I have the impression that the "renourishment" at JU Lloyd Park in Dania comes
from a ways out and some depth. That impression is because of the species
we're finding there.

I agree whole-heartedly with Peggy about the destructiveness of the practice.
It also has to be done every few years, each time at a cost of millions.

David Kirsh
Durham, NC

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 15:01:10 -0500 Peggy Williams
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> The expense of renourishing a beach is high
> enough without importing sand
> from another location. Usually they pick a
> place offshore that's as close as
> possible to the beach, so you can count on the
> shells as coming from the
> general location. However, even if they're
> buried, they often turn white, so
> don't think you have a bunch of albinos, unless
> the dredging is very recent.
> (There were a lot of pure white Cancellarias
> coming through the dredge pipe
> in Naples some years ago.)
>
> Renourishment is a pet peeve of mine - it kills
> not  only the mollusks that
> come through the pipe (and messes up the
> offshore environment) but also
> smothers the species that live in and near the
> surf. Many times people ask
> me why they haven't found any coquinas (donax)
> lately - and I ask when the
> beach was renourished. Then the same
> authorities that authorize renourishing
> the beach want to ban live shell collecting...
> which kills far fewer
> animals.
> Peggy
>
> > Dear Listers,
> > I have been "listening" for awhile now but
> have not yet entered any
> > discussions.  However, yesterday I noticed
> the posting regarding the unknown
> > Conus at John Lloyd State Park in Dania,
> Florida and decided to share my
> > thoughts and observations, since I had just
> spent the morning collecting
> > beached shells at this same location.  I also
> collected some young Conus
> > which I have not been able to get the time to
> identify, but I will be looking
> > at them soon and will take some digital
> photos in the next day or so.
> > However, I am very interested in the
> situation at this location, because I am
> > unfamiliar with the recent  history of the
> area.  I did spend a lot of time
> > trying to figure out the source of the shells
> on this beach and had finally
> > concluded that a major source is the
> apparently dredged sand that has been
> > put there to renourish the beach, because
> there is definitely erosion
> > occurring there now - there is a pronounced
> scarp that ranges in height from
> > about 3 feet to over 6 feet, and the high
> tide on November 17 & 18 was
> > eroding the base. The heavy rains on November
> 17 washed and exposed a number
> > of molluscs at the edge of this scarp, and
> subsequently I found a great
> > number of extremely fresh looking olives,
> cones, scallops, etc that had been
> > preserved under a few feet of sand.  My
> impression was that this sand may
> > have come from a location farther than just
> offshore in the Fort Lauderdale
> > area - probably from further south.  My
> questions regarding this are: does
> > anyone know when this beach was renourished,
> and where the sand has come
> > from?  Are these cities getting any of it
> from the Bahamas? Is there any
> > official source of this type of information?
> > I do a lot of beach collecting, and although
> I maintain a skeptical mind with
> > regard to dead shells, I still feel the
> information gathered from observing
> > the occurrence of particular species at
> specific localities at different
> > times of year,  and under different
> conditions can be quite informative.  But
> > beach renourishment obviously causes a
> problem with this sort of data.
> > Trish Hartmann
> > [log in to unmask]
> > Tampa, Florida
> >
>
>                      Visit my website at
> http://www.shelltrips.com
>                                   Peggy
> Williams
>                                    Shell
> Elegant
>                                     PO Box 575
>                                 Tallevast FL
> 34270
>                                    (941)
> 355-2291
>
> [log in to unmask]
>