HomeOutdoorsBeachEgmont Key renourishment starting...

Egmont Key renourishment starting soon

EGMONT KEY – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is supplying the weapons in the only battle Fort Dade has ever seen – the one against erosion.

Historic Egmont Key is slated to receive sand to shore up what’s left of the 1899 fort when the Tampa Bay shipping channel is dredged for maintenance beginning this month.

The $10 million project should take about five months to complete.

Egmont’s beaches will not get the high-quality white beach sand recently collected from shoals to its north; that is being used to renourish Pinellas County beaches, according to Pinellas County spokeswoman Ashley Johnson.

Egmont Key, north of Anna Maria Island, will get the sand dredged from 17 miles of the Tampa Harbor Egmont and Mullet Key channel cuts, according to Susan Jackson, of the Corps’ Jacksonville corporate communications office.

The sand will be placed in the middle of Egmont Key’s west side, which faces the Gulf of Mexico, then the project will move to the north end of the island and make its way south, according to the project description.

The dredged material “can be beneficially placed on Egmont Key rather than at a dredge disposal site,” she said.

Nature preserve

The key is protected by both state and federal law as Egmont Key State Park and Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge, and is a nesting ground for shorebirds and sea turtles, as well as a gopher tortoise preserve.

But the animals don’t seem to mind about the quality of the dredged sand, said Richard Sanchez, president of the Egmont Key Alliance, a citizens’ group working to restore and preserve the key.

Egmont has been renourished with dredged material from the shipping channel before, and sea turtles broke nesting records the last two years, with the 2018 season that ended on Oct. 31 producing 150 nests, he said.

Placing the sand in the early part of the winter season provides time for wave action on the beach to naturally sort the sand and silt, project biologist Aubree Hershorin said, adding, “This is important, because it ensures the beach is as suitable as possible for nesting sea turtles that will begin using the area in April.”

Erosion problem

Egmont Key was used by the U.S. Army to detain Seminole prisoners at the end of the third Seminole War in 1858, and was occupied by both Confederate and Union troops during the Civil War. It later became the site of Fort Dade, begun in 1899 to defend against Spanish attack during the Spanish-American War.

The fort, completed in 1906, served its defensive purpose so well that no battles were ever fought there.

But it has been losing the battle against the Gulf and its storms; parts of the fort are submerged.

The dredge project “will put another Band-Aid on it,” Sanchez said.

Erosion control geotubes installed on the north end of Egmont seem to be holding the Gulf at bay there, he said, although Hurricane Irma moved some of the sand off the north tip in 2017.

A $13 million Corps plan to control erosion and renourish Egmont Key has been in limbo for years, he said. Despite all the required agency approvals being in place, it’s hard to justify funds for a largely-uninhabited nature preserve when people need funds to rebuild from hurricanes, he said.

The island is a temporary home for the Tampa Bay Pilots who maintain living quarters at their docks, where pilot boats transport them to tankers entering and leaving Tampa Bay.

A lighthouse keeper also has quarters on the key. The working lighthouse dates to 1858, and replaced the original lighthouse built 10 years earlier. It is operated by the U.S. Coast Guard as an aid to navigation.

Egmont Key was named for John Perceval, the second Earl of Egmont and a member of the Irish House of Commons who died in 1770. The title “Earl of Egmont” died with the death of the childless Thomas Frederick Gerald Perceval, the 12th Earl of Egmont, in 2011.

The island has been the property of the U.S. Department of the Interior since 1974. Prior to that, it was owned by the U.S. Department of Defense, previously known as the U.S. Department of War. The key has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.

Related coverage

Erosion lands Egmont Key on preservation list

Under Egmont 1: History’s mysteries persist at Egmont Key

Under Egmont 2: Unearthing Egmont Key’s mysteries

Under Egmont 3: Found

Under Egmont 4: Egmont cemetery mysteries put to rest

Egmont Key gallery

Most Popular

More from Author

Cortez founded on mullet

CORTEZ – A visit by Dr. Angela Collins to the Cortez...

Underwater Anna Maria Island gallery

Hold your breath and take a tour of the limestone reefs...

Insider’s Island – The insider’s guide to outdoors AMI

There’s more to outdoors life on Anna Maria Island than you...

Mangrove jurisdiction differs by county

ANNA MARIA – The outcome of the removal of 116 feet of mangroves to build a seawall at a Gull Drive home may have been different if the property had been located in Sarasota County instead of Manatee County. A contractor removed some of the mangroves prior to...

Bunny & Pirates Bazaar to close soon

CORTEZ – The closing of Bunny & Pirates Bazaar is imminent, but not by the choice of owners Elizabeth Shore and Jeffrey O’Connell. The news of the closing was announced by the two business owners on Facebook on March 16, two days after a notice to vacate was...

Anna Maria responds to county consolidation option

ANNA MARIA – The city of Anna Maria has responded to a March 5 request for information from OPPAGA regarding the potential consolidation and annexation of the city into Manatee County. The cities of Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach received similar requests from the Office of Program Policy...

Jewelry Sale offers great deals for a great cause

HOLMES BEACH - For the second year in a row, the Anna Maria Island community has shown incredible support for the Island Branch Library. The Friends of the Island Library (FIL), a group of volunteers dedicated to fundraising and support for the library, held their second annual...

Ellen Scott celebrated

BRADENTON BEACH – Family and friends joyously celebrated the life and legacy of longtime Braden­ton Beach resident and honorary Privateer Ellen Scott at the Drift In on Saturday, March 16. Ellen passed away on March 1 at the age of 85. Ellen’s son, Bob Slicker, thanked those in...

Anna Maria increasing vacation rental registration fees

ANNA MARIA – The city is increasing its occupancy-based annual vacation rental registration fee from $84.17 to $93.92 per occupant allowed by the local vacation rental ordinance. The annual registration fee is estab­lished each year by the adoption of a city commission-approved resolution. The increased fees were established...

City Park renamed Jan Vosburgh Park

BRADENTON BEACH – The park across the street from city hall, referred to only as City Park, will be renamed after longtime City Commissioner Jan Vosburgh. The discussion of the naming of the beach access park just south of the Beach House parking lot was introduced at the...

Bird Tips

During bird nesting season, March through August, please follow these tips: Never touch a shorebird chick, even if it’s wandering outside a staked nesting area. Teach kids not to chase birds – if they’re disturbed, bird parents may abandon nests. Don’t feed birds – our food is...

Government calendar

Anna Maria 10005 Gulf Drive For information, call 941-708-6130 Please visit www.cityofannamaria.com or contact city hall for more information. March 21, 1 p.m. – Charter Review meeting March 28, 6 p.m. – City Commission meeting March 29, all day – City offices closed, Good Friday   Bradenton Beach 107 Gulf Drive N. For information, call 941-778-1005 Please visit...

Beach Nutz

       

Events

Wednesday, March 20 Creative Aging: Figure Drawing, Island Branch Library, 5701 Marina Drive, Holmes Beach, 10 a.m. Holy Yoga, Roser Church outdoor stage, 512 Pine Ave., Anna Maria, 11:30 a.m. Nature Art, Robinson Preserve Mosaic Nest, 840 99th St. N.W., Bradenton, 1 p.m., $10 Coral Reef Science with Mote, Island Branch...