Beach Tilling On Captiva Island Begins Today
File Photo, October 2013 Captiva Island Beach Renourishment Project.
Captiva Island Beach Tilling From Redfish Pass To Blind Pass, Expected To Be Completed By January 9
The Captiva Erosion Prevention District issued the following release.
“The Captiva Erosion Prevention District will till the sand placed in the 2013-2014 renourishment project beginning on Jan 5. The staging area for the contractor is the Alison Hagerup parking lot. The work is being performed by Perry’s Beach Service of Fort Myers and is projected to take a total of a week, weather permitting.
Tilling is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Jan. 5, at 9 a.m. and proceed north to Redfish Pass. Work in this area will be completed by Jan. 6. On Jan. 7, work will resume south of Hagerup to Blind Pass and will be completed by Jan. 9. All operations will occur during daylight hours.
Tilling is permit required to lessen the impact of compacted sand on sea turtle nesting and hatching activities. The turtles prefer soft sand for digging their nests and laying their eggs. It is scheduled so that it will not interfere with piping plover nesting (which begins Feb. 1) and sea turtle nesting (which begins May 1).
The project includes tilling and dressing the sand and leveling any escarpment that exceeds 18 inches in height and is more than 100 feet long.
A tractor pulling a rake with tines will till the approximately 25,600 linear feet of renourished beach to a minimum depth of 36 inches. Operations will be conducted between dawn and dusk. The use of horns, whistles and signals will be kept to a minimum to ensure a quiet operation while maintaining job site safety. There will be minimal disruption to traffic on roads adjacent to the beach.
Residents and beachgoers are required to remove all obstructions, including umbrellas, chairs, and canopies, between the dunes and high tide lines, that might interfere with the work. Beachgoers are asked to avoid the area where tilling is being done until the tractor is a safe distance away and to heed all signs and instructions from tilling personnel. Questions should be directed to CEPD by calling us at 472-2472, or by emailing us at kathleen@mycepd.com.”
