Collier Storm Resilience Study

Without a locally supported alternative, the future character and landscape of our entire coastline will likely be decided by engineers based out of Norfolk, Virginia and Jacksonville, Florida. Will their vision for our future align with what our community wants?  

Local knowledge and preferences should drive all resilience and adaptation planning for Collier County.

Collier County is fortunate to have an abundance of experienced scientists and engineers from our own backyard who understand Collier County’s unique coastal geology, hydrology, coastal habitats, and climate change risks.

Nature-based solutions for coastal protection are strategies that use nature to protect us from wind, waves, storm surge, flooding, and erosion.

Examples of nature-based solutions include: Mangrove planting and restoration, oyster reef restoration, salt marsh restoration, and dune restoration. 

Artificial reefs are examples of hybrid approaches that combine natural solutions with engineered solutions. Living shorelines, living breakwaters, and barrier islands are other examples that may use hybrid approaches for coastal protection. 

A Multiple Line of Defense Strategy (MLODS) is a multi-layered approach to coastal resilience, which includes a combination of several features to reduce coastal storm risk. MLDOS could often combine “gray” (hardened) and “green” (natural) infrastructure to improve resilience while providing habitats and maintaining a healthy coastal ecosystem.

Figure 1: Illustration of Multiple Lines of Defense Strategy provided by U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Headquarters. 

In addition to involving local experts, Collier County should insist on engaging the Army Corps’ team of scientists, engineers, and practitioners who work for the “Engineering with Nature” (EWN) program.   

Make sure plans do not exacerbate inland or seaward flooding, cause water quality impacts, or negatively affect surface/groundwater connectivity. 

The previous plan focused on storm surge while not addressing other hydrologic issues, such as: 

• Inland flooding and rainwater/stormwater runoff impoundment due to the proposed walls and gates 
• Seaward flooding, storm surge stacking and wave displacement seaward of the walls and gates (flow around the gates) 
• Water quality impacts associated with stormwater impoundment and potential mass releases of polluted floodwater post-storm when gates are reopened 
• Impacts to surface/groundwater connectivity and potential saltwater intrusion  

The Corps requires that a plan must provide a net positive economic benefit. However, the 2020 plan did not value the economic benefits of ecosystem services, which was a huge weakness of the study.   

Natural infrastructure is inexpensive, or even free, compared to the millions of dollars engineered solutions cost, such as pumps, floodwalls, and storm surge barriers.  

Insist that any storm risk plan for Collier County enhances Essential Fish Habitats, not degrade them.  

The 2020 plan anticipated unacceptable significant impacts to EFH and EFH-managed species, and their prey, including corals, red drum, shrimp, 31 reef fish, coastal migratory pelagic fish, and spiny lobster.   

These impacts are unacceptable. 

EFH are waters and substrate necessary to fish for spawning, breeding, feeding, or growth to maturity. 

The 2020 plan proposes unacceptable impacts to the following nine federally endangered or threatened marine species and bird species including the giant manta ray, Gulf sturgeon, small tooth sawfish, green sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, Kemp’s ridley, leatherback sea turtle, and loggerhead sea turtle, the piping plover, red knot, and wood stork. 

Tourism, fisheries, and the marine industry are major sectors that contribute to our blue economy. Potential economic impacts to these sectors must be analyzed and made public, as part of the process for choosing from alternative plans.  

Included in the analysis should be an assessment of economic impacts to kayak and boating tour businesses, sailboat excursions, sunset cruises, nature tours, boat rental companies, restaurants, hotels, and recreational and commercial fishing operations.   

Collier County’s beaches are simply beautiful, which is why we live here. It’s one of the many reasons why so many tourists flock to our region and why part-time and yearlong residents are willing to spend millions of dollars for homes on or near the beaches and bays.  

The massive concrete and metal storm surge structures and floodwalls proposed for Collier County’s coasts and inlets are disruptive and unsightly. Nature-based solutions are a far better visual and aesthetic alternative and, yet another reason for the public and the County to request working in collaboration with nature.  

Preserving land is critically important for protecting our communities from the worst impacts of climate change.   

Wetlands act as a natural sponge, retaining water during heavy rains, while slowly filtering and releasing water. One acre of wetland can store between 1 and 1.5 million gallons of floodwater.