Collier County to Begin Emergency Dredging

Collier County will close the Clam Pass Park in the next couple of days for the emergency dredging project in the Clam Bay Natural Resource Protection Area.

The Clam Pass Park and the public beach south of Clam Pass will be closed starting Monday, April 4, to Friday, April 8, so that workers from Energy Resources may start the emergency dredging project.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gave Collier County a 10-year permit that will allow the County to perform maintenance dredging in the Clam Bay Natural Resource Protection Area.

The permit will allow the county to remove sand from Clam Pass and associated flood shoal areas in three sections to restore tidal flow to the estuary. It is anticipated about 19,000 cubic yards of sand would be removed from Clam Pass and the flood shoal areas.

Following the issuance of the Corps permit, the Board of Collier County Commissioners on March 22 declared that emergency conditions existed in the Clam Bay Natural Resource Protection Area and ratified staff’s actions to quickly mobilize a dredging firm to prevent a widespread mangrove “die-off.”

Last week, Energy Resources was chosen as the most responsive bidder for the dredging project.

While the park will be closed Monday through Friday, work will continue on the dredging project after the closure. The hope is that the project can be completed by the time sea turtle nesting season begins on May 1.