A few days ago, David Cottrell died after a bicycle accident. He farmed cranberries near Grayland, Washington, and his loss is still reverberating through the community. This fund was opened in his memory to support a unique beach protection project he started. The link for online donations is here: https://spccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1357
David and his wife Connie Allen invited me to North Cove beach in 2018, when it was first beginning to stabilize after dynamic revetment and large woody debris were placed to reduce sediment losses. This 15,000 feet stretch of shoreline was locally known as Washaway Beach. For decades it had been eroding every winter in storm after storm, sometimes losing 150 feet in just one storm. The process went on for a century, wiping out Cape Shoalwater, a wildlife refuge, a lighthouse, more than 1,000 acres of dunes (some were more than 100 feet high), and hundreds of homes.
Ongoing erosion in the past couple of decades also threatened the Grayland-Westport ditch, which provides fresh water management for dozens of cranberry farms. Salt water intrusion could destroy both farms and associated wetlands between Grayland and Westport. Erosion also bears down on Tokeland, just east of North Cove, where hundreds of acres of dunes have washed away.
When we first met, David told me about a surfer friend of his, the first one to talk to him about dynamic revetment, where soccer-ball-sized rocks are placed in a berm on a beach to slow and absorb the energy of breaking waves. This process retains more sediments during storms than does larger boulders, as in large rip rap barriers, and over a full year, allows a beach to build up sediments, instead of constantly eroding away.
David listened, studied Dutch projects where these berms have been used for years, and persuaded local, state and federal agencies to test it on Washaway Beach. He was not a dynamic or bombastic speaker. Instead he was quiet, thorough, patient, and determined. He did not lose track of the goal: sediment retention for decades to come.
In his memory, this fund was opened to maintain the beach protection process, keep the cobble berms active, add to berms when storms pull them down, keeping the beach intact from year to year. His greatest legacy is a simple reminder that determined private citizens can create lasting change through their actions—in this case, by helping a beach retain sand.
https://spccf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1357