Retreat Blog

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 23, 2006

CONTACT: Sarah Williams, (850) 245-2112



DEP HOSTS WORKSHOP ON PROTECTING FLORIDA’S COASTLINE

--Meeting will explore new beach management and erosion control technologies--



TALLAHASSEE – The Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems hosted a workshop this week to discuss innovative shore protection technologies. Product designers, vendors, city and county representatives and state representatives participated in the two day conference to explore erosion control technologies and state permitting for projects.



“Restoring and maintaining critically eroding shorelines provides essential protection for our coastal communities and offers additional habitat for wildlife,” said Michael R. Barnett, P.E., Chief of DEP’s Bureau of Beaches & Coastal Systems. “Innovative techniques for protecting the beach and dune system allow us to explore additional opportunities that could save taxpayer dollars while effectively controlling erosion.”



During the workshop, entrepreneurs and vendors gave presentations showcasing their ideas and products, and DEP staff provided information on rules and procedures for permitting and funding pilot projects in the state. More than fifteen organizations introduced different erosion control techniques, including a description of the product or idea, prior uses, drawings and results of monitoring studies.


For more info : DEP INFO

Scroll down to Hot topics... Presentations will be posted soon

Anyone who has ever been involved in an insurance claim with their home is familiar with the requirement and responsibility to mitigate damage. An example of this would be to place a blue tarp over a damaged roof to prevent even greater damage inside the home.

Similarly, those of us damaged by assessments and liens and the possibility for more of the same in the future have a responsibility to mitigate any further damage.

The Complaint that has been given the go-ahead for trial is one way to mitigate .

Selling and moving from the Retreat is also a way to limit future assessments, liens etc.

And if DEP does not issue a permit to the Retreat for the Geo-Tubes that is another way that mitigation effectively takes place.

Since Sept. 16th 2004 when IVAN struck there has been no action started on the beach to protect the Retreat. Over 17 Months ago.

24 Gulf-front owners getting together and taking action in time will provide protection along with the entire ownership paying for the beachclub and walkovers.

No one seems to have figured out that the 24 Gulf front owners could have formed an LLC, gotten an emergency permit on their own, put up seawalls, or tubes, and/or sand, and then made an attempt to get the other 66 lot owners to help pay for part of the cost after they had protected their private property.

95 Days until Hurricane Season

68 DEP days until Hurricane Season (they don't work Weekends).

64 Days until Turtle Season

45 U.S. Fish & Wildlife service days until Turtle Season (no weekends either).

Page A3 - At the end of April, all temporary armoring permits issued by the county will expire. No Construction on the Beach
- Walton County attorney David Hallman

page A4 - Gulf-front Property Owners would foot the bill for a unified "take Permit" from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Walton County attorney David Hallman

Page A10- " It is unthinkable that any homeowner would expect the county, which is really us, the taxpayers, to shoulder the expense of saving his or her private home.
- OPINION , The walton Sun


Page A25 - After 7 years, we are delighted to move into the implementation stage of the beach restoration project. - TDC Director Kris Titus

Page A26 - Upon completion, the beaches will be able to sustain up to a Cat 3 hurricane.
- Director of Beach Mgmt. Brad Pickel

A residential neighborhood of single family homes whose Association acts as if it's a Condominium development.

In a neighborhood association you pay for repairs to your personal home and lot and a portion for any "common Areas".

In a condo, everyone owns a part of everything else besides their condo so they must pay a portion for everything.

I don't think the courts in Florida need to be clogged with cases that blur the distinctions between these two very different types of ownership.

Judge Leporte instructed the attorneys to begin the discovery process to put this case on a fast track to be heard in the next month or two. This is good news because it can take as as long as a year to have a case heard.

The issue of a stay on the liens really became a non issue after 1. The liens were filed and 2. The case has now gotten the fast track.
Besides it just opens the association to future potential damages.

Hey, if your gonna step in it, step in it with both feet right?

