Storms are eating away at Martha's Vineyard beaches. Here's how they are combating it
The ocean is taking more than it gives on Martha's Vineyard. Each storm is cutting deeper into South Beach in Edgartown, and the pace is accelerating.
"The storms are coming a bit harder and faster," said Edgartown conservation agent Kara Shemeth.
The town has been racing to rebuild dunes, replant grass, and hold the line. But even Shemeth admits, one powerful storm can undo years of work in a single day. When asked if the town's efforts are futile, she answered, "Absolutely. Especially right after a big one hits and we have to shut down."
Winter storms
That sense of futility has been tested repeatedly. Edgartown was hit by three back-to-back storms in past winter seasons: once on December 18, 2023, followed by two more on January 10 and 12.
The December storm opened a sinkhole on Atlantic Drive, breached nearby ponds, sending saltwater rushing into freshwater. That caused tons of fish to die.
The same storm flooded the South Beach guard shack and just weeks later, another blow finished it off, leaving the building destroyed.
In each storm, thousands of pounds of debris washed ashore, from broken staircases and construction wood to chunks of roadway.
Visible damage to the sand
For longtime residents, the changes are personal.
"When I was growing up here, this beach was about another 100 yards out," said Andrew Kelly, Edgartown park commissioner and deputy fire chief. "Now, my father will tell me stories when he was here in the '50s and '60s. It was probably about 300 yards out."
South Beach is the town's only public south-facing beach, drawing as many as 4,000 people on a summer day.
"This is a huge economic thing for everybody in this town," Kelly said. "If you don't have the beaches, what's the point of going to Martha's Vineyard?"
Beach director David Espindle said the damage is visible every single day.
"We literally see chunks of our beach fall out of a dune like this and actually get washed further and further east," he said.
Scientists say South Beach is part of a larger pattern across the Vineyard and coastal Massachusetts. Warming waters and rising seas are intensifying storms, while higher tides and stronger surges are eating away at dunes and barrier beaches that once acted as natural protection.
Martha's Vineyard has already lost entire sections of shoreline in places like Wasque and Lucy Vincent Beach. In some spots, erosion rates have topped 10 feet per year. The rates of erosion of these beaches are among the fastest across all of New England. The loss not only threatens homes, roads, and utilities but also reshapes ecosystems by flooding freshwater ponds with saltwater and exposing rocky stretches once hidden under sand.
Slowing down Mother Nature
One reason Edgartown has been able to keep pace: its dredge. The town is one of just two municipalities in Massachusetts that owns its own dredging equipment.
That machine has been a lifeline, saving an estimated $18 million by supplying local sand. Crews can move a dump truck's worth of sand onto the beach every few minutes, material that has helped rebuild dunes at South Beach and Norton Point. Without it, officials say, the island would be years behind in restoration.
But even this workhorse has limits. "You're fighting Mother Nature," Kelly admits. "And unfortunately, she will win. So, how do you slow her down is the big question mark here."
Despite the challenges, Edgartown isn't giving up. Crews continue to rebuild, replant, and replenish, knowing that another storm is never far away.
"Everybody being out here and being in nature and being able to swim and experience a beach, it's good for the soul, and we all need that," Shemeth said.
For this community, protecting South Beach is about more than just sand. It is about preserving a way of life and ensuring the Vineyard's future, no matter how the shoreline changes.
Thank you to Cornelius Sullivan for providing some of the drone footage used in the story.