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i ,r"l l l i ' l rrr lijclir r ir li<

Spartina Grass:Friend andFoe?

ike ntany othcr sea kayakers, I'r-r-r
in it in a b ig way t o hav e t hat upckrsc ancl personal expcrience with the
flora ancl latrna that call nty local waters
home. Sor-neol the richest ecosystems
to explorc., paddle in hand, are coastal
salt r-narshes-homc to irnpressivewater
birds like h ero ns a nd egr c t s , as well as
rrultitr-rdesof finfish and sl.rellfishspccies.Coastalrnarshes are olten associated
w ith estu arie swh ere fr es hwat er and s all
water mix, and vary frorn the mudflats
o[ the Pacific Northwesl with tl.reirnarrow
vegetatcd fringe to the verdant and vast
sea !lrass lnarshcs of thc Atlantic and
G ull Coa sts.
Therc' is one membcr of thc Iktra ol
t hcse sa lt nta rsh co m m unit ies t hat is
cither rcvered or feared-dcpending on
t he circun tsta nces.Fo und on At lant ic
shorcs lftrm Maine to Texas,and on the
West Coast fnlm Southcrn California to
the S a lish Sea , sa lt-tolc r ant c or dgr as s es
are seen as eithcr keyslone species of
native salt ntarsh ccosystcms, or as
dangerous invasivc rveeds that threaten still countlessflore are dcpcndent on the
critical habitals. Thcse Spartina grasscs goods that travel to seaportslnrm far-of{
are troth builclers and dcstroyers of
places,ar-rdthis too has oltcn ultseencollpaddling p ara clises-and s ea k ay ak er s scquenccs. Thc coasts lravc krng treen
arot n-td th r co Lrn trr'.r r e alr eady a par t affcctc'd by developnrcnt-such as thc
ol t lte Sp.rrtin ast()r\',g et t ing inv olv ec lt o
diking of coaslal wctlands for agriculture
rcst orc the na tiVesa nd er adic at et hc inand industry, and the polltrtion lrom
vasives.On th e b aln ty blt r e wat er s of t he
ston-nwaterrunoff. Spartir-ra,
at its worst,
Crrlf ol \lrrir,r ka va kc r s jour r r c y t r t r t lo
is an added btrrden that thrcatcns the
remote l-rabirarrestoration sites to plant
r em aining n a t u r a l h a b i t a t s O f h a r d - h i t
native Spartina. Anc'l,alnong the swirlcoastalwetlands.At i1sbest,it is the building curre nts o f Pu gcr Sour - r d,
paddler sar e ir-rgblock of a critical natural syslL.mthat
citizcn scie'ntists-patrolling shorelines can ir-rsulatc coastal contmunities fror-r-r
for invasive contnlolt cordgrass,making
ollr own [lcsses,and provides horne, food
a valuab le con tribu tion t o a s t at ewide ar-rdshelter lor economicallyand ecologieffort that has alnost eradicated this cally irnportant wildlife. Let's dive a little
dangerous weed frorn Washington State. deeper into the story ol these simple sea
The story of Spartir.ra
is in rnany ways a grassesto see how they tell a tale of interreflectior.rol the great changes mankind
national tradc, clevergeneticsand human
has wnrr-rghtto oLlrcoasts.Many ol us call impact, as well as huntan ingenuity and
the shoreline home; the U.S. coastmakes stewardshipat its besr.
up only l7 percent of the country's land
massbut is home 1<lover half its residents. SpartinaEcology
Multitudes [lore come to the shore for
There are 13 species of Spartir-rathat
some rest, relaxationand recreation.And,
oc c ur in t he U . S . I n t h e i r n a t i v e s y s t e m s ,

