More than 500 cubic yards of asphalt and road base debris were removed from Gulf Islands National Seashore during the third year of a project to restore areas of the seashore.

The work began at Perdido Key in September 2018 and returned to Santa Rosa in mid-October. Approximately 520 cubic yards of asphalt fragments and road base material debris were removed from more than 126 acres of the Santa Rosa Area.

The work included multiple treatments of high visitor use areas where wind exposed additional debris. Onsite work wrapped up on February 28, just in time for shorebird nesting season. Demobilization of equipment and vehicles from Opal Beach is to be completed by March 15.

The ongoing project, which also includes the Fort Pickens Area, removes asphalt pieces ranging from the size of large slabs to as small as a quarter-of-an-inch in diameter, and other road base materials. Work is only performed in the offseason while shorebirds and sea turtles are not nesting. Native vegetation damaged during the asphalt removal process is replaced, limiting the impact of removal activities on the park’s natural resources.

“Removing the broken asphalt and road base material from park beaches makes a huge visual impact for our visitors, and helps restore the delicate beach habitat,” said Gulf Islands Superintendent Dan Brown. “Once it is no longer part of the road, the broken, scattered asphalt is much like litter, and does not belong on our beautiful beaches. So we’re doing our best to clean it up.”

Roadway debris has accumulated for more than 20 years following hurricanes and storms that destroyed and scattered portions of the park’s asphalt roads. The Beach Enhancement and Asphalt Removal project is a Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Early Restoration project. The work is being paid for with funds provided by BP as part of a 2016 settlement agreement with federal and state governments to compensate the public for injuries to natural resources and recreational use caused by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.