Prime Hook dunes still begging attention
As was perfectly predictable, because not even the most rudimentary protective action has been taken, Hurricane Irene knocked out the road serving the Primehook Beach community.
This public road, serving approximately 200 homeowners, has become particularly vulnerable because breaches in the dunes north of Primehook Beach haven’t had the benefit of simple, inexpensive repairs to at least try to hold back storm-driven tides.
To the state’s credit, it has been trying to get the permits to make the repairs, but it continually runs into roadblocks by environmental groups whose attitude, basically, is let nature take its course. Many say that global warming exacerbated by human activity is raising sea level and the days of the dunes and freshwater marshes of Primehook are numbered. They say nothing should be done to repair the dunes, even though the road will likely deteriorate.
Former Delaware legislator George Carey, whose farmland borders the Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, rues the day that the federal government took parts of his farms, as well as others, to create the wildlife refuge. When the refuge was created, the federal government recognized the importance of the expansive freshwater marshes that served as feeding and resting areas for millions of migratory waterfowl in the Atlantic Flyway.
For decades, reaching back into the 1800s, private landowners, through diking and occasional repair of the dunes, maintained the health of those freshwater marshes and created the attraction that the government saw and took. Millions of public and private dollars were spent in subsequent years to continue proper management of the marshes, not only to the benefit of the waterfowl, but also for the fire and flood protection of the Primehook Beach and Broadkill Beach communities.
Now, however, common sense has left the room, the freshwater marshes are deteriorating, and a minimum of $50 million worth of property at Primehook Beach is in jeopardy, as is many times that amount at Broadkill Beach.
Thankfully, DelDOT moved quickly to restore roadway access to Primehook Beach. Hopefully, the way will be cleared soon for the state to make the needed and inexpensive dune fixes. Until then, the environmental blocking strategy only serves as a self-fulfilling prophecy.
