Crains New York - July 15, 2013 - (Page 5)

SMALL BUSINESS Dune restoration depends on a plant that’s in short supply BY GALE SCOTT S and dunes played a heroic role in Superstorm Sandy, absorbing the waves’ destructive energy in places where these huge sand piles were well maintained. But efforts across New York and Long Island to restore the dunes and create new ones for protection against another such event are being held up by a national shortage of beach grass. Because of post-Sandy demand up and down the Atlantic Seaboard for the rugged plant, known to botanists as Ammophila breviligulata, several towns have had to call off replanting their dunes, wholesalers are turning away sales orders, and even the federal Department of Agriculture supplier used by New York and New Jersey has run out. “I got a call months ago from a wholesaler on Long Island who needed 1.5 million plants,” said Christopher Miller, manager of the USDA’s plant-materials center in Cape May, N.J. “We didn’t have anywhere near that many.” The federal center had 325,000 stems of beach grass on hand and sent them out to five states, he said.“Just a drop in the bucket.” The tenacious plant, PERCENTAGE OF which is a naBEACHES AND tive of the DUNE HABITATS on Long Island windswept Sound and in the beaches of Cape Hudson/Raritan/ Cod and wholeJamaica Bay region that sales for less than suffered moderate $1 for a twoto high damage inch plug, is sudfrom Superstorm Sandy denly a hot commodity, and demand is likely PORTION OF NEW to pick up. 50%+ 65% JERSEY’S beaches and dunes that High demand suffered similar At Peat & damage Source: American Littoral Son, a wholeSociety, December 2012 report saler in Westhampton, N.Y., salesman Scott Colao said that despite growing its own beach grass, “we have a hard time meeting demand” and had to turn down a large order from state-run Jones Beach. Fortunately for New York City, the staff of the Department of Parks and Recreation’s Greenbelt Native Plant Center astutely predicted demand,buying what it could find earlier this year. The center now has 25,000 beach-grass plants potted up. But it is keeping them off the market for now, waiting for the plants to multiply. “They seem to be doing well— we’ll get six plants out of each one, then we’ll hold another 25,000 back and let them grow,” said Ed Toth, the center’s director. The facility, located on Staten Island near the former Fresh Kills landfill, has limited growing space but is trying to get permission to grow the plants on city-owned land at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, he said, to boost production. Though the center sells plants to commercial wholesalers, the city is likely to get a large share of its stock of the grass. According to Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s June 11 report, “A Stronger, More Resilient New York,” the best protection against another superstorm or hurricane is replenishing and replanting dunes in the Rockaways and Jamaica Bay. buck ennis Beach-grass shortage slows Sandy recovery efforts WATCHING GRASS GROW: City officials must wait for crucial plants to multiply. The 455-page document credits dunes as “possibly saving lives” in stretches of the Rockaways. Dune replanting postponed According to Mr. Miller, though other plants can be planted in the sand, beach grass is the only species that will actually help the dunes to increase in size. “It actually likes to grow in blowing sand,” he said. “It even does better when it’s covered with sand.” Meanwhile, though many staterun beaches on Long Island have managed to find enough beach grass to replenish their dunes, several smaller towns are concerned about what would happen if there is a big storm before they can get more beach grass. In Fire Island Pines, Bob Howard, a real estate agent and volunteer conservationist, said an annual community dune replanting had to be postponed because the nursery under contract couldn’t supply the plants. “There is indeed a shortage,” he said. Ⅲ To sign up for Crain’s SMALL BUSINESS newsletter, go to www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz. July 15, 2013 | Crain’s New York Business | 5 http://www.crainsnewyork.com/smallbiz http://www.peoples.com http://www.peoples.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - July 15, 2013

Crains New York - July 15, 2013
IN THE BOROUGHS
IN THE MARKETS
SMALL BUSINESS
THE INSIDER
BUSINESS PEOPLE
OPINION
STEVE HINDY
GREG DAVID
REAL ESTATE DEALS
REPORT: HEALTH CARE
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR THE RECORD
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
SOURCE LUNCH
OUT AND ABOUT
SNAPS

Crains New York - July 15, 2013