Manatee County focuses on coastline, erosion control tools for 2022

Anna Maria Island’s coastline is covered in sand courtesy of 2020 and 2021 renourishment projects.

So Manatee County is focusing on improving the tools that help keep the sand in place — as much as possible.

The beaches are constantly challenged by erosive forces of the Gulf of Mexico, county parks and natural resources director Charlie Hunsicker said Dec. 1, addressing county commissioners, staff and representatives from Longboat Key during a workshop in Bradenton.

To address erosion, some capital projects involve pumping sand onto the shore, renourishing the beach for recreation and habitat.

Other capital projects involve constructing or repairing structures intended to keep the sand in place, especially at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach.

Hunsicker joked to his audience that he should call Coquina Beach the “Coquina Causeway” because the area was built up as a causeway in the 1950s and “Mother Nature has never wanted it to remain.”