o
o

!
o
o

t h c y p r o v i d c v i t a l c s t r r a r i n e an d ti cl a l
s a l t r n a r s h h a b i t a t , c x t r c u t c l y va l u a b l e
b o t l - r e c o l o g i c a l l y a n d e c o n o nti ca l l yl u r o r c o n t h a t l a t c r . H 0 w c vcr , fo u r
s p c c i e s h a v c s p r c a c l t r c y o n c l th ci r u a t i v e r a n g e a n d a r e d c g r a c l i ng co a sta l
h a b i t a t s o n t h e We s t C o a s 1 . Th r e c
s p e c i c si n p a r t i c u l a r - s u t o o l h co r d g r a ss
( S p a r t i n a a l t e r n i f l o r a ) , d e - n se fl o w e r
crrrdgrass (5. densiflora),ancl common
c r r r d g r a s s ( S . a n g l i c a l a r e w r e a ki n g
h a v o c a l o n g t h e We s t C o a s t i n pa d d l e r s'
l a v o r i t e p l a c c . s : S a n F r a n c i sco a n d
H u n r b o l d t B a y s i n C a l i l o r r .r i a , a n d
Wi l l a p a B a y a n d P u g c t S o u n d i n
Wa s h i n g t o n S t a t e . E f f o r t s a re u n d e r
w a y t o e r a d i c a t e i n t l o d u c e c l co r d g r a ss
s p e c i c s ,w i t h v a r y i n g s L l c c e s sL. a te r , w e
w i l l l o o k i n m o r e d e r a i l a t t h is i n Sa n
FranciscoBay and Puget Sor,rnd.
Galveston
(GBF)
BayFoundation
VicePresident
of
0perations,
Courtney
5mith,exploring
thesmooth
cordgrass
meadowsof Christmas
Bay,off the
southwest
coastof Galveston
lsland,
Texas,

A ugust2011 I S eaK ay ak er 13

Keyto invasive
Spartina
species
in the U.S.:
Common
Name
Invasive Spartina specieswill hybridize
with native varieties where present; in
the UI( small cordgrasshas been almost
completely wiped out by common
cordgrass,a hybrid between the British
native and the invading smooth cordgrass
from the U.S. Spartina invasion also alters the ecosystem by creating a dense
mat of roots that traps sediment, which,
over time, will actually raise the elevation of the marsh and can cause longlasting changesto the coastline.This is a
problem lelt worldwide. Spartina species
have invaded the coastlinesof Australia,
New Zealand, China, Morocco, England,
the Netherlands, France, Denmark,
Germany and Spain.In many cases,these
invasions have greatly altered the local
salt-marsh ecology.
Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Where native, Spartina grasses are key
members of a vibrant and rich ecosystem.
Estuariesof the Atlantic and Gr-rlfCoasts
are characterized by vast meadows of
smooth cordgrass,bracketed at the higher
intertidal elevations by salt meadow
cordgrass.These marshesare some of the
most productive communities on Earth in
terms of the amount of plant material
produced each year. This abundant growth
dies back each year, contributing large
quantities of decomposing plant material-food lor invertebrates and other small
critters, critical links in the marine food
web. The wealth of such prey to eat combined with calm waters make salt marshes
perfect habitat for small fish, including
the young o1many cornmerciallyvaluable
species. For example, in North Carolina
the three most economically valuable
fisheries are blue crab, Southern flounder,
and shrimp-all
of which depend on
healthy e stu arie sa s n ur s er ies .
These marshes also play a key role ir-r
protecting coastal communities from the
angry sea-coastal wetlands are natural
barriers to storm surges and other wildwater events. Spartina marshes have
complex root systemsthat resistthe erosive
forces of the sea-even in winter when
the stems die back; these rhizomes are able
to withstand the force of mighty Atlantic
Nor'easters.Thesesame dense root systems
can help filter stormwater running off the
developed coast into the sea-preventing
some of this toxic soup from reaching these
rich waters. The looming threat of rising
sea levels raises the question: What will
happen to these waterfront towns once
their barrier marshes are swallowed bv the

14 SeaKayakerI August2011

Scientific
Name

NativeRange

r"*'r;

R;"g;