Outstanding Florida Water

According to Eric Shaw with the Florida DEP we can apply for the OFW designation for all of the coastal dune lakes (including Draper Lake) on 30A at one time.

As we in the Retreat know another project with multifamily housing, a spa, and a dining facility is planning a development on the north end of Draper Lake .
I attended this meeting. It would be a wise idea in my opinion to get the process outlined by Mr. Shaw started soon as we want at least 50% of the run off going into Draper Lake from this new development to be treated.

The developer stated that he is interested in protecting Draper lake and even mentioned setting up a foundation to do so.

The OFW is consistant with those statements and is already in place.

60 Minutes was very selective with their reporting on Paul Mayewski's (the very scientist they interview in the report) research into global warming.

They left out this (http://www.globalwarming.org/article.php?uid=868):

"A team led by University of Maine scientists has reported finding a potential link between changes in solar activity and the Earth's climate. In a paper due to be published in an upcoming volume of the Annals of Glaciology, Paul Mayewski, director of UMaine's Climate Change Institute, and 11 colleagues from China, Australia and UMaine describe evidence from ice cores pointing to an association between the waxing and waning of zonal wind strength around Antarctica and a chemical signal of changes in the sun's output...

...Researchers in the UMaine Climate Change Institute (http://www.climatechange.umaine.edu/) have focused on the relationship between solar variability and climate, particularly the use of isotopes in tree rings and ice cores to provide an indication of the sun's strength. The ice core data reported in the paper demonstrates a direct atmospheric consequence associated with changing solar radiation."

Thanks to Porkopolis... More at PORKOPOLIS

If We look at this section of the previous blog where it says:

"both the county and the individual property owners are responsible for implementing and maintaining an HCP(Habitat Conservation Plan). Without an incidental take permit, the letter warns both the county and property owners could face prosecution under the Endangered Species Act if a “take” occurs as a result of a seawall".
-U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

The property owners would typically be the individual beachfront property owners, or a Condo association (The Inn at Blue Mt.) or a Corporate owner (SEASIDE or ST.JOE).

This creates a potential Legal Liability issue in the Retreat if All of the lot owners participate financially in a DEP and/or U.S.F.& W. "TAKE" permit process Vs. only the beachfront owners. This could create a personal liability issue.
The Association would in any case be liable for the common areas such as the beachclub and walkovers.
According to the Retreat documents the beachfront owners are already personally liable for violations not the association. If the non-beachfront owners pay to have work performed on the private property of beachfront owners are they now liable as well ?

As I said before, PANDORA'S Box.

County Role and Taxpayer Money In Private Seawall Permits

On Jan. 30th, 2006, U.S. Fish & Wildlife (U.S.F.&W.) issued a letter to the county stating that the seawalls on 158 out of 220 properties could negatively impact the habitat of three federally listed species- sea turtles, beach mice and piping plovers. Any action, including detrimental habitat modification (which will ultimately impact the species), that harms a listed species is called a “take” under the Endangered Species Act.

Any person who wants to do an activity (e.g., construct a seawall) that might impact an listed species must apply to U.S.F.&W. for an “incidental take permit”. An “incidental take permit” allows an activity to continue that would otherwise constitute an illegal take of a listed species. If the incidental take is allowed, the person must mitigate for the “take” by establishing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that reduces or compensates for the harm to the species. The letter states the county must obtain an “incidental take” permit as the county’s action in issuing the temporary permits facilitated a take. Additionally, the letter states each of the 158 property owners are required to have an incidental take permit if they are seeking a permanent permit for their walls. In addition to the permits, both the county and the individual property owners are responsible for implementing and maintaining an HCP. Without an incidental take permit, the letter warns both the county and property owners could face prosecution under the Endangered Species Act if a “take” occurs as a result of a seawall.

For logistical reasons, U.S.F.&W. has asked the county to apply for one permit on behalf of itself and the 158 private properties and to implement one HCP in lieu of individual permits and HCPs. According to U.S.F.&W., there are grant funds available to help defray the cost of the HCP. Proposals, however, must be submitted by March 20, 2006. We strongly encourage the county to vigorously pursue any potential grant funding for the Habitat Conservation Plan.

