Residents, visitors and sailors all came together last Saturday morning to attack the mess left by Hurricane Floyd on the Hope Town beaches. For three hours the beach was buzzing with chain saws as the men tackled the downed Casuarinas and the gals picked up over 30 bags of trash. Earlier in the week a group of volunteers had removed several dangerous objects, such as concrete and rebar, that sat just below the surface of the ocean. The beach cleanup will continue every Saturday morning until we win the battle and reclaim all the beaches, North & South, from the devastation left by Floyd.

Under the sponsorship of the Hope Town and Elbow Cay Association several other initiatives are underway. The beach cleanup and also a re-vegetation plan are helping the stabilization of the dune. The re-vegetation plan entails obtaining and nurturing plants and grasses that will bind the sand together. Because the plants need water and heat to grow they will need to be cared for until the spring. This vegetation forms a dense mat, which anchors the dune and traps windblown sand. The enemy of the dune is the Casuarina that forms its own poisonous mat and kills off grasses and other important dune growth. The Casuarina has been outlawed on Elbow Cay but it will take a great deal of work before the offending tree can be brought under control.

Four sets of steps over the dune have been destroyed but plans are underway to rebuild at least three of them. The Bahamas Government has not yet decided how they will approach rebuilding the dune but in the meantime we must provide beach access. The new steps may, in time, be covered by sand pushed up from the beach but without them the dune will be further eroded by pedestrian traffic.

There is much more going on such as, work to keep the temporary White Sound road clear and clearing fallen and leaning trees away from roads and power lines. The Medical Clinic is being provided with water while we wait for builders to replace the guttering. Also, we have provided portable VHF for the clinic so that Nurse Romer can be reached when she is not in the office.

Many other plans are in the formation stage; stay tuned for more information. Hope Town and Elbow Cay have taken a low blow but are well on the way to recovery.

If you wish to donate to the Association please contact HTAsc@aol.com for details.

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