WestCoastAtlanticCoast,
Smoothcordgrass Spartinaalterniflora
especially
5anFrancisco
Maineto Mexico
andWillapa
Bays
Common
cordgrass

Spartina
anglica

WestCoastand
Nowhere-hybrid worldwide-especially
Puget
5ound

Denseflowercordgrass,
Spartina
densiflora

Saltmeadow
cordgrass Spartina
patens

PacificCoast, WestCoast-especially
South
America
Humboldt
Bav
AtlanticandGulf I WestCoast-hasnot
Coasts
, beenverywidespread

o
o
t
o
d
.q
E
o
.z
c

growingmuchtallerandfartherouton themudflatthanthesunounding
HybridSpartina
clone,
native
S.foliosa.

sea? Organizations along the Atlantic and

Gulf Coasts are working to address this
concern by protecting existing marshes
and establishingnew ones in placeswhere
there is open spaceat higher elevatictnsso
the marsh can migrate as the sea rises.

coastalprotection. Efforts are under way

throughout the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
to protect and restore coastal marshes
from all these stressorsso that this crucial
habitat can be maintained.
Sarah Phillips is the coastal education
coordinator with the North Carolina
SpartinaMarsh Restoration
C o a s t a l F e d e r a t i o n . E a c h y ea r h e r o r As so often is the case along the coast, ganization works with volunteers to
salt marshes are threatened by develop- plant around 100,000 smooth cordgrass
ment, climate change, pollution and a
stems, known as plugs, along North
slew of other environmental stressors. Carolina's shores. One of her favorite
From 1998 to 2004. the Atlantic and Gulf
sites is on an island in the White Oak
Cclastslost over 62,000 acres, or almost River near Swansboro. Jones Island is
100 square miles, of salt marsh habitat. part of Hammocks Beach State Park and
Now remember, we are not just talking
its Spartina marsh was eroded by rough
about grass here-these marshes are water caused by wind and wakes from
home to a multitude of wildlife species, increased powerboat traffic in the estunot to mention the vital role they play in
ary. During the spring planting season,

"kayakers often paddle olrt to Jones to

h e lp plant Spa rtina p lug s," s ay s Phillips .
" I t ' s great to h ave th e loc al paddling
c o m munity involved ." The Feder at ion
is partnering with kayak outfitters
to cor-rduct educational kayak tours
o f the marshe s this su mm er , s o look
t h em up if yo u're in the ne ighbor hood!
I n f ormat ion o n th e Nor t h Car olina
Coastal Fedcratior-r'srestoration events
c a n be lound a t www.n ccoas t . or g.
To the southwest on the Gulf Coast,
the story is sir-nilar-but ntore severc.
Fronr I 998 Lo 2004, alnrosr 45,000 acres,
o r 70 squar e ntilcs, of coa s t alm ar s h was
lost to crosion, clcvckrpn-rcn1
and other
s t ressors.Natu ral an d nra n- nr ade c lis as t c ' r s such as Hurrican e I(at r ina and t he
Decpwater Horizor.roil spill highlighted
t l l e import ance Of coa sta lwc llands , anc l
t h eir vulnera bility. Work is under way
1o restore sornc oI what has becn lostorganizations sr.rch as thc Galvestor-r
B a y F oundatio r-rwork with c onr m unit y
volLrnteersto plant sntooth cordgrassand
reestablish native marsh. Every spring,
this organization hosts two largc Marsl-r
Ma nia planting cve nts, g et t ing hund reds of folks o ut to install t hous ands
o l S partina pla nts. "Sin ce th is ev ent began in 1999," says Jrrlic Mintzer with
t h c Galvesto n Ba y Fo un dat ion, "ov er
6,000 volunteers Itave restored almost
200 acrcs oI marsh, plar-rtingmore tharl
5 0 0, 000 smo oth cord gra s s s t em s . " I n
the pas1,kayakcrs l.ravehclped transport
materials to rcsloratiot] sitcs-and earl i e r t his year Mintzcr's o rga niz at ion als o
w o rkcd w ith over I0 0 krca l paddler sf or
t l - rcT rasl-r
B ash -an an nu alcleanup ol loc a l walerwa ys. Mo rc in krru t at ion c an be
lilur-rdat the Galvcston Bay Foundatiorr's
website: www.ga lvbay.o11;.
West Coast
On tl'rc Wcst Coast, tltc only native
Slr.rrlinais Calilorr-riacordgrass.Its range
i s l i nrit ed1othe sa lt n tarshe so f t he G olden
Sr: i lr' .\\' ashin gto n a nd Ore gun hav e no
:t.:::rc Slr.trtina;in tl"tc'PacificNorthwest,
t h c rc i: no lo cd l p larrtth at co loniz eslhes e
nrudflc.rrhalrir.ris-an intporlanl piece oI
ollr st()r\'.The salt ntarslt hcrc is r-rsuallya
relativell' narro\\' bur cliverscband along
klw-energv sltorelir-rcs.
rvitl'rthe exceptiolt
being the vast estuarineriver deltaswhich
can inch,rdeextensive ntarsh communities. Vegetated,intertidal arcas are crucial
habitat for salmon tl-ratl-rangout as young
fish emerging from the freshwater environments ol rivcrs and strearls. Juvenile
salmon need to spendtirne in the brackish
waters of estuaries 1o prepare for lifc ir-r
the open sea-and they rely on healthy
vegetation communities to provide a

