Sea Walls, Granite, Dunes: FDOT Options to Strengthen A1A Are Nothing Flagler Hasn’t Seen Before

The department is looking to reinforce A1A from Osprey Drive at the north end of Flagler Beach down to Roberta Road in Volusia County, a distance of 13 miles–less, when the secant wall the department built in Flagler Beach, and a 2.6-mile U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project to renourish the beach south of the pier, are subtracted. Cost estimates were not on display.

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Brandy Baucknecht
Can we grow seagrass on land to revive the lagoon? Maybe

The grass is seldom greener these days on the underside of the Indian River Lagoon. For the past decade, the waterway has become a graveyard for seagrass: the place where it just dies.

Rhizomes, or the seagrass roots that enable it to spread and grow, drift along Brevard's lagoon bottom and perish quickly before they can take root in the sand. Science blames the nutrient-rich output from septic tanks, sewage spills, fertilizer free-for-alls, and willy-nilly paving over wetlands as the killers.

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Brandy Baucknecht
U.S. will ban the sale of shark fins. Here’s why.

To save a fearsome predator from extinction, the United States is on the verge of putting in place a near total ban on buying and selling fins sliced off of sharks.

Late Thursday, the Senate approved language making it illegal, with few exceptions, to trade shark fins. The provision, which the House had inserted into an annual military policy bill, is now headed to President Biden for his signature.

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Brandy Baucknecht
Flagler Beach assessing aftermath of storms to beach erosion, A1A

When it comes to A1A and the dunes just east of the state highway in Flagler Beach, vulnerable is an understatement. Previous storms have eroded the dunes and damaged or closed the road. Ian threatened, but for the most part, the road held. However, Nicole just weeks later, with her ferocious storm surge, ate into the road forcing a temporary closure while repairs were done.

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Brandy Baucknecht
Governor Ron DeSantis Joins Local Officials to Assess Damage from Hurricane Nicole, Announces $20 Million for Emergency Beach Repair

“We will help our coastal communities fully recover from the impacts of Hurricane Nicole,” said Governor Ron DeSantis. “This $20 million will address immediate, emergency needs across several storm-impacted beaches while we work to identify additional funding to replace infrastructure and help the area rebuild.”

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Brandy Baucknecht