County Role and Taxpayer Money In Private Seawall Permits

On Jan. 30th, 2006, U.S. Fish & Wildlife (U.S.F.&W.) issued a letter to the county stating that the seawalls on 158 out of 220 properties could negatively impact the habitat of three federally listed species- sea turtles, beach mice and piping plovers. Any action, including detrimental habitat modification (which will ultimately impact the species), that harms a listed species is called a “take” under the Endangered Species Act.

Any person who wants to do an activity (e.g., construct a seawall) that might impact an listed species must apply to U.S.F.&W. for an “incidental take permit”. An “incidental take permit” allows an activity to continue that would otherwise constitute an illegal take of a listed species. If the incidental take is allowed, the person must mitigate for the “take” by establishing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that reduces or compensates for the harm to the species. The letter states the county must obtain an “incidental take” permit as the county’s action in issuing the temporary permits facilitated a take. Additionally, the letter states each of the 158 property owners are required to have an incidental take permit if they are seeking a permanent permit for their walls. In addition to the permits, both the county and the individual property owners are responsible for implementing and maintaining an HCP. Without an incidental take permit, the letter warns both the county and property owners could face prosecution under the Endangered Species Act if a “take” occurs as a result of a seawall.

For logistical reasons, U.S.F.&W. has asked the county to apply for one permit on behalf of itself and the 158 private properties and to implement one HCP in lieu of individual permits and HCPs. According to U.S.F.&W., there are grant funds available to help defray the cost of the HCP. Proposals, however, must be submitted by March 20, 2006. We strongly encourage the county to vigorously pursue any potential grant funding for the Habitat Conservation Plan.

County Role and Taxpayer Money In Private Seawall Permits

On Jan. 30th, 2006, U.S. Fish & Wildlife (U.S.F.&W.) issued a letter to the county stating that the seawalls on 158 out of 220 properties could negatively impact the habitat of three federally listed species- sea turtles, beach mice and piping plovers. Any action, including detrimental habitat modification (which will ultimately impact the species), that harms a listed species is called a “take” under the Endangered Species Act.

Any person who wants to do an activity (e.g., construct a seawall) that might impact an listed species must apply to U.S.F.&W. for an “incidental take permit”. An “incidental take permit” allows an activity to continue that would otherwise constitute an illegal take of a listed species. If the incidental take is allowed, the person must mitigate for the “take” by establishing a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) that reduces or compensates for the harm to the species. The letter states the county must obtain an “incidental take” permit as the county’s action in issuing the temporary permits facilitated a take. Additionally, the letter states each of the 158 property owners are required to have an incidental take permit if they are seeking a permanent permit for their walls. In addition to the permits, both the county and the individual property owners are responsible for implementing and maintaining an HCP. Without an incidental take permit, the letter warns both the county and property owners could face prosecution under the Endangered Species Act if a “take” occurs as a result of a seawall.

For logistical reasons, U.S.F.&W. has asked the county to apply for one permit on behalf of itself and the 158 private properties and to implement one HCP in lieu of individual permits and HCPs. According to U.S.F.&W., there are grant funds available to help defray the cost of the HCP. Proposals, however, must be submitted by March 20, 2006. We strongly encourage the county to vigorously pursue any potential grant funding for the Habitat Conservation Plan.

There was a man who became profound
And as He did He left the ground
With all the people standing around

Some people said that " You cant't believe it until you see it"
Other people said " You can't believe it even when you see it"
Then He said "You can't see it Until you believe it"
And that was profound

Causing Him to leave the ground
With all the people standing around
Like lillies of the field
Firmly planted in the ground


Profound copyright © 2006 Shawn O'Neal All Rights Reserved.

I LOVE BUSH.

In his new book about Mr. Bush, "Rebel in Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush," Fred Barnes recalls a visit to the White House last year by Michael Crichton, whose 2004 best-selling novel, "State of Fear," suggests that global warming is an unproven theory and an overstated threat.

