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With any dune restoration project, it is important to work with nature adding only the things that nature cannot.
For example, nature cannot protect the dunes and back dunes from damaging foot traffic. We can save those back-dune areas by isolating pathways from the dunes.
Over time, nature will take dune sand and shift it onto the beach, so it is important during restoration to deposit any new sand on the back-dune areas and not on the beach. That sand-shifting process is best left to nature and the human passage through it is accomplished with trails.
Other coastal states may manage their dune restoration projects differently, but in Hawaii, best-practice is to not disturb wave-deposited "wrack lines" or high-tide lines of kelp, seagrass, and shells.
These wrack lines may seem unsightly, but they provide food and important habitat for small coastal organisms and removing them would do more harm than good.
For the same reasons, grading or sifting our beach sand for human interests like recreational ball courts is discouraged. Other coastal areas may even use tractors and equipment to clean and process their beach sand. It may look great temporarily, but the end result can prove devastating to sand creatures.
On Maui, we realize that the volume of sand nature moves from dune-to-beach is a vital and dynamic process that ultimately protects our whole shoreline. In this adventure, Mother Nature sets the ground rules for a successful conclusion.
Bob and Lis Richardson
Kihei