After returning to Florida two years ago, one of my first "urban explorations" was driving on down to Upham Beach and taking a swim. Nearly every summer day growing up, my grandmother, who worked on St. Pete Beach, used to bring my brother and I there for some fun in the sun.
But on this day, as I walked onto the sand, I swore some jaundiced whale had beached itself on the shore. On closer inspection, I discovered the huge, yellow mounds were sand-filled fabric tubes used for erosion control.
Over the last several years, Pinellas County officials noticed that erosion is particularly bad on this part of Long Key. For years, they've paid to bring in tons of sand to nourish the beach area, to little avail. The installation of these tubes was a last ditch effort to stop the erosion.
Well, not everyone likes the water barriers. One group even has a petition calling for their removal.
On May 9, the Surfrider Foundation, a non-profit organization "dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches," published the "Free Upham Beach Petition." They claim these tubes are detrimental to the environment and seem to have amassed research backing their claims, including an United States Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Engineering Manual and several professors from Western Carolina University.
They want all five tubes off the beach — along with a promise of no additional tubes in the future.
This is the Surfrider Foundation's first local campaign.
So what do you think? Should the jaundiced whale-looking tubes stay, as Pinellas County officials want. Or do you agree with the Surfrider Foundation's call to action?
(Photo courtesy of Surfrider.org)
This article appears in May 21-27, 2008.