GBF's
Habitat
Restoratton
Coordinator,
PhilipSmith,
monitoring
smoothcordgrass
marshalongBobMoore
lsland
nearGalveston.
bounty of bugs and other invcrtcbrates
for thcm to eat.
As any good Nortltwcst paddler must
always tre aware of, or risk a long wait for
cnough water to paddle home in, ntany
bays empty at low tide ir-ttovast seas of
brown. These mudllats are lar lront the
sterilemoor"tscape
s they appcar at thc surface.They are honte to cour-ttless
clamsand
other bivalves, and a multin.rillior.rdollar
shellfishindustry. Mudflats also contain a
r.nindbogglinll array of invertebratesand
are vital feeding habitat for migrating and
residenl watc.rfowl. When non-native
Spartina invades these rnudflats, it car-r
quickly sprcadou1 ol the salt rnarsh fringe
into tl're rludflat itsell. Shorebirds cannot feecl in Spartina ntarshes;the dense
vellctationand roOt systemsprevL-ntthem
lrom gctting to their usual food
yLrmmy, squishy, crawly invertebrates
buried ir.r thc mud. The marshlands oI
the West Coastare critical stopsalor.rgthe
Pacific Flyway-the route nsed by n-rany
speciesof migratory birds as they travel
between winterir-rgareasto the south and
tl-relush Arctic breeding grounds of summer. The potential impact of the Spartina
invasior-ron these two resollrces-shellfish and waterfowl-is a common thread
as we look at the story of these grassesin
the West.
Large Spartina inlestations are present
up and down t he We s t C o a s t i n r e g i o n a l
waterways where the grasseshave gott en a f oot - ( or s h o u l d I s a y r o o t ) h o l d :
San Francisco Bay, Humboldt Bay,

