For a few years we’ve been waiting for a renourishment project to move forward at Hunting Island, and now it’s finally happening.
Work will begin by December 1st and the project is slated to last several months as the state has plans to pump 1.2 million cubic yards of sand onto Hunting Island’s beaches to offset rapid erosion.
Marines from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort spent about a week at Hunting Island cleaning up and clearing the North Beach boneyard, an area of fallen, dead trees that fell victim over time to the rising Atlantic.
The renourishment project will do more than just increase the size of the beach for visitors to enjoy. A wider beach can also reduce storm damage by dissipating energy across the surf zone, protecting any inland structures and infrastructure from storm surges and unusually high tides.
The scope of the Hunting Island renourishment project grew after Hurricane Matthew further eroded the beach and decimated dunes in 2016.
Hunting Island has experienced erosion most of its natural life. Hunting Island is one of the fastest eroding beaches on the East Coast. Each year about 15 feet of sand from Hunting Island State Park beaches are eaten away by the ocean.
