
SUNCOAST CHAPTER
Suncoast Chapter Surfrider Foundation
P. O. Box 22974
St. Petersburg, FL 33742
suncoast
This page is dedicated to the FREE UPHAM Campaign!
Want to help?!?! Contact Jessica
During the Ecofest at Mcdonough park this past April, Jake Respondek provided an interview on WMNF 88.5. He talks about Upham Beach and other Surfrider Issues.
To read the entire article and link to the interview please click here
Many chapter members were in attendance at the June 1st Stakeholder's meeting.
Thank you to Jake for video recording the meeting. Now we only have to figure out how to load it onto the site!
Copies of the latest Monitoring Report, Wave Data, and Poperpoint have been requested from the county to share with the chapter.
Remember, we want a big wide safe beach and no, to the other options. Get the structures out of there, do not replace them with anything else, and work on feasable solutions including what it would cost the cities, county and state to support a pump house sand bypass project or a regular re-nourishment schedule. We also want solutions for restoring the natural sandflow - as that is what willsave the area, the enviroment, and all of our dollars!
The Upham committee is working harder than ever on this campaign. If you would like to be an active participant, please email Jessica.
FREE UPHAM!
The Upham Beach Stabilization Project is costing all of us $$$.
The project is funded through Federal, State, and County tax dollars.
Remember: YOU ARE A TOURIST TOO!
Everytime you rent a hotel room in Pinellas County, a portion of the fees collected goes to pay for the "experiment". Let your voice be heard on how you want the priceless dollars spent - especially in the current economic climate!
AND, even if you don't rent rooms in Pinellas County, you have a right to be heard. The monies collected as apart of the bed tax should be appropriated throughout Pinellas County to benefit ALL residents - which means your voice counts.
Where you can help
Photo's by Chad March '09.





Photo's by Julie Spring 2009
Reorganized!
The chapter has an updated reorganized Upham Committee. The committee, comprised of seasoned and new Suncoast beach stewards, are working together on the Free Upham campaign. The committee is currently working on research, fund raising, press contacts, and contact with city and county officals.
Smarter!
In the research phase of the Free Upham campaign, the committee is finding smarter solutions to solve the erosion problem on Upham Beach. A long time ago, before the condo boom on the barrier islands, sand would flow south from a huge sandy knob on the south side of Blind Pass and provide new sand for the rest of the key (St. Pete Beach). The pass was actually a traveling pass, gradually moving south with each layer of sand that peeled away from the edge. When the first condo went up on Upham Beach, it was placed right on the edge of the Gulf just a little south of the pass which eliminated the beach in front of the building. Then a seawall and jetty needed to be constructed on the south side of Blind Pass to stop all the traveling and peeling the pass was doing and to protect the poorly placed building. That decision halted the sand flow permanently. A Federally funded beach nourishment plan began then to compensate for the loss of sand on Upham Beach and the down drift beaches. And the other 3 buildings went up.
So these days, the sand that is supposed to nourish the beaches south of Blind pass sweeps into Blind Pass and builds up into little white mounds inside the pass. The buildup of sand then gets dredged every nine years, per the plan in place now.
Many hands!
Join the Suncoast Upham Committee!
Contact us through suncoast@surfrider.org or
any of the board members on the contact us page.
Upham in the Press
Surfers Village Creative Loafing
Gulfster Creative Loafing - again!
Global Surf News Barrier Island Gazette
Tampa Pirate
Space Coast Web
Surf Line
Where have you seen FREE UPHAM?
Know of where the chapter has gained exposure, how to get the chapter exposure, or want to contribute in general? Contact us today!
We welcome your questions, queries, and input!. Please see our Contact Us page for complete contact information.
Suncoast Chapter Surfrider Foundation
P. O. Box 22974
St. Petersburg, FL 33742
suncoast