LA County used to be covered in vegetated dunes like these – credit, Annie Spratt, unsplash
A group in Los Angeles is ensuring that the city’s famous beaches retain enough nature to protect wildlife and the city from harsher storms.
“Your beach is still your beach, only better.” That was Tom Ford’s message to any Angelinos who might be indignant at the sight on his nonprofit staking out and roping off big squares of Santa Monica Beach sand.
It’s part of The Bay Foundation‘s effort to rebuild the ecosystems of Southern California’s dune landscapes, lost, but not forgotten.
If you’ve never seen vegetated and wild coastal sand dunes bloom in springtime, you’re missing out on exactly what Ford is describing—a better beach.
So far the Bay Foundation has helped restore 8 acres of natural dunes on the Santa Monica beaches by creating big patches of vegetated sand halfway between the ocean and the coastal road.
“The native plants provide that habitat value for native wildlife. So, if you want to have endangered El Segundo blue butterflies, you need Sea Cliff Buckwheat, which is the plant that they count on,” Ford told CBS news.
As the plants grow and take root in the sand, grains blown about by the ocean wind catch and build up on the plants. These then must grow taller, allowing for more surface area, more sand, and higher dunes.
BETTER BEACHES, WORLDWIDE:
Higher vegetated dunes can reduce the impact of storm surges by absorbing wave energy, slowing erosion, and protecting coastal real estate. Early response to the 8 natural acres has been positive, and the Coastal Commission has permitted an additional 30 acres of natural dune creation all the way down to Venice Beach.
Unlike seawalls which protect only what’s behind them, these natural dunes protect what’s in front of them. And what’s in front of them is what helped make LA so famous—a “non-optional” feature of priceless necessity for the city and county, Ford says.
“We work extremely hard with the lifeguards, with the police, with the sports groups, with the various clubs down here to make sure that all that space for those activities is preserved,” Ford said. “Your beach is still your beach, only better.”
WATCH the story below from CBS News…
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