Wi l l a p a B a y a n d P u g e t S o u n d . T h e i n va s i o n h i s t o r y a n d f l a v o r i s u n i q u e i n e a ch
circumstance-part of this crazy story.
H o w e v e r , i n a l l c a s e st h e q u e s t i o n , " H o w
d i d i t g e t h e r e ? " h a s t h e s a n t e a n s we r lrom
human actions. Denseflower
corcigrassarrived ir"rHr-rmboldt Bay via
b a l l a s tw a t e r f r o m v e s s e l st a k i n g o n lu m b e r f o r C h i l e , w h i l e s m o o t h c o r d gr a ss
w a s l i k e l y i n t r o d n c e d t o Wi l l a p a B ay i n
Wa s h i n g t o n S t a t e w h e n o y s t e r s w e r e
inrpurled fror-nthe Atlalttic Coast; both
o f t h e s c i n v a s i o r . r sb e g a n i n t h c l a te
1 8 0 0 s . S m o o t l - rc o r d g r a s sa n d c o m m o n
cordgrass were dclitrcrately plantcd ilt
S a n F r a n c i s c oB a y a n d P t r g c t S o u n d, r e s p e c t i v e l y ,t o h e l p s t a b i l i z e d i k e s a l o n g
s a l t r n a r s h e st h a t w c r e c o n v e r t c d t o a g r i c n l t u r e o r i n d u s t r y . I n a l l c a s e s ,a n a p p a r c n l l y s m a l l c h a n g e b r o u g h t a b o tr t b y
human indLlstry, had far-reacl'ringconseqLlences.Fortunately, the intportance
o l d e a l i r r g w i t h t h i s d a r r g e r o t r si n v asi ve
was recognized, and multirnillion dollar eradication efforts were launched in
Wasl.ringtonState and Califon-ria.What
is ur-rfoldingthere now is a rare thingan invasive speciessuccessstory.
PugetSound
Common cordgrass was introduced to
P u g e t S o u n d i n t h e 1 9 6 0 s f o r d i k e sta bilization and cattle forage. It quickly
began spreading, and by the end of
the century about 1,000 solid acres of
Puget Sound shoreline was infested.
Eradication efforts began in earnest in

A ugust2011 | S eaK ayaker 15

the late 1990s,with state and local crews

using a variety of control techniques.
Lots of hard work, many stuck trucks
o
and over a decade later, fewer than 20
o
c
acres of Spartina are left. The beaches
-c
aren't safe yet-while preferring muda
I!
flats and marshes, common cordgrass
can also grow in sand, cobble and gravel
dataona common
cordgrass Volunteers
Volunteer
EdAlmrecords
surveyBayviewSloughin northPuget
beaches-or anywhere in Puget Sound
Deltain northPuget
Sound.
clonein theRedRiver
5oundfor invasive
Spartina.
except rocky headlands. This means
that isolated plants could be scattered
along 2,500 miles of shoreline, pumping
\
out seed to drift the swift currents of the
\t
I
Sound and reinfect eradicated areas.
\,
This is where the sea kayaking community has stepped up to help out. The
regional environmental advocacy,education and restoration organization, People
For Puget Sound, has been working
with paddlers since 2007, recruiting and
training volunteers to conduct shoreline
surveys for invasive common cordgrass.
Many shorelines in Washington State
are privately owned, making them difficult to accesson foot. Additionally, this
area is characterized by vast, shallow
bays and river deltas that are challenging
to survey by small motorboats. I(ayaks,
with their shallow draft, are the ideal
craft to accesssuch shores. In four survey seasons,People For Puget Sound's
volunteer paddlers have patrolled over
c
250 miles of shoreline and located almost
c
c
5,000 square feet of invasive Spartina.
They have shown that kayakers often
find plants that were missed by trained SanFrancisco
(lSP)Manager,
ProjectMonitoring
Spartina
Program
IngridHogle,surveys
a treated
Invasive
surveyors-our ability to really hug the
for signsof newgrowthwithintheshorter,
follosa.
patchof hybridSpar-tina
moreuniformnativeSpartina
coastline makes all the difference. These
paddlers are demonstrating the importance of citizen scientists-trained volunteers who are working with researchers
to produce valuable, and valid, data.
Many paddlers appreciate that while
surveying, their time on the water is
more than recreation. Volunteer I(aren
Fletcher notes that kayakersand Spartina
share many favorite places: "Now when
I am walking or kayaking the coast,I am
looking for Spartina. This is a wonderful
program to participate in while paddling."
As kayakers, the waters around us are
part of our backyard. Says volunteer
Donna Totten, "I participate because it is
taking care of my neighborhood-I live in
view of [Puget Sound], and it's the same
as picking up garbage in the empty lot or
on the street, which of course I also do."
I(ayakers will once again be surveying
the shores of Puget Sound this summer;
in SanFrancisco
a largehybridclone(left)at theCorteMaderaEcological
Reserve
for more information or to volunteer, see IngridHoglemonitoring
the surrounding
marsh.
Bay.ThemuchshorteranduniformnativeS.foliosadominates
www.pugetsound.org.
\l

