OGUNQUIT — The Ogunquit Select Board is moving forward with a beach erosion study in Ogunquit.

Last fall, voters approved up to $50,000 to study the issue based on the recommendations of an ad-hoc Beach Erosion Committee comprised of seven local citizens with relevant expertise.

According to Chair Paul Breen, the Beach Erosion Committee was tasked with answering two questions: Is the beach eroding? And if so, what should be done about it?

Breen said there are many theories about why sand has been disappearing more rapidly from the southern end of Ogunquit’s beach. The southern end is the most frequently visited part of Ogunquit’s 1.5 miles stretch of beach and people have noticed a gradual, but significant, change in the amount of dry sand at high tide than in previous decades.

“It may be natural, it may be man-made or a combination of both, but without a formal scientific study to identify the causes, it is difficult to recommend viable solutions,” said Breen during a recent interview.

The Beach Erosion Committee has worked for more than a year to review previous research, talk with state experts, and identify several short-term projects to help catch sand and prevent it from washing into the ocean.

In January, the committee awarded a $3,600 contract for a short-term pilot study with Bar Mills Ecological to install 200 feet of snow fencing at various points on the beach. Breen said Bar Mills is a small company with expertise in dune restoration. Based on their guidance, the Beach Erosion Committee will initiate a series of pilot projects to see if fencing can prevent further erosion.

“This was one of the ideas picked up when we did our initial work last year. The theory is that when the wind picks up sand and hits these obstructions, it drops the sand. But we don’t have any hard data to back it up,” Breen said, explaining that the town used to install a snow fence every winter.

“The snow fence is an ongoing maintenance requirement and a few years ago, the town decided not to fund the fence,” said Mike Horn, Ogunquit Conservation Commission chair. The Conservation Commission has worked for the past eight years to protect and restore the dunes in Ogunquit.

Horn said that the areas where the fencing was removed on the dunes have in recent years shown a loss of sand.

“When people and dogs walk on the dunes it does break down the beach grasses. However, we’re not convinced there is significant beach erosion. Overall there is more sand on the beach now than here has been for the past six years,” Horn said.

Town Manager Tom Fortier said volunteers from the beach erosion committee will install a new type of fencing with help from the Ogunquit Department of Public Works.

“The experiments will be conducted throughout the spring after the snow melts and the necessary permits are issued,” Fortier said.

Concurrent to the snow fence project, Fortier said the Beach Erosion Committee also helped the town identify a list of needed tasks for a larger independent study.

“We want to quantify the degree of erosion that has occurred, at least at the southern end of the beach, and identify if the sources are natural or manmade. We’ll also look to them to suggest the slope or angle of sand and corrective, maintenance actions to reconstitute the beach,” Breen said.

The select board voted 4-0 to approve the RFP with minor clarifying comments.

Once an RFP is awarded, Ogunquit officials estimate it will take two months to conduct the study, provided the weather and permitting align.

“We’ll do the fence experiments concurrent with the erosion study, so we have the data for next fiscal year planning. Assuming we can start in March, we hope to have a recommendation from both the fence pilot project and a competent scientific organization to advise the Select Board by June,” Breen said.

That recommendation would include corrective actions, costs and permitting steps.

Breen said once the study is completed there will still be much to consider.

“We’ll have to decide as a town where to go from there. Our beach is a destination for many people, and it is the foundation of our economy. We’re trying to understand the problem and provide the best data and argument to help us make the most informed decisions about what we as a community want to do about it,” Breen said.