APPENDIX A 



SUMMARY OF SAND STABILIZATION FIELD TRIALS ON CAPE COD, MASSACHUSETTS 



The following suirnnary describes sand stabilization field trials in Cape 

 Cod, Massachusetts, sponsored or initiated by the Massachusetts Department of 

 Public Works, the Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association, the U.S. Army Engineer 

 Division, New England, and the Coastal Engineering Research Center (S. Onysko, 

 U.S. Army Engineer Division, New England, personal communication, 1979). 



1. Massachusetts Department of Public Works . 



In the early 1960 's the Massachusetts Department of Public Works and the 

 U.S. Bureau of Public Roads, in cooperation with the University of Massachusetts, 

 initiated definitive studies on the use of American beachgrass for stabilization 

 on Cape Cod. These studies found that beachgrass was effective in restoring 

 damaged dunes and that plant spacing of 45 by 90 centimeters was adequate except 

 in areas of severe erosion (Zak, 1967). 



2. Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association (MBBA) . 



In 1963, MBBA obtained permission from the towns of Orleans and Chatham to 

 erect 1,500 feet of sand fences on Nauset Beach to prevent overwash from cutting 

 a channel into Pleasant Bay (Fig. A-1) . The fence collected considerable sand 

 and was successful for about 2 years. However, subsequent storms destroyed the 

 project. 



3. U.S. Army Engineer Division, New England . 



In October 1965, the New England Division experimented with sand fences on 

 Nauset Beach in conjunction with their Pleasant Bay navigation study (Fig. A-2) , 

 to determine if the dunes could be restored to prevent sand from washing into 

 proposed navigation channels for the bay. The fence, which consisted of cedar 

 piles tied securely with twine, was erected in a single line parallel to the 

 beach but back from the high waterline in an attempt to build the dune forward. 

 Sand was building slowly until a northeast storm hit the area on 9 January 1966, 

 causing breakthroughs in the southern section amounting to about 7 percent total 

 damage to the fence. Total sand accumulation for the entire length of fence, 

 excluding the breakthroughs, amounted to about 15,000 cubic meters. This amount 

 was collected over a 2.5-month period, but the bulk of it was collected during 

 and right after the January storm. The cost of the fencing and posts was about 

 $1,200 (1966). Volunteer labor was provided by the Wellfleet Job Corps. The 

 estimated cost of collecting the sand was $0.50 per cubic meter. 



A second row of fencing, with front spurs only, was constructed at the 

 northern end of the project on 17 August 1966, about two-thirds of the way up 

 the front slope of the new dune. By 11 January 1967, that fence was almost 

 filled. By May 1967, the northern end of the sand fencing had created an 

 artificial sand dune almost 2.3 meters high. Field visits in 1969 found beach- 

 grass growing back naturally on the artificial dunes. 



4. Coastal Engineering Research Center (CERC) . 



The original CERC experimental project was first established on Nauset Harbor 

 north spit (Fig. A-3) . The project was started in May 1969 and consisted of 

 alternating plots of straight sand fence, grass plantings, fabric fence, and 

 sand fences with spurs, each plot approximately 122 meters long. The straight 



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