The Town of Dauphin Island wants to buy land on the undeveloped west end for a public beach, but a plan to have it open by Memorial Day weekend has been delayed, officials said this week.

Town officials have discussed purchasing land just west of Bienville Boulevard for an estimated $1.75 million. The town would build a gravel parking lot, tiki huts for retailers, and restrooms for visitors, officials said.

The proposed parcel is about 200 feet wide east-to-west and stretches from the north shore to the south shore, although that could change with negotiations, officials said. That's about two-thirds of a football field, without the end zones.

Most of the land along the western end of Bienville Boulevard is owned by private homeowners. A west end public beach is one of several development projects proposed last year as a way to revive the local economy and attract more tourists.

"The hopes were to have something done by this summer, to try to catch this season, to try to boost tourism," said Mayor Jeff Collier.

But the town must wait until it receives all necessary permits before moving forward with the project, Collier said, including environmental assessments.

"We want to know what kind of usage would be available to us before we commit to the deal," Collier said.

Joyce Allen, the town's projects director, said the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must be involved in the plans.

Fish and Wildlife Service officials have identified the area as critical habitat for the piping plover, a migratory bird that stays on Dauphin Island during the winter months.

"We have concerns for piping plovers in that area," said Rob Tawes, assistant field supervisor in the Daphne office of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "There are also sea turtles that occasionally nest on that island."

Tawes said the agency will consult with Dauphin Island on the potential impact of development in the area following federal guidelines, but the office has not received a formal request from the island.

Scott Hughes, ADEM spokesman, said he couldn't comment on what type of permits would be necessary until the agency receives its own formal request from Dauphin Island.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 cut the island in two, leaving a gash in the undeveloped portion that has grown to a mile-wide breach.

West Dauphin LLC, owners of the land being discussed for a sale, have proposed donating a second parcel just west of the breach, town officials said.

That parcel is an estimated 1,000 feet east-to-west, stretching from the north shore to the south shore, town officials said.

The town's economic development consultant Liberty Duke proposed last year that the town build an entertainment pavilion on the donated parcel using a ferry to bring tourists over for special events and concerts.

Duke said that plan is on hold while the town focuses on opening a public beach.

The Dauphin Island Park and Beach Board, a separate entity, operates a public beach near the Dauphin Island Elementary School and beachfront property in the Audubon Bird Sanctuary.

The beach along the Property Owners Association's Isle Dauphine Golf Club is also open to the public.

Riley Boykin Smith, former head of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, is a partner in West Dauphin LLC.

Smith said this week that he hasn't made any offers to Dauphin Island, but he is in discussion over a possible land deal. No plans have been set, he said.

"I think it's great that the people down there are trying to get some public access," Smith said.

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