Mr. Barnes, who describes Mr. Bush as "a dissenter on the theory of global warming," writes that the president "avidly read" the novel and met the author after Karl Rove, his chief political adviser, arranged it. He says Mr. Bush and his guest "talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement. The visit was not made public for fear of outraging environmentalists all the more."

And so it has, fueling a common perception among environmental groups that Mr. Crichton's dismissal of global warming, coupled with his popularity as a novelist and screenwriter, has undermined efforts to pass legislation intended to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas that leading scientists say causes climate change.

Mr. Crichton, whose views in "State of Fear" helped him win the American Association of Petroleum Geologists' annual journalism award this month, has been a leading doubter of global warming and last September appeared before a Senate committee to argue that the supporting science was mixed, at best.

On Donald Kennedy in Science, Again

Posted to Author: Pielke Jr., R. | Climate Change | Disasters

In this week’s Science magazine editor Donald Kennedy opines that “Not only is the New Orleans damage not an act of God; it shouldn’t even be called a “natural” disaster.” Could it be that he sees the significance of millions of people and trillions of dollars of property in locations exposed to repeated strikes from catastrophic storms? Unfortunately, not at all.

Prof. Kennedy is a Johnny-come-lately to exploiting Katrina for political advantage on climate change. He writes, “As Katrina and two other hurricanes crossed the warm Gulf of Mexico, we watched them gain dramatically in strength. . . We know with confidence what has made the Gulf and other oceans warmer than they had been before: the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from human industrial activity, to which the United States has been a major contributor.”

I suppose one could make the convoluted case that Prof. Kennedy is [just a bad writer/only talking about statistics/dumbing-down the science/anticipating inevitable future research results] and didn’t really mean to link Katrina’s damage (or Katrina) with global warming. But he did, clearly. The current state of science doesn’t support such claims.

I for one don't really need to know if increased storm activity is linked to global warming as much as I need to know weather or not hurricane frequency and intensity is going to be a factor in the next ten years......

The State, federal and local governments invest millions of dollars annually to restore and maintain critically eroded beaches along Florida’s 1,350-mile coastline. For more information and to view the full report on Hurricane Charley, visit www.floridadep.org/beaches.

Wars for resources are the theme of the 21st century folks.
Oil and Sand.
We need the REAL Political Ironmen and Ironwomen going forward if we are going to get "our share" in Walton County. Mamby Pamby's need not apply.
We need the Hard core to bring the Bucks to our Beaches.
We need to think like pro football scouts and recruit the best of the best.
A long hard fight looms ahead for the sand dollars in Florida.

Source:The Independant online via the DRUDGE REPORT

Greenland ice cap breaking up at twice the rate it was five years ago, says scientist Bush tried to gag
By Jim Hansen
Published: 17 February 2006

A satellite study of the Greenland ice cap shows that it is melting far faster than scientists had feared - twice as much ice is going into the sea as it was five years ago. The implications for rising sea levels - and climate change - could be dramatic.

Yet, a few weeks ago, when I - a Nasa climate scientist - tried to talk to the media about these issues following a lecture I had given calling for prompt reductions in the emission of greenhouse gases, the Nasa public affairs team - staffed by political appointees from the Bush administration - tried to stop me doing so. I was not happy with that, and I ignored the restrictions. The first line of Nasa's mission is to understand and protect the planet.

This new satellite data is a remarkable advance. We are seeing for the first time the detailed behaviour of the ice streams that are draining the Greenland ice sheet. They show that Greenland seems to be losing at least 200 cubic kilometres of ice a year. It is different from even two years ago, when people still said the ice sheet was in balance.

Hundreds of cubic kilometres sounds like a lot of ice. But this is just the beginning. Once a sheet starts to disintegrate, it can reach a tipping point beyond which break-up is explosively rapid. The issue is how close we are getting to that tipping point. The summer of 2005 broke all records for melting in Greenland. So we may be on the edge.

