Wild Dunes has its beach back

Image by Wild DunesImage by 20080723_wild_dunes.jpg The resort's beach before and after.

The $10 million Wild Dunes beach renourishment is done, and has widened the resort's sandy shore from inches to 300 feet.

To do so, some 900,000 cubic yards was dredged and pumped from the ocean on to the two-mile stretch of Isle of Palms' beach. The resort covered some $7 million of the project's cost, with the Isle of Palms shelling out $3 million to improve the private beach. A move that was, obviously, controversial.

The three-month project to restore two miles of beach got underway after sandbags that were being used to protect Wild Dunes' golf course began to break down and wash up as litter on the surrounding area.

Some loggerhead turtle nests needed to be moved to account for the now-wider beach, but the project isn't expected to adversely affect the endangered species' nesting habits too much.

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