Sanibel Begins Final Piece of Hurricane Ian Beach Recovery: Planting the Dunes
With sea-turtle nesting season over, crews will plant native grasses and groundcover in a 15-foot strip along Sanibel's Gulf dunes - the last piece of the island's post-Ian beach recovery, due to finish by February 14.
Sanibel's beach recovery from Hurricane Ian enters its final piece this month. Once sea-turtle nesting season wraps, the city begins the last stage of its Post-Hurricane Ian Beach Recovery project: planting native, low-growing dune vegetation along the Gulf side of the island's existing dunes.
Crews will plant in a 15-foot-wide strip along the Gulfward edge of the dunes, putting in sea oats, bitter panic grass and seacoast marsh elder, among other native species. The planting is designed to strengthen the beach-and-dune system and fight erosion - rebuilding, root by root, the natural barrier that stands between Gulf-front homes and the next storm's surge.
Gulf-front property owners had until October 31 to return a one-time access easement allowing crews to plant along their stretch of dune. The city expects the work to finish no later than February 14, 2027. When it is done, the planting closes out a recovery that has rebuilt Sanibel's beaches piece by piece since Ian made landfall in 2022.