Our understanding of what is going on is very new. Today's forecasts of sea-level rise use climate models of the ice sheets that say they can only disintegrate over a thousand years or more. But we can now see that the models are almost worthless. They treat the ice sheets like a single block of ice that will slowly melt. But what is happening is much more dynamic.

Once the ice starts to melt at the surface, it forms lakes that empty down crevasses to the bottom of the ice. You get rivers of water underneath the ice. And the ice slides towards the ocean.

Our Nasa scientists have measured this in Greenland. And once these ice streams start moving, their influence stretches right to the interior of the ice sheet. Building an ice sheet takes a long time, because it is limited by snowfall. But destroying it can be explosively rapid.

How fast can this go? Right now, I think our best measure is what happened in the past. We know that, for instance, 14,000 years ago sea levels rose by 20m in 400 years - that is five metres in a century. This was towards the end of the last ice age, so there was more ice around. But, on the other hand, temperatures were not warming as fast as today.

How far can it go? The last time the world was three degrees warmer than today - which is what we expect later this century - sea levels were 25m higher. So that is what we can look forward to if we don't act soon. None of the current climate and ice models predict this. But I prefer the evidence from the Earth's history and my own eyes. I think sea-level rise is going to be the big issue soon, more even than warming itself.

It's hard to say what the world will be like if this happens. It would be another planet. You could imagine great armadas of icebergs breaking off Greenland and melting as they float south. And, of course, huge areas being flooded.

How long have we got? We have to stabilise emissions of carbon dioxide within a decade, or temperatures will warm by more than one degree. That will be warmer than it has been for half a million years, and many things could become unstoppable. If we are to stop that, we cannot wait for new technologies like capturing emissions from burning coal. We have to act with what we have. This decade, that means focusing on energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy that do not burn carbon. We don't have much time left.

Jim Hansen, the director of the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, is President George Bush's top climate modeller. He was speaking to Fred Pearce

60 MINUTES: SCIENTIST SAYS GLOBAL WARMING HAS CAUSED MORE INTENSE HURRICANES LIKE KATRINA
Thu Feb 16 2006 12:27:11 2006

Rising ocean temperatures have increased the intensity of hurricanes like the one that decimated New Orleans, says a scientist in a 60 MINUTES report on global warming. Bob Correll, one of the world’s foremost authorities on climate change, appears in Scott Pelley’s report to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES Sunday, Feb. 19 (7:00-8:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

“The oceans in the Northern Hemisphere are the warmest they’ve been on record,” says Correll. “When they get up in that temperature, they spin off hurricanes….The one thing we can say with a fairly high degree of confidence is the severity of the storms…these cyclonic events like hurricanes and cyclones…they’re going to be more severe,” he tells Pelley.

Correll is interviewed in Greenland above the Arctic Circle, where the rising temperature has caused the glacial ice in place for eons to steadily recede for the last few decades. “This is bell weather, a barometer….the warning that things are coming,” says Correll, who also predicts lowlands will be inundated by waters from the melting glaciers in the future. “In 10 years here in the Arctic, we see what the rest of the planet will see in 25 or 35 years from now,” he says. “The entire planet is out of balance,” says Correll.


Correll says the sooner we curb the emissions, the better for the generations to come. Even total cessation of the burning of fossil fuels will not stop the warming immediately and to continue burning them will affect the planet into the distant future – perhaps thousands of years. “I try to tell [policymakers] exactly what we know scientifically. The science is, I believe, unassailable,” Correll tells Pelley.

This is the summary of the Shoreline Change Rate Estimate (Walton County) 2000 study:

Review and analysis of the available survey data record indicates that survey data comparisons most appropriate for shoreline erosion rate estimates are the 1872 to 1995 (pre-Opal) and 1872 to 1997/98 time periods. Both time periods show virtually identical patterns of erosion with rate estimates falling within the range of +0.5 and -0.5 ft/yr. Therefore, for any future planning purposes, a conservative erosion rate estimate of -1 ft/yr should be used county-wide.