16 SeaKayakerI August2011

5an F ran ciscoBay

YOU CAN HELP:
The watersbelow and besiclethe iconic
Interested?
Want to get involvedin your areato help restoreor destrOySpartina?
GoldenGateBridgL'have
thc Inosttangled Paddlers
are neededto conductshoreline
surveys
in pugetsound,to be on t'helookof all Sparti'a webs t. tturavel'Thc Bay
out for invasiveSpartinain SanFrancisco
Bay,and to help restoresalt marshesin
is home to all Iive *",tj'.^::'t:1
Northcarolina,Galveston
Bay,and elsewhere
on the Aflanticand Gulf coasts.you
.:ll11ili
sIt'ci cs .Calilir r niac or d g r.rs stl,rt' rra ti v t'
are
encouraged
to
report
sightings,
but
it
is
important
to get trainedin identification,
spccies,
rencts
t. .ur,,ntr.^iir"-nri;;,,,;;;.;
Lookthroughthe list of Webpagesbelow
intcrridal,burstaysourotthevasr',rr,.tiiui, removaland disposalof invasivespecies.
in yOurarea:
rhal are so criricalto migratingseabirds fOrOppOrtUnitieS
anc'luther wildlifc. Sntoothcordgrass,
the
NATIONAL:
rnostprcvalerrtol the invasives'can Hr()w Restore
go to wwwestuaries.org
America's
Estuaries:
andclickon GetInvolved
to see
to twice tl-rcsize of tlte nativc, at lowcr
a mapof coastalrestoration
groupsfromaroundthe country'
ticicheigl.rrs
an.t ir-rctc,-rser
:i.,r;.r,"";';;
AND GULFCOASTS:
clisplacing
other marshvegetation.It gcts ATLANTIC
t.ncssier-trccause
NorthCarolinaCoastalFederation:www.nccoast.org
coaslalnranagersalso
havc to dcal with scaryhybrid SpartinaGulfof MexicoFoundation:
www.gulfmex.org
a cross betwecn the nativc California GalVeStOn
BayFOUndatiOn:
wWWgalVbay.Org
cordgrass
and invasivesntootlrcordgr.rss.
WESTCOAST:
BL ttw .ri t ,t ' v c r rnr es s it ' r'
!
Srrro
o tlcro rd u ra s s
neededfor SpartinaSurveysin Puget
esratrlishes
gra..scs, PeopleFor PugetSound:Volunteerkayakers
rhick anclrall st.rnrls,,t
Sound:
www.pugetsound'org
pcrlecthabiratlirr the end.rrrgcred
Rail. (That is, rrnril rhe cordgrass
BayInvasive
SpartinaProject:
spreads SanFrancisco
www.spartina.org
-lappcr
so thickly that it Iills in titlal chantrels
and
SaveThe
Bay:nativesaltmarshrestoration
in SanFrancisco
Bay:www.savesfbay.org
cl i u ri n a t c sinv c r t c t r r at e
p o p u l a ti rtn tl
s ' ra t
the rails dcpcncl utrtor-r
for lirod.) This leavcs rcscarchc.rswilh a
slcw ol pn rblcrns, su clt a s I t ow t o I D t he nat iv e v er s us h y b r i d
variclics, a nci ho w to rcplac c los t Clappc r Rail habit at w l t c n
slnooth c orclgra ssn tarshesar c c lir ninat ed.
Desl' ritc lh cst'ob sta cl es , gr c at pr ogr c s s has bc c n r t r a d c .
Snroot l-rcorclgra ss
g ol its s t ar t in t hc Bay in t lt c 1970s ,w h c n i t
was clelitrcra tcly p lan ted by t he U. S. Ar m y Cor ps ol Er . r g i n c c r s
as parl ol an expcrirncntal restoration ltrojcct. It sltrcaclrapidly,
