The Friends of Sauble Beach have completed the first phase of their Post and Rope project aimed at protecting the sand dunes at Sauble Beach.
Flesh-eating bacteria infections on the rise. Here’s how to protect yourself
In recent days, about 20 volunteers from the friends group and the community installed the ropes and posts along a section of the beach from the area of the former Crowd Inn restaurant, north to almost 5th Street North.
The purpose of the project is to direct the public to designated beach access points and keep visitors from trampling the dune grasses, which causes bare spots resulting in sand being blown out onto the road and forever lost to the beach ecosystem, explained Friends director of dune management John Strachan.
“We are not going to keep everybody out of the dunes, but people don’t realize they are not supposed to go through the dunes,” said Strachan. “We did a straw poll and most people said they would obey the ropes, and we are putting up signage as well.”
Strachan said the project is actually several years in the making. He said about 20 years ago they put posts in, but the ropes were never installed. Then last summer they decided to revive the project as they watched as the dunes were being destroyed by people walking through them.
The town had removed sand fencing that was holding the sand in place and people were walking through the “blowouts,” causing more sand to leave the beach, Strachan said.
In December, Strachan and his wife Kathy made a delegation to town council, which approved their proposal in to purchase and install ropes and bollards along the Lakeshore Blvd. N. road allowance.
Strachan said they also presented their proposal to the Saugeen First Nation and received their blessing for the project. In April, a Superior Court judge ruled in favour of the First Nation’s boundary claim, extending the reserve’s northern boundary past the Sauble sign to the area of 7th Street North. The town has appealed the decision.
“Our goals are basically mirrored in the goals of their culture,” Strachan said. “We are getting along really well with them.
“They just want what is best for the beach nature-wise, which is the same thing we want.”
In December, South Bruce Peninsula council also voted to remove a concrete barrier wall that was installed in 2021 along a portion of Lakeshore Boulevard North as a temporary solution to stop encroaching sand dunes. Since then, flexible roadside delineators have been installed. South Bruce Peninsula Chief Administrative Officer Bill Jones said via e-mail on Tuesday that no change to the parking area is being considered while the claim is under appeal. He said he expects the delineated area will be in place and closed off to vehicle parking in 2024.
“The delineators will be removed this fall for snow removal purposes and then reinstalled in the spring,” Jones wrote.
Strachan said a second phase of the project is planned, taking the posts and ropes north from the area of 5th Street North to somewhere between 6th and 7th streets, a third phase from about 7th Street North to 9th or 10th streets, and a fourth and final phase from there to Sauble Falls Road.
The town has also approved the reinstallation of sand fencing in the blowouts. The Friends are paying for the fencing, with the town to install it, Strachan said.
Strachan said they plan to do some additional fundraising for future phases of the project. They have already spent $8,000 to $9,000 on the work, which has been paid for through fundraising, donations and some matching grants.
He said the feedback has already been extremely positive.
“People are stopping and clapping,” Strachan said. “It is amazing and such a good feeling for us.”
Source : The Sun Times
