Tidal Surge Survivors

Fine’s plantings one year before Hurricane Katrina

When Gary Fine, manager of the NRCS Golden Meadow Plant Materials Center (PMC), was finally able to observe how the PMC’s beach planting sites on several barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi in the Gulf of Mexico had fared against Hurricane Rita and Katrina, he was astounded. The plantings had survived the hurricanes’ tidal surges. “Before the hurricanes we had established three beach dune- creation and stabilization planting sites and one sea oats evaluation planting,” said Fine. “All survived the storms and an estimated 25-30-foot storm surge. It is amazing but one of the few resilient remaining features along the coast is our plantings.”

“In the past, we combated coastal erosion using constructed features such as sea walls. Now, many engineers feel that plant materials like sea oats are the answer,” said John Hovanesian, President, Coastal and Native Plant  Specialties, Inc. of Milton, Florida.

Fine’s plantings one month after Hurricane Katrina

The work on the barrier islands was to be a type of living outdoor laboratory where scientists from the NRCS, as well as those from other conservation organizations, could study the impact of severe storms and their tidal surges. However, Fine had hoped to have a few years of established growth on the barrier islands before a direct hit from a hurricane the size of Katrina. The enormous destruction left in the wake of Hurricane Rita and Katrina on the Louisiana and Mississippi delta region is well known. But what isn’t known to many is how well Fine’s outdoor laboratory held up against the tidal surges.
Your contact is Robert Westover, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 301-504-8175.