Tuesday, November 10, 2026
The anticipated timeline for the 2026 maintenance and repair of Sand Dollar Island is early January 2026 through February 15, 2026.
Mangrove roots still showing degradation from sand intrusion, with no visible benefit from the hydraulic flushing from contractor.
The height of the escarpment is between three and four feet in some areas – not ideal for sea turtle nesting season.
This is not the first time the berm is scheduled for repair. On August 29, 2023, Hurricane Idalia resulted in at least nine breaches to the newly installed berm on Sand Dollar Island, which was completed in May 2023.
A November2025 high tide with narrowing at the top of the berm.
Soon, the presence of mechanical excavation equipment will be at Sand Dollar Island for a planned berm maintenance and repair.
At the January 5, 2026, City Council Meeting, a 2026 Maintenanceand Repair
Plan for the Sand Dollar Island Berm Project was presented to the City Council for approval.
Total cost of the proposed 2026 maintenance will be $156,000 with a start date of January 2 and running through February 15, 2026.
According to Mohamed Dabees of Humiston and Moore Engineers,“The restoration work completed in 2025 is generally holding up well, but some areas of the spit have been impacted by king tide.”
It will require approximately 5,000 to 7,000 cubic yards of sand to address and resolve the escarpment issues.
This is part of the 15-year Sand Dollar Island restoration project which started in 2022.
InSeptember 2022, the City of Marco Island approved the Tigertail Lagoon/Sand Dollar Island Ecosystem Restoration Project. According to the Project’s Overview, “the Tigertail Lagoon and Sand Dollar Island system was impacted by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and was evolving toward closure,” and “this project will further minimize the rate of landward migration of the spit.” Project funding was provided by the City of Marco Island and Hideaway Beach Tax District.
On November 1, 2022, construction started on the project with a 15-year Joint Coastal Permit (JCP) issued by FDEP, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and FWC. The permit also provided for periodic maintenance and allowed for event-driven emergency repairs. The Restoration Project was completed in May 2023,utilizing499,049 cubic yards of dredged material to complete the berm project.
On August 28, 2023, Marco Island declared a State of Emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Idalia, which resulted in a total of nine breaches to the newly installed berm. Marco City Manager Mike McNees used his emergency authority to have the City fund an emergency repair for $47,528 to reclaim beach sand displaced by TS Idalia.
On August 4, 2024, Tropical Storm Debbycreated a total overwash of the southern end of the berm project. On November 4, 2024, the City of Marco Island approved Earth Tech Enterprise for the restoration project for damages from Tropical StormDebbyand Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Wave action pushed sand against the mangroves and covered their roots, and the storms created a breach that extended over 2,000 feet in length (north to south), where the southernportion of the berm collapsed into the mangroves after Milton. The project repair started on November 25, 2024, and was completed on February 25, 2025. The total construction cost for the 2025 Berm Repair Project on Sand Dollar Island was $997,873, with a Collier County Tourist Development Council (TDC) reimbursement of $647,873.
According to a Humiston and Moore report, “Tigertail Lagoon/Sand Dollar Island is a valuable ecosystem which includes recreational assets and tourist attractions in the public interest, providing environmental, social, and economic benefits and storm protection.”
Justin Martin, Director of Public Works for Marco Island, stated that “the Sand Dollar spit is a significant tourist attraction similar to Keewaydin Island, attracting much boating traffic,” and added “the sand spit is in the National Birding Trail, attracting birders worldwide who travel here to see all the shorebirds that nestin this area.”
Dabeesof Humiston and Moore shared, “After three storms, it took us only 90 days and basically $997,873 to restore a valuable, priceless ecosystem; tourist attraction and resiliency for 1/3 of Marco Island.”
Takeaways from the 2024-25berm repair project after its completion in February 2025 (from TS Storm Debbie & Hurricanes Milton and Helene):
No evidence of a black skimmer breeding colony on the new eight acres of bird nesting area since 2023.
During June and July, the height of the berm varied between three feet and five feet. Simultaneously, there was a 25-30% increase in false crawls for nesting loggerheads.
Mangrove roots still showdegradation from sand intrusion even after the hydraulic flushing from contractor.
Inlate September,large portions of the berm have narrowed further, showing numerousformationsof water channels/runnels and exacerbated by the October King Tides.
In early December2025, portions of the berm show signs of being almost breached again.
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