year.
40-ft. Trawler Is Gutted in 2-Hour Fire By Moody Ramp Under Flagler Beach Bridge
A 40-ft. trawler that had begun its journey on the St. Johns River and was making its way south was gutted by fire this afternoon, burning for some two hours as firefighters fought the blaze under the Flagler Beach bridge at Moody Boat Launch. No one was injured.
Flagler About To Sign 50-Year, $100 Million Deal to Rebuild 2.6 Miles of Dunes in Flagler Beach. It Has Only a Fraction of the Money.
Flagler County is teaming with the federal government to split the $100 million cost of dune renourishment in Flagler Beach, but the deal is fraught with uncertainties, and Flagler can only pay its first phase.