The number-one outdoor activity on tourists' must-do list is hitting the beach. As a result, coastal communities such as Naples, Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel and Captiva islands pay special attention to the size and quality of their beaches.

Beaches are constantly changing shape. Sometimes they get bigger but usually, Southwest Florida's beaches are shrinking.

When too much sand erodes or is washed away, local governments, often with the help of the state, spend large sums of money to put the sand back on the beach. These renourishment projects are essential not only so residents and tourists can enjoy a day at the beach, but to protect the beach-front homes, businesses and condominiums nearby. At least one, and usually two or three projects, are going on at any time in Collier and Lee counties. The process requires detailed environmental studies, locating a source of suitable sand, mobilizing dredges, laying miles of pipes and getting heavy equipment on the beach to spread the sand.

And with the beaches of Southwest Florida being a significant nesting site for loggerhead sea turtles, all the work has to be done when the turtles are not nesting.