I'll try to keep this post relatively short. The recent work has only just been completed and I'm sure I'll be back often to check on how the restored beach performs. Also, I don't know all the construction details, so there are elements I can't really comment on very intelligently (I suspect some readers will point out that this has rarely stopped me before).
Here's a post from several years ago to compare with:
Cornet Bay: 2008
The old creosote timber bulkhead is gone and much of the fill has been removed. The beach and backshore slope has been regraded and erosion control measures have been put in place. I suspect this is to protect the site until planting and landscaping can be completed (possibly late this winter, but maybe they're planning to do something sooner?).Based on the tides during my visit, I believe the straw wattles are located 6-12" above MHHW. This means that the final beach should extend up into the area that is currently covered in bark, so it's a little hard to appreciate the scale of the beach restoration in these photos.
AERIAL VIEW
This will be a valuable site to watch and I hope to be back up a few times over the next few months. There are a whole suite of neat beach projects in the vicinity - too bad that my informal monitoring is sort of an extracurricular activity!
Hugh,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post on our Cornet Bay Project. Yes, the hogfuel is for erosion control. First planting will be the upland in late November with lower elevation planted in the spring. This was a close partnership between State Parks, the Northwest Straits Foundation, the Island Marine Resources Committee, and Whidbey Island Conservation District.