Public Shore, Florida's Beach Access - Department of Environmental Protection

Department of Environmental Protection - DEP

Prior to the DEP getting involved in coastal issues, the Attorney General's Office had much to do with it. See Attorney General . How things have changed and where did we go wrong?

Head of DEP 850-245-2011- Under the executive branch of the Governor

The Department of Environmental Protection (Tallahassee), was created in 1993. Their beaches & coastal systems is responsible for administering Florida's beach management program to protect and restore the states beaches & coastal systems and has 5 sections:
Beach erosion, Coastal construction line permitting, coastal data acquisition, coastal engineering & joint coastal permitting.

Not one of these sections in the DEP have taken responsibility for maintaining and analyzing public access to beaches( they don't have the authority), but they have given vast amounts of private access points (ramps over dunes) to coastal developments.

DEP says April 2005
This is a 'local' issue and that these problems are isolated cases in Florida -and not a statewide problem.
This should be handled through local government and not through their office. They have no authority.

According to DEP, they are only have power over the location, size, type and number of signs on a beach, but NOT the content of those signs. They cannot stop this type of verbiage which discourages the use of our public beaches. Write to DEP to change their present policy.

In the long run, most marine and beach life benefits from a man-made beach, said Roxane Dow, environmental specialists with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Whose ENVIRONMENT is the DEP protecting? See the Full story>> Renourishment of Hideaway Beach June 2001 - Turtle season (DEP approval) - Exclusive benefit to Hideaway Beach

Whose ENVIRONMENT is the DEP protecting? Renourishment of Hideaway Beach June 2005 - turtle season (DEP approval) - Exclusive benefit to Hideaway Beach

Whose ENVIRONMENT is the DEP protecting? Rocks, left side, placed to protect a private seawall (DEP Permitted) while restricting public beach access (see here) - Exclusive benefit to a the Southern Marco coastal community

Whose ENVIRONMENT is the DEP protecting? Coastal hotels place hundreds of pieces of equipment on the beach regardless of it's use (See Here) - Exclusive benefit to the guests of the hotel and the hoteliers

Whose ENVIRONMENT is the DEP protecting? Private walkways cut through pristine, dense Mangrove forest - DEP Permitted exclusively for the upland private community (See here) - Exclusive benefit to the Pelican Bay community

Whose ENVIRONMENT is the DEP protecting? See for yourself!

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Renourishment chaotic on marine life

Beach building only temporary turmoil for ocean species, studies say - By Jim Waymer - FLORIDA TODAY

Although the term "renourishment" sounds benevolent, pumping sand to shore does little to nourish what lives there, at least in the first year. Instead, it buries it, clouds it out or scares it away.

In the long run, most marine and beach life benefits from a man-made beach, said Roxane Dow, environmental specialists with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"We like to think that, in the end, we provide habitat that was disappearing," she said. "We don't do it just for people, tourists and economic development. We do it to keep a piece of Florida here that's valuable and important in its own right."

Hideaway Beach Renourishment with Public Funds
December 2003 - $600,000 TDC (Tourist Development Funds)
Permitted by DEP - NO PUBLIC ACCESS for several miles

Southern tip of Hideaway Beach - July 2003
prior to renourishment

Photo taken Feb 2004, after renourishment
$600,000 paid out by TDC (tourist tax - public funds)
1/2 hour walk to the nearest public access point (Tigertail Beach)Mangroves have been choked by sand placement. Sand renourishment benefits these upland owners only - not the public (Permitted by DEP)

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FLORIDA DEP

Dear DEP representative;

The Department of Environmental protection needs to express, through law, the same concerns it has over our inland wetlands as it does on our coastal beaches.

The term ‘beach’ in my opinion is the area from low water to a natural or unnatural upland boundary, which differs in appearance from the natural beach.

The following should be illegal and the DEP should make it so:

a. The placement of equipment in long rows on the beach.

b. To allow equipment (beach chairs, umbrellas and cabanas) to remain unoccupied for several hours on the beach. It should be taken out on an 'as needed' basis.

c. The use of signage such as ‘private property’, ‘keep off’ and ‘private beach’ on the beach.

d. The use of large equipment (cabanas), which block views and create safety issues for emergency vehicles. Umbrellas should be used as a substitute.

e. Leaving equipment (stacks of chairs) on the beach every night.

f. The use of equipment to create a barrier effect (several tables in a row), or rope line, be it on the sand or raised.

The DEP should realize that two standards should not exist between inland and coastal regulation.

The beaches of Florida should be treated as national parks and with the respect of national treasures to be enjoyed by all.

The abuses by coastal owners, which impact wildlife and the public, only benefit a small human coastal element.

The DEP needs to stop it’s favoritism and create laws that protect the public in general and the wildlife.

Hideaway Beach Renourishment with Public Funds December 2003 - $600,000 TDC (Tourist Development Funds) Permitted by DEP - NO PUBLIC ACCESS for several miles

Hideaway Beach Renourishment with Public Funds
December 2003 - $600,000 TDC (Tourist Development Funds)
Permitted by DEP - NO PUBLIC ACCESS for several miles