HUNTING ISLAND, S.C. - The state and federal government have a plan to restore sand along Hunting Island, parts of which lose up to 25 feet of beach every year.

The $8 million to $13 million effort is important because more than 1 million visitors come to the island's state park, which provides one of the only places for public beach access in Beaufort County, renourishment supporters say.

But critics say the erosion is a natural phenomenon made worse because of the island's location.

Just like other projects since 1968, the new sand will wash away, and if efforts are made to slow erosion, the waves will simply begin washing away another barrier island up or down the coast, opponents of renourishment say.

The erosion has cut into the island's forest, leaving bathers to walk carefully in the water to avoid sunken stumps. Fallen trees litter the beach and the ocean has even swept away some houses over the years.

The renourishment project on Hunting Island is unusual, because the island contains few major buildings, other than a historic lighthouse, some rental cabins and park facilities.

The island's value comes from its status as one of South Carolina's most popular state parks. It also provides one of the few public beaches along the state's lower coast.

"If this were a wildlife refuge or a national seashore, yeah, you let nature take its course," said Chris Brooks, who runs the state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. "But if you've got a state park, it's a whole different setting. A state park requires provision of services and amenities."

State lawmakers this year approved spending $5 million to renourish Hunting Island. Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed the proposal, calling it "not the kind of investment that our state should be making, particularly during this current budget crisis."

But the General Assembly overrode the veto, meaning the state has made a total of $8 million available for the project.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, likely to oversee the work, also is considering $5 million for more sand at Hunting Island. If plans are approved this year and the money comes through, work could start during the winter of 2005-06, corps spokesman Jim Whiteman said.

"There are not a lot of structures at Hunting Island," he said. "But we have a unique ecosystem, the maritime forest, that needs to be protected."

But not all scientists are sold on the idea of renourishment.

Duke University Orrin Pilkey calls the island "about the most unstable beach that you'll find nationally."

Pilkey said past beach renourishment projects have washed away in just a few years. Since 1968, the government has spent about $10 million on shoreline widening projects.

The Corps of Engineers has a plan to counter the erosion. It wants to install a series of groins, which are like jetties, to help hold the sand in place longer. The groins would be composed of boulders that run perpendicular from the beach into the ocean.

Pilkey said, however, the groins could make erosion worse at Fripp or Harbor islands by cutting off sand moving down the beach.

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Information from: The State, http://www.thestate.com/