Recognizing the importance of the state's beaches, the Florida Legislature in 1986 adopted a posture of protecting and restoring the state's beaches through a comprehensive beach management planning program. Under the program, the Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Beaches and Coastal Systems evaluates beach erosion problems throughout the state seeking viable solutions. The primary vehicle for implementing the beach management planning recommendations is the Florida Beach Erosion Control Program, which is a program established for the purpose of working in concert with local, state and federal governmental entities to achieve the protection, preservation and restoration of the coastal sandy beach resources of the state. Under the program, financial assistance in an amount up to 50 percent of project costs is available to Florida's county and municipal governments, community development districts, or special taxing districts for shore protection and preservation activities located on the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic Ocean, or Straits of Florida.

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Beach erosion threatens the very resource that residents and visitors enjoy.   Over 485 miles, or approximately 59% of the state's beaches, are experiencing erosion.  At present, about 387 of the state's 825 miles of sandy beaches have experienced "critical erosion", a level of erosion which threatens substantial development, recreational, cultural, or environmental interests.  While some of this erosion is due to natural forces and imprudent coastal development, a significant amount of coastal erosion in Florida is directly attributable to the construction and maintenance of navigation inlets.  Florida has over 60 inlets around the state, many have been artificially deepened to accommodate commercial and recreational vessels and employ jetties to prevent sand from filling in the channels.  A by-product of this practice is that the jetties and the inlet channels have interrupted the natural flow of sand along the beach causing an accumulation of sand in the inlet channel and at the jetty on one side of the inlet, and a loss of sand to the beaches on the other side of the inlet.

One way to restore eroded beaches is through beach nourishment. In a typical beach nourishment project, sand is collected from an offshore location by a dredge and is piped onto the beach.  A slurry of sand and water exits the pipe on the beach and once the water drains away, only sand is left behind.  Bulldozers move this new sand on the beach until the beach matches the design profile.  Beach nourishment is a preferred way to add sand to a system which has been starved by the altered inlets because it provides a significant level of storm protection benefits for upland properties and is the least impacting to the coastal system.  An additional benefit of beach restoration projects is that they quickly restore shorebird and marine turtle habitat. 

Local, state and federal entities are now managing over 200 miles of restored beaches in Florida.

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The Project Managers for the Beach Erosion Control Section serve as project managers for coastal projects proposed for funding or funded by the state in partnership with local governments and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They assist in management activities which facilitate the preservation and enhancement of coastal beach habitat. Phone numbers and area of responsibility for the Project Managers can be found below.

• Download Project Managers map. (171 kb)

       Project Web Sites (available)

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Statewide Strategic Beach Management Plan

The strategic beach management plan describes the critical eroded shoreline and the strategies for addressing the erosion. The plan uses sub regions chosen for their coastal uniqueness and continuity as the basic planning unit and provides over-all direction to the state program. The Long Range Budget Plan implements the strategic plan.

• View the strategic beach management plan (updated in May 2008)

Long Range Budget Plans

In the 1998/99 fiscal year, the Department initiated long range budget planning, in order to move away from beach management focused on local short term needs. The Department is currently assisting local governments in developing their Long Range Beach Management Plans. Once developed, these plans will emphasize a regional approach to beach management which will encourage coordination among local governments, lower costs, and provide long term solutions to beach erosion. The long range planning time is 10 years.

• Long Range Budget Plan (2010-20)  - 606KB, available as an Adobe Acrobat Reader file, which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader Software (to obtain please see below).

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BECP Documents

The documents below are provided as PDF or as PowerPoint files. PDF files require Adobe Acrobat Reader Software. To download please see below.

Note: the following links open in a separate window

• Download a free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader software  
• Viewers can convert a pdf file to html through Adobe.

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