The important role of the beaches near MacDill Air Force Base near Tampa, Florida, was highlighted recently by the fact that the base presented a proposal to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to prevent erosion.
Jeff Gareaux, who spent 11 years at the base serving as master sergeant with U.S. Central Command, told Tampa Bay Online that he spent a significant amount of time at the beaches near the base in order to escape from the stress of his job.
“That beach area is so important,” Gareaux, who now serves as executive director of emergency financial aid provider Operation Home Front, explained. “The beaches give people a chance to get away and reduce stress.”
However, in recent years erosion has eliminated approximately seven feet of beach at Gadsden Point near the base’s golf course, MacDill officials say. The erosion is reportedly natural but also comes from the wake of large vessels, according to the news source.
The plan submitted by the base calls for the sinking of hundreds of cement structures that would redirect waves but still allow fish to swim through, reports Tampa Bay Online.
In addition to measures like these, erosion control products such as Impact Absorbents’ Straw Wattle for Erosion Control can help retain sediments on slopes to keep soil in place.
