Committee advances islandwide dune-planting plan, FWC to apply herbicide in posted shorebird zones

The MURPH advisory committee on Fort Myers Beach reviewed a multi-block dune-vegetation plan meant to increase shoreline resiliency and reduce hazards to nesting shorebirds.

Committee chairman Dave Nussbaum told members that the plan is intended to “plant as much as we can” and said the first rollout will follow a one-size-fits-most approach, with exceptions handled case-by-case.

The plan matters because committee members said years of un-vegetated openings and vehicle raking increase erosion and reduce nest survival. The committee discussed a standard planting module that shows a typical 100-foot-wide dune segment with a 10-foot access opening; one schematic presented called for roughly 70% sea oats, 15% panic grass and small amounts of other native species, plus 1-gallon “mature” sea oat plantings to improve survivability.

The committee discussed beach-owner easements and…