In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers signed a Statewide Programmatic Biological Opinion (SPBO) for Shore Protection Activities along the Coast of Florida and their effects on loggerhead (Caretta caretta), green (Chelonia mydas), leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), and Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles, and the southeastern (Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris), Anastasia Island (Peromyscus polionotus phasma), Choctawhatchee (Peromyscus polionotus allophrys), St Andrews (Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis), and Perdido Key (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis) beach mice and their designated critical habitat.
The SPBO analyzed all activities associated with the placement of compatible sediment on beaches of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of Florida, encompassing both South Atlantic Jacksonville (SAJ) and South Atlantic Mobile (SAM) Corps Districts. Additionally, the proposed action includes the replacement and rehabilitation of groins, utilized as design components of beach projects for longer retention time and stabilization of associated sediment placed on the beach.
The SPBO includes Corps Regulatory and Civil Works shore protection activities. Corps Regulatory activities may include the involvement of other Federal agencies, such as the Department of Defense, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The shore protection activities covered in the SPBO encompass the following actions:
1. Sand placement;
2. Sand placement as an associated authorization of sand extraction from the outer continental shelf by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management;
3. Sand washed onto the beach from being placed in the swash zone;
4. Sand by-passing/ back-passing;
5. Operations and Maintenance (O & M) dredging of navigation channels with beach disposal; and
6. Groins and jetty repair or replacement.
Additional Information
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