Maine's Coastal Sand Dunes

Maine's Coastal Sand Dunes. . , The Importance of Natural Coast Barriers , The changing environmental conditions are predicted to raise sea levels, waves, and winds over the next 100 years. Coastal sand dunes are a fragile, yet, dynamic resource and are a natural defense against coastal storms and beach erosion. Native coastal vegetation helps to stabilize sand dunes by absorbing water and reducing runoff erosion. By trapping windblown sand, the buildup of dune volume will act as a buffer to inland areas and provide protection from storm waves, surge, erosion and flooding. Vegetation such as shrubs or grasses along the top of a coastal bank help to limit access and foot traffic by humans, as well as provide important habitat for wildlife and plants. These natural barriers serve as protection against the impact of the rising sea levels and provide scenic beauty and recreational opportunities for all of us. Dune restoration and protection is essential as the interplay of winds, waves, tides and currents continually reshape Maine's beach environment., York's Historical Sand Dune Modifications and Infrastructure Protection , First Sand Dune Modifications , In the 1800s the top of the sand dune along Long Sands Beach was utilized by people on horseback and in horse drawn carriages to access the beach, hotels and summer cottages. The Portsmouth, Kittery, and York Electric Street Railway opened in the summer of 1898. The trolley tracks and support structure for the new electric trolley system were installed on the frontal sand dune adjacent to Long Sands Beach. These transportation improvements initiated the historical changes to the frontal dune along Long Sands Beach. The photo to the left shows the dirt road and the trolley tracks. (Circa 1920)., First Modern Road and Sloped Stone Seawall , In the late 1940s the State of Maine made improvements to the road that is now known as Long Beach Avenue (State Route 1A). The reconstruction stabilized the deteriorated road that had been battered by ocean storms and was difficult to maintain. An integral part of the reconstruction was the incorporation of a 6100-foot sloped stone and concrete seawall that extended from the Cutty Sark Motel at the north end of Long Sands Beach to the mouth of the Little River at the south end. The intent of the sloped stone and concrete seawall was to protect the newly improved road, sidewalk, utilities and private property. This new protective barrier helped prevent damage to this new critical infrastructure and minimized ocean flooding of the back dune/marsh area that had undergone extensive residential construction., Stepped Granite and Concrete Seawall Protection. , In 2015, the Town of York built the new Long Sands Beach Bathhouse and relocated Long Beach Avenue (State Route 1A) further away" from the ocean and back to its pre-1940 alignment. After the sloped stone seawall in front of the new bathhouse was damaged in a storm, the town armored the sloped stone seawall with a new concrete and granite step-shaped facing. The new step-shaped facing was designed to absorb and reduce the reflective energy of wave run-up and run-out. This new seawall improvement is reducing the velocity of the waves and erosion of the beach sand along the wall. This reduction in reflective velocity has allowed natural colonization of herbaceous dune vegetation plants along a portion of the sand dune just north of the bathhouse.