Maintaining beaches comes at a price

FLORIDA WEEKLY FILE PHOTO Shelling on Turner Beach is a favorite of tourists and locals alike. It would take a legion of poets to accurately capture the beauty of Lee County's 590 miles of shoreline, including 50 miles of white sand beaches. But their importance to the area's economy was stated simply by Fort Myers Beach resident Stephen Light.

"There are two things that bring people here," said Mr. Light, about Lee's 1.7 million visitors each year, pumping nearly $2 billion into the economy. "The weather and the beaches."

Maintaining the beautiful, lucrative beaches comes at a price — this year more than $6 million if the Lee County Tourist Development Council gets funding for all its slated projects.

A national nonprofit group based in Fort Myers, the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association, could help. The group is a voice for shoreline advocates here and around the country to help get federal funds.

There are more than 1,000 members nationwide, mostly government groups like Lee County or Collier County. Officials know the beaches help everyone who lives here.

COURTESY PHOTO Tourists and residents enjoying Fort Myers Beach. Because of higher property values, communities such as Fort Myers Beach help pay for projects like parks, schools and other things we all use, said Kate Gooderham, ASBPA's executive director.

"For those of us that don't live on the beach, they subsidize our property taxes in many ways," she said.

Ms. Gooderham runs Gooderham & Associates Inc., a Fort Myers consulting firm that promotes ASBPA. Formed in 1926 to control shoreline erosion, the ASBPA also publishes a monthly magazine, Shore & Beach and pushes lawmakers to fund beach renoursishment plans based on science rather than politics.

Although ASBPA is based in Fort Myers, the location has little bearing on the group's nationwide scope.

"Our actual physical location doesn't really matter, particularly now with so much done on Web sites and e-mail," said ASBPA President Harry Simmons. He's the mayor of Caswell Beach, N.C., a small town of about 500 people who live near the mouth of the Cape Fear River.

The group's goals this year include pinning down $285 million for beach renourishment projects nationwide. And $100 million of that will be matched by state and local governments.

"A great deal of that has to do with our beaches, but we're also concerned with other types of shorelines," Ms. Gooderham said. "We have pushed since the late 1920s to have more science base in decision making. We have pushed for smart erosion-control measures. We pulled the federal government into the process in realizing a healthy coastline is good for everybody in the country."

Beach resident Mr. Light, who ran for Fort Myers Beach Town Council last year and lost, said the beach needs regular upkeep.

"I think most people would agree there are parts of the beach that are completely worn away," he said. "Something needs to be done. If we don't have a beach, we won't have visitors."

For ASBPA director Ms. Gooderham and many others, beaches are filled with memories that last a lifetime.

"I've always liked being around the water since I was a small child," she said. "I grew up in South Dakota, but we spent our summers at a lake and my parents vacationed in Florida. I moved to Florida very intentionally to live in a coastal area."