A low magnitude of shoreline change was found irrespective of the time period selected and of major storms, such as Hurricane Opal in 1995. This is believed to be due to a shoreline orientation that is well adapted to the prevailing wave climate and and relatively abundant sand supply, as well as a lack of significant tidal inlets near the county. The future sand supply should be adequate due to the large renourishment project in Bay County to the east. Probably the main concern from an erosion standpoint in this county is the fact that the primary bluff or dune face is vulnerable to recession during major storm events, threatening buildings that may be sited too close to the edge or with inadequate foundations.

The Inn at Blue Mt. Beach sings " Oh say can you say seawall, by the dawns early light"


Ro Ro Ro Your boat, Gently down the Stream
Seawalls are a monetary dream
Life is but a scheme...

Meanwhile Back at the Retreat, the hearing for the motion to stay the Liens that the association had placed on the property of some of the owners has been moved up a day to February 23 rd.

The consciousness of loving
and being loved
brings a warmth and richness to life
that nothing else can bring.

-- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Why oh Why are these Rare (in the WORLD) Coastal Dune Lakes not even designated as "outstanding Florida Waters " ?

There are many many places that have scenic highways but maybe three places on earth
that have Dune lakes.

I intend to inquire into the reasons for this.

The Department (DEP) gives notice of withdrawal for the petition for variance or waiver of Rule Chapter 62B-33.0051(1)(a)1, and 62B-33.0051(1)(a)2, Florida Administrative Code, from Mary Rosenheim on behalf of the St. Joe Company, WL-822 AR, 1701 E. County Hwy. 30-A, in Walton County.

The permit was for ARMORING.

A review of the website www.retreathomeowners.org shows a link to the "updated homeowners list since the Nov. 19th meeting ".

One or more of the properties are not showing the proper current owner(s) names
and there is no information given on the owners of the following lots:
23,25,30,31,34,35,36,40,42,43,47,48,49,50,
56,57,60,62,70,75,77,78,81,82,85,87.
That makes 28% of the lot ownership as not represented.

A review of the list of Retreat homeowners sent to the DEP with the application for a permit show that all of this information is available with the exception that three of the directory listings do not have the corresponding lot number shown.


108 DAYS UNTIL THE 2006 HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS
77 DAYS UNTIL SEA TURTLE NESTING SEASON BEGINS
76 DEP DAYS UNTIL THE 2006 HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS (they don't work weekends)
53 U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE DAYS UNTIL SEA TURTLE NESTING SEASON ( no weekends either)

No holidays are accounted for in the above counts.

Beach renourishment is not a religious movement even though you will hear the word Salvation or terms like "it's our only Salvation" or "our Eventual Salvation" used quite often. It lends the aura of a noble cause to the process. Salvation is also used along with the term beach restoration as well. Salvation can also mean to deliver one from harm in the secular sense as well although some experts equate going the sand renourishment path with taking on a heroin addiction. They say once you start renourishing you can't stop. Maybe that's why they call it OPM (other peoples money). Orrin Pikey Jr. of the Duke University school of the Enviornment and Earth Sciences says that " Renourishment can cost $2 Million Dollars per mile and it can Kill Wildlife and inhibit Sea Turtle Nesting"

And these costs will only go up if there is more competition for borrow sites for available qualifying sand which leads to a supply problem. There are only a handful of companies that do this type of renourishment work so getting around to every mile of beach in time can also become a politically charged issue.


BUT:
For Beach renourishment or restoration (read buying more sand to widen your beach) to begin.........
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ESTABLISH AN EROSION CONTROL LINE WHERE UPLAND (private)PROPERTY
ENDS AND STATE OWNED PROPERTY BEGINS. ANY WIDTH ADDED TO THE BEACH IS THEN *DEEMED TO BE PUBLIC PROPERTY BECAUSE IT IS PUBLICLY FUNDED.
*Deemed: To hold, consider or treat as if.


AND:
STATE FUNDING HINGES ON INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE BEACH.

SO:
TAKING FEDERAL AND STATE $$$ = INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS AND MORE PARKING.

