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Board previews phased plan for Clam Bay dredging and management after stakeholder workshop
Summary
After a Feb. 11 stakeholder workshop, the Pelican Bay Services Division outlined a phased approach to Clam Bay management: survey and baseline studies, modeling and peer review, and then permit modifications or extensions, while noting contractor scarcity and rising dredging costs.
Chair opened the Feb. 11 meeting by summarizing a Clam Bay workshop held the previous day that brought together consultants, foundation representatives, county staff and community stakeholders to advance the bay’s management plan. The board agreed on a phased approach: obtain up-to-date surveys of permitted dredge sections, commission modeling and peer review, then propose targeted plan modifications to regulators.
The board emphasized the need to preserve a valid permit via an extension before pursuing modifications and said an extension–then–modification path gives time to develop modeling options. Chair said the workshop produced consensus on three high-level objectives: maintain mangroves, support aquatic life, and allow limited recreational use.
Members flagged contractor availability and cost as near-term risks. Staff told the board hydraulic dredging has become expensive and that mechanical dredging was used on the most recent job, reducing an earlier $800,000 estimate to roughly $300,000–$400,000. The board asked staff to secure survey work in the fall (post‑hurricane season) and to have contracts ready in April–May should conditions require dredging.
Mohammed, the division’s project engineer, described a proposed baseline study and recommended teaming with academic partners to support modeling and peer review. The work plan in the workshop calls for a working group to translate survey data into modeling scenarios that will inform any modification requests to regulatory agencies including the Army Corps.
Next steps the board identified are: a dedicated Clam Bay meeting to decide whether to proceed with a dredge in the coming season, commissioning a baseline survey of the three permitted dredge sections, preparing contingency contracting options in case of limited contractor availability, and scheduling periodic stakeholder briefings during the modeling phase.
