“Small, but Mighty: Seabeach Amaranth Making a Comeback in New Jersey”
More and more coastal towns in New Jersey are making space for seabeach amaranth – a small but mighty native plant – thanks to work New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium supported back in 2016. With a grant provided by NJSGC, the Pinelands Preservation Alliance (PPA) began implementing so-called “compromise” beach management plans. The compromise: towns set aside 10 percent of their beach for conservation – just a narrow strip in back where few people linger because the sand is too hot – and they continue with “normal” beach business as usual on the remaining 90 percent (raking, driving, sand castles, etc).
Doing so helps strengthen the coast by making space for a species that provides the foundation for natural dune-building to begin. Last year was a banner year for seabeach amaranth in New Jersey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is now supporting an expansion of the PPA’s work with communities.
Learn more about the full story here (from “Conserving the Nature of the Northeast”).
Bridget Macdonald
Public Affairs Specialist
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
North Atlantic-Appalachian Region