Once public funds have been mixed into your beach through public funding The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has more control over your beach as well because other law takes effect through this same process. The beach mouse in particular benefits from this outcome.

There is a whole lot of TAX money flowing into Government from Tourism and Tourism needs a beach like a junkie needs a fix.

So....What can we do ???

Option 1. All homes are temporary. Beach homes are more temporary than most.
Move the construction line further inland and make people self insure if they want to live within the 30 year storm erosion zone freeing up more Federal and State money.
Give developers that have built under the existing laws tax credits and incentives to build new buildings further inland away from storm and flood zones. Fund a Government purchase of endangered gulf front condos for use by Federal, state and local agencies
until they are taken by the Gulf.

Option 2. Get that sand on the beach NOW! and keep the Salvation coming.
And if we need Dept. store sized parking lots for all the new people who will be using our beaches send some asphalt trucks too.
And if we need to create a new tax district to fund our share at the county level thats fine. Collect a toll on the 331 bridge to buy sand,not a problem.

The point of this little exercise is to stress how important it is for our leaders to make some bold moves to get us through the next 100 years.

We are behind the eight ball here folks and time and tide wait for no man or beach.

A new hope for dunes

Air Force biologists, however, are exploring ways to allow dune systems on the beaches it controls to rebuild themselves naturally, according to Eglin biologist Bruce Hagedorn.

The responsibility for shoring up the base property south of U.S. 98 has most recently fallen to Rip Kirby, a University of South Florida student who has patented a sand fence he believes can rebuild a dune system within a couple of years.

Eglin has given Kirby permission to use its property to test his asterisk-shaped fence, which he says catches windblown sand no matter which way the wind is blowing.

It's like stirring sugar in coffee. The sand sits in the center until it dissolves. The vortex of the fence holds sand inside until it drops, Kirby said.

While the old-fashioned sand fences take about two years to establish four feet of dune, Kirby believes he can accomplish the same thing in six to 12 months.

Kirby said he will field-test his fence for the next 18 months at one of the Okaloosa Island sites where storm surge has most impacted U.S. 98. He�s advertising on e-Bay for corporate sponsors to help him fund the project.

Hopefully we will have a lot of sand dunes to show for it, he said of the project.

Source: NW FL Daily News

Heard up and down the beach.....

The Judge said NO to the Retreat Association's Motion to dismiss the complaint brought by a group of owners.



Beachfront owners at The Village of whitecliffs are getting together to pony up 100k each to build a Seawall.

Let's see, $1.7m divided by 24 Retreat Gulf front lots = $70,833 each.


Beach front owners at Gulf Dunes get together and pay for tubes in front of their beach and discuss asking non-Gulfront owners to consider chipping in on a voluntary basis in the future if needs be.

Old florida Village Gulf Front owners get together to work on solutions to their beach issues.
(btw, They manage the association themselves)

They oppose any armoring of the Retreat Conservation area near the Draper lake Inlet/Outlet.

The Inn at Blue Mt. Condo votes tomorrow on possible Seawall.



Have a Good Weekend.

I found this article in the Feb. 9, NW FL Daily News titled: A frontline in the sand

Does restoration mean ‘salvation’ or aggravation for Destin and South Walton?

By ROBBYN BROOKS
Daily News Staff Writer
A Frontline in the Sand
An interesting note: A Ms. Criser is quoted early in the article regarding the loss of her home which had been listed for $2.3m before the Storm.
I see today that the Lot the home stood on is now pending. The listing price for the lot was $2.2 Million.

There has been a lot of talk about sustainable development.
And St. Joe has put conservation in every thing they promote.
And environmentalism has been around a very long time.

If we take the preservation of wildlife, rivers, lakes, beaches and combine that with the protection of the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources and add supervision by a body made up of mostly local people with a few state people and one national person and made up of working age adults along with a few senior citizens and a few children then we would have the beginnings of what I would call
Sustainable Enviroconservationism.

