Coastal recovery after winter storms begins at the Curonian Spit

“Applications for participation in the event, which will be held on April 23-24 as part of the March of Parks environmental campaign, are being accepted now,” the message on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources says.

As noted in the department, for many years the sea coast has been restored in the Curonian Spit National Park after winter storms. It is very important for the spring-summer period to install structures that retain sand, which over time will form a gentle, stable slope of the foredune.

This winter, there was a particularly intense storm season on the Curonian Spit, so the process of returning sand to the shore will be long and laborious, experts say.

“After strong January and February storms in many parts of the Curonian Spit, not only the width and thickness of the beach changed, but also the direction of its development. Sand washed away by storm waves is carried away for several tens of meters and deposited parallel to the coast in the form of an underwater shaft. Then, within 1-2 months, it gradually returns in waves to the beach, increasing its capacity and width,” the Ministry of Natural Resources said.

Meanwhile, for the Curonian Spit, it is the beaches that are the natural protection of the coast from destruction.

“On the sea slope of the foredune, a sheer ledge of erosion was formed, which came under observation platforms and transitions to the beach. Due to the loss of support and deformations of the metal frame, these structures are currently in disrepair. We kindly ask the guests of the national park to refrain from using emergency descents to the sea,” said the director of the national park, Anatoly Kalina, quoted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

Employees of the "Curonian Spit" annually carry out work to restore the foredune, installing structures that help retain sand.

Avandune is 225 hectares of complex terrain, stretched in a narrow strip for 49 kilometers. The first work on the creation of the shaft was started at the end of the wars with Napoleon, and completed at the beginning of the next century before the First World War, the ministry noted.