1. INTRODUCTION 



During April 1965 the Galveston District, Corps of Engineers, began 

 experiments to determine the practicability of creating and stablizing 

 sand dunes on low areas of the barrier islands of the Texas coast. The 

 work was in connection with preliminary studies to provide hurricane flood 

 protection to long reaches of the Texas coast. 



House Document 693, 66th Congress, 2nd Session, and many historical 

 records indicate that before the 19th century the coastal barrier islands 

 had higher and wider dunes than now exist. In recent years, increased 

 habitation of the barrier islands has destroyed much of the vegetation, 

 resulting in erosion and weakening of the dunes. Larger, more stable 

 dunes parallel to the shoreline would provide greater protection from 

 surges and waves produced by tropical storms in the Gulf of Mexico. 



The experiments involved placing sections of flexible snow fencing 

 to accumulate windblown sand behind the fences, and vegetative planting 

 to stabilize the dunes. A few small low areas of the barrier islands were 

 planted in grass by seeding and sprigging in an effort to establish vege- 

 tative cover and create dunes without the aid of sand fences. Abnormally 

 high tides during October 1965 and May and October 1966 washed channels 

 through some fence-created dunes. The 1966 high tides also seriously 

 damaged most of the planted plots. 



Hurricane Beulah struck the lower Texas coast on 20 September 1967 

 and destroyed all the experimental dunes and planting plots near Corpus 

 Christi. 



2. EXPERIMENTAL SITES 



Four locations were selected to conduct the sand dune experiments . 

 They were the southwest end of Galveston Island near San Luis Pass, 

 Packery Channel and Newport Pass on North Padre Island, and Corpus 

 Christi Pass, the intermittent channel generally regarded as the divide 

 between Padre and Mustang Islands. 



The first site, a small area on the southeast end of Galveston 

 Island near San Luis Pass, was chosen mainly because of its convenience 

 to the Galveston District office. The creation of a practical protective 

 barrier was not considered since neither end of the short test section 

 merged into high ground or existing dunes. Northeast of the San Luis 

 site there are some natural nonuniform dunes. These irregular dunes are 

 relatively low, rising slightly more than 5 feet above natural ground. 



The test locations on Padre Island were selected to investigate the 

 feasibility of restoring dunes at points where water often passes between 

 the Gulf and the back bay or Laguna Madre during abnormally high tides. 

 Compared to those to the northeast, the dunes on Padre Island are wide 

 and fairly well stabilized, but they are not connected. Padre Island 



