County’s erosion scam
To the editor:
Both Joanne Shamp’s excellent ‘Guest Commentary’ and Edwina Foster’s recent ‘Letter to the Editor’ made coinciding major points. First, Lee County’s claims of erosion are phony and second, neither County nor the Town of Fort Myers Beach are properly managing our beaches.
County’s rationale for a 160 foot beach expansion project is that five miles of Fort Myers Beach is “critically eroded” from beach monument markers R175 to 200.
Edwina Foster points to the Army Corps’ 1927 beach surveys as the starting point for understanding county’s erosion claims. Let me elaborate on her point.
The corps maps from year 1927 to 2004 shows that Bowditch Point has grown north west over 1,800 feet, or an average of 23 feet each year. In 1927, the Pink Shell Resort property was mostly under water.
The corps maps between years 1974 and 2004 show a beach accretion of 100 feet at Monument R177 (Pink Shell area). Yet the Pink Shell currently has little beach with about 100 feet of beach taken over by vegetation. Why can’t they take back most of their beach?
At the south end of county’s “critical erosion” is monument R200, The years 1974 to 2004 Corps maps show a 30-year accretion of over 350 feet. County doesn’t understand the difference between accretion and erosion.
County’s claims of erosion are bogus. So is their plan. Last count shows that private owner easements plus letters of intent amount to 33 percent. If you signed a letter, rescind it. You will reduce tax increases and traffic increases.
Frank Schilling
Fort Myers Beach