Differential response of six beaches at Point Pelee (Ontario) to variable levels of recreational use

Abstract

Since the turn of the century, shoreline erosion has been a major problem observed at Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada. Point Pelee is a cuspate foreland extending six miles into Lake Erie from the north. Both flanks of Point Pelee are noted for their fine sandy beaches (East, 1976). Since the establishment of Point Pelee National Park, a planned pattern of beach usage has evolved with respect to the intensity of visitation by sunbathers and swimmers (East, 1976; Boyd, 1979; Parks Canada, 1982). Since 1918 (Kindle, 1918) a number of attempts have been made to cope with the problems of severe beach erosion around Point Pelee (Kindle, 1933; Persson, 1964; Jarlan, 1966; Kamphuis, 1972; Coakley, 1972; Coakley and Cho, 1972; Coakley et al., 1973; Chrysler and Lathem Consulting Engineers, 1974; East, 1976; Setterington, 1978; LaValle, 1979, 1985, 1986). Prior to 1972, these studies consisted of short term site evaluations and recommendations for the structural protection of key shoreline sites utilizing a variety of armour-stone breakwaters, oak-piling breakwaters, concrete tetrapods, gabbion mat systems, as well as a groyne just north of the Northeast Beach, Point Pelee. Since 1973, artificial sediment renourishment has also been attempted at the Northeast Beach with some success (LaValle, 1986). In 1978 Parks Canada, in cooperation with the University of Windsor, initiated an ongoing shoreline monitoring program designed to provide data on dynamics which can be used for conservation planning.