Members Of Surfrider Foundation Stage Protest Over Geo-Bag Proposal In Downtown Montauk

Photo courtesy of Eastern Long Island Chapter of Surfrider Foundation

The Eastern Long Island Chapter of Surfrider Foundation staged a protest of the Army Corps of Engineers’ proposal to construct an artificial dune on the publicly owned beach in downtown Montauk on Thursday, Oct. 9.

The proposed work includes placing 14,000 sand bags, each weighing 1.7 tons, along 3,100 linear feet of the ocean inter-tidal zone seaward of the existing motels and seaward of the natural primary dune line in that area.

This proposal flies in the face of the advice of three well known and respected coastal geologists that have reviewed the situation in downtown Montauk: Dr. Robert Young, Dr. Stephen Leatherman, and Dr. Orrin Plikey. All three have stated that sand-filled geotextile bags mimic bulkheads and other hard structures in terms of their impact on beaches. This Army Corps of Engineers proposal prioritizes the value and protection of privately owned commercial structures over that of the public beach.

“Surfrider Foundation’s position is that our public beach is our greatest asset and its long term protection warrants top priority. Reflected wave energy from the geotextile bags will quickly erode the public beach,” the foundation stated in a press release.

“We also note that the motels were constructed many years ago on top of the existing primary dune, destroying that precious natural resource. This proposal will compound the mistakes made in the 1960s and 1970s: it will result in the destruction of the beach in addition to the already destroyed primary dune.”