Historically, our beaches often varied greatly in width depending on the season — winter waves tend to move sand offshore and narrow the beach, while summer waves move much of the sand back onshore and the beach widens.

However, human activities have dramatically impacted these natural processes.

Inland areas have restricted river sand flow, starving our beaches of natural sand replenishment.  In addition, the railroad has installed hard armoring to fight off waves, thus preventing sand from building into beaches.

 Explore this section to learn more about what’s caused the destruction of our beaches.