Further, when the renourished beaches erode, they often form sharp scarps that the 250-pound turtles cannot climb over.

The Broken Dreams Over the last decade, Coney Island's beaches have been eroding at the rate of 10 feet a year.

This is a vulnerability for the turtles because such beaches easily erode.

Over the years, this once-vibrant vacation spot watched both its sandy beaches and its tourism erode.

Since his beach is eroding by about 15 feet a year, he said, "I doubt this house will last beyond the lives of my children."

"When the beach erodes, people may not know where it goes, and often it just goes on the end of the island."

The beach has since eroded and is unusable.

Without the critical holding power of dunes and their plants the beaches would blow and erode away.

"You can get insurance now," he says, and if the beach does erode, the government will bring in more sand.

For example; when a beach in equilibrium erodes during a storm it forms an offshore bar that in turn forces waves to break over it.