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] >