The party’s over – a popular Miami hangout is being destroyed to fight climate change

Indulge in a haulover sandbar, the popular Florida strip of sand where floating food stalls serve ceviche and sandwiches that will soon be disappearing.

As a sandbar, of course, it does so regularly when the tide rolls over the north end of Biscayne Bay in Miami. When the weather is good, the sandbar is clearly visible and people crowd on the sand left behind by the tributaries to hang out and party.

But despite the party atmosphere, Haulover is due to be dredged by the US Army Corps of Engineers this summer. The construction of the sandbar is blocking boat traffic, and the Corps believes that the beach-quality sand can be better used to prop up nearby Bal Harbor Beach. The plan has been in the works for at least two years, but recently encountered opposition from locals arguing that destroying the sandbar would harm the entire economy that has grown around it.

All sandbars are fickle by definition – the bay that Haulover is in was self-created in 1925 to improve access to the Atlantic – and dredging isn’t new in Miami either. Many beaches in Miami are backed by sand from elsewhere as the city battles rising sea levels. Last year the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spent $ 16 million importing sand from a mine on the Gulf Coast to shore up Miami Beach. Using local sand would reduce coastal protection costs.

Photojournalist Eva Uztucegi had recently traveled to Haulover with Stephen Leatherman, an Earth and Environment professor at Florida International University, to see what was at stake on the sandbar. Leatherman is known as Dr. Beach is known for its knowledge of coastlines and its criteria for evaluating what makes a good beach. Leatherman notes that while the sandbar’s popularity makes it a very good beach, it needs dredging for the coast’s good.

The post The party's over - a popular Miami hangout is being destroyed to fight climate change first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

from Daily Florida Press https://dailyfloridapress.com/the-partys-over-a-popular-miami-hangout-is-being-destroyed-to-fight-climate-change/