ancl by 200 5,8 00 solid ac r c s ol nor . r nat iv cSpar t ina had c o n tarninale d San Fran cisc oBay . An c x t c r - r s iv cc r ac lic alionc l l i r r t
has beer r u ncler wa y lo r ov c r a dec ac lc ,and all nt ajor i n l e s tat i()ns ol srr-roo thcord gr as shav e it c c n c lint inat c d, alt h o t r g h
st ands an d isola tcd pa tc hc s ol s o c alled "c r y pt ic " hy t r r id s ,t h a t
ac1ancl ap pcar vcry sintilar t o t hc lt at iv c Calif or nia c or t l g r a s s ,
rcurain. In 20 10 , tltc San Fr anc is c oEs t uar y I nv as iv c Slt a r t i n a
Projccl mappcd 95 acrcs-an 80 perccnt clcclinc lrot-n ltcak
inlcst alion . Much o l thc 50, 000 ac r es t lt al ar e s ur v ey c d c a c l r
v r: ar arc p.rtro llccllry sca k ay ak ing biologis t s - and as c r a d i c a tion progrcsscs.rnd lur-rclinglcvcls are clccrc'asccl,
tltcrc ntay bc
..tIlt etl to cttga gcth c wic ler paddlir - r g
c 9r 1nr ulit y . F6r p9w , B a y
A rea p. r dtllcr-sslto ulcl chc c k out www. s par t ina. or g and l e a r n
about this irnp orta nt lo c al is s ue. Bc s r r r c t o c hc c k out l l t c i r
grcat F ie ld Iclcntificatio nG uide t hat der - uO ns t r at es
h( ) w t ( ) I D
nat ive and n on na tivc Sltar lina.
I n resea rch inctltis artic lc , I s pol< cwit h c ollc aguesin N o r t l - t
Carolina, Galveston , Sa n Fr ar r c is c o ar r d Seat t le- t his o n c
f amily of gra ssesh as a big ilnpac l her c in t he U. S. anc l w o r l d wide. I t is felt in son te o 1 or r r lav or it c plac esas paddler s - t l t e
cstuarics wh ere rve {.latlt c r1t l f is h, bir d- wat c h, or nt ay b e j u s t
watch tl'rc sur-r'sjountcy/ ovcr lhe sca. This story has showt-rus
tl-rcclc'licatebalance bctween our krve ol the coast and the intpact of industry ancl clevel<tprlent-and l]ow sccntingly sntall
changesto this systenrcan bring about great consequcnces.Ir-r
only a few decadcs,invasive cordgrasscsspread front one sr-nall
site to cover thousanclsof acresof shoreline on tl-rcWest Coast.
At the sarnetiu re, te ns o f t hous andsof ac r esof nat iv e Sp a r t i n a
salt rrarsh wcre lost front 1he Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. All
along these shorcs, efforts arc.under way to elintinate invasive
corclgrasses
and restorc tlte natives-and kayakers are doing
their part. Whilc. very different tacticsare beir-rgused, the slory
that is playing out olt either coast l-rasthe sanle nressage-the

vibranl, rich ccosyslcntsfound whc.re the land nlccts tl-rcsca

are wortl'r figl.rtingfor.
RachelBenbrookis a rastorationecologistwith peopleFor pullet SoLuld,
and has spentovera decadeworking ot1the water and in tlrc woodsofthe
islands of thc Nortltwest as (t sea kayak guide, environntentaleducator,
and feld biologist.Slte is still an islander, livinyl on beautiful Guentes
Islandwitlt lrcr twoyoutrg sorts.

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