Protecting Our Environment

When Hurricane Ivan roared ashore in 2004, it leveled a lot of the Park's dune system. In 2006, a large man-made primary dune was built along the beach. While that large dune helped restore natural protection from storm surge, it also prevented sand from getting behind it to build up the vital secondary and tertiary dune systems.

With the help of engineers, five openings were cut into the primary dune to create a more natural topography and enable secondary dune growth. Invasive species were removed, native species were planted, and recycled Christmas trees (which act as natural sand fencing) were placed in the interior dunes to accelerate the dunes' growth and stabilization.