Project to restore dunes, protect sands from storms

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A dune restoration project aims to protect Pensacola Beach from destructive storm surges during hurricanes.

The $350,000 project will install eight miles of sand fences and 475,000 coastal plants on the barrier island in the Florida Panhandle.

The project falls under the National Resource Damage Assessment program that is funded with $1 billion from BP for areas damaged by the 2010 oil spill. Eight northwest Florida counties that were most affected by the spill share $100 million of that money.

Pearce Barrett of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection tells the Pensacola News Journal (http://on.pnj.com/T92TM3 ) that the dune restoration project should be completed by early November.

The fencing and plants are intended to trap sand and build up dunes that were flattened by hurricanes.