TO SUSTAIN
TO PROTECT
TO PRESERVE

Join your local Sustainable Enviornment Preservation league today !

Just rolls right off the tongue doesn't it ?

That would be me.

I did not consider my self as such when I moved to the Retreat.
But issues forced me to take a hard look inside to question what we are leaving behind for future generations.
So I have to thank my neighbors, All of you, for helping me sort it all out.
Einstein said that there are only two ways of looking at life. Either everything happens by chance or nothing happens by chance.

I disagree with Alfred on that point but in this case I choose to believe that it was not chance that led me here.

Check out these amazing creations in sand at: Sand magic

The butterfly effect is a phrase that encapsulates the more technical notion of sensitive dependence on initial conditions in chaos theory. The idea is that small variations in the initial conditions of a dynamical system produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system. Sensitive dependence is also found in non-dynamical systems: for example, a ball placed at the crest of a hill might roll into any of several valleys depending on slight differences in initial position.

The practical consequence of the butterfly effect is that complex systems such as the weather are difficult to predict past a certain time range - approximately a week, in the case of weather. This is because any finite model that attempts to simulate a system must necessarily truncate some information about the initial conditions—for example, when simulating the weather, one would not be able to include the wind coming from every butterfly's wings. In all practical cases, defects in the knowledge of the initial conditions and deficiencies in the model are equally important sources of error. In a chaotic system, these errors are magnified as the simulation progresses. Thus the predictions of the simulation are useless after a certain finite amount of time.

Taking a break from the BIG GAME ?
well, since your here ponder this.

*Chaos Theory.....
What if the SEAHAWKS win and all those people in the Great Northwest Jump up and down all at once on that Faultline ???

*The idea is that small variations in the initial conditions of a dynamical system produce large variations in the long term behavior of the system.

The Walton Sun that is, for shining the light(no pun intended) on this councilman who should know better. Just when you thought the whole emergency permit mess could not get any uglier.

R e t r e a t
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R e t r e a t{{{{{{{{{{{{{{ Waves on the beach,ahhhhhh

But do those products work?

Not really, according to state Department of Environmental Protection officials who have been monitoring these alternatives for 20 years. Coastal engineers are skeptical as well.

"I've counted 40 different technologies that I've come across that have been tried one way or another over the last 20 years," said Mike Dombrowski, who heads the Northwest Florida office of Coastal Tech, a coastal engineering and planning company.

"If there were products that would work to the extent they say they would, I'd be home working on a product of my own."

Source: Gannett News Service 7/28/02 "INVENTORS MARKET ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO SAVE BEACHES,MONEY"

I also found a study from the summer of 2003 GEOTUBES FOR TEMPORARY EROSION CONTROL AND STORM SURGE PROTECTION ALONG THE GULF OF MEXICO SHORELINE OF TEXAS.
The Geo Tubes were being studied and observed in 2001.

Those of you who have attended the presentations by the Board regarding the Retreat have seen Mr. Dombrowski.

HURRICANE PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY BUSH/JENNINGS BUDGET
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2006-2007 TO THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE

Florida has experienced unprecedented back-to-back hurricane seasons. In 2005, Hurricanes Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma hit Florida. In 2004, Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne slammed into our state. Hurricanes are a fact of life in Florida. Florida will continue experiencing hurricanes like we have been for the past couple of years. For the long-term vitality of our state, hurricane preparedness, response and recovery needs to be as high a priority as any other public policy area.

Many things to ponder on the Beach these days...

A COUNTY_WIDE take permit ???

Can't you see the look on the DEP agent's face when they see that application...
The WHOLE county?

OR ... Tell every one of those folks that are putting up walls, tubes, etc., that they have to do a study for U.S. Fish and Wildlife ??? to get their own take permit?

As Ellie May would say "It ain't hardly right Pa , them thar

Hurricanes don't need no take permits".

Artwork credit: Niagara
Niagara works with a high profile gallery in Detroit and her limited edition prints are sold all over the world. I think this one sums up how a lot of folks feel being caught between Mother Nature and Uncle Sam.