Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: As hurricanes devastate coastal communities, planners could have saved lives and property by conserving and protecting native plant communities.

September 25, 2017

 

There is one aspect of the tragedies of hurricanes Harvey and Irma that has been largely overlooked by the media. Much damage could have been prevented by conservation of natural areas and native plant communities.

 

Conservation and restoration of native plant communities may be the most cost-effective methods of flood and storm protection.  Native plants have repeatedly been shown to be cheaper and work much better than human-made flood control structures such as seawalls, concrete detention ponds and spillways.

 

In fact, a 2016 article in the Houston Chronicle cited the ability of native prairies to weaken and absorb floodwaters. It proposed the creation of “neighborhood greenways” of native plantings as well as  “upgrades to Houston’s green infrastructure — its forests, prairies, wetlands, and bays”  because these systems “provide cost-effective and efficient ways to help manage [storms and floods] while reducing the need to invest so heavily in traditional structural improvements.”

 

A study by the University of California Santa Cruz and others supports this approach. The 2016 study of the impacts of hurricane Sandy found that conservation of coastal marshes and other native plant communities prevented more than $600 million in damage to East Coast communities fortunate (or well-prepared) enough to be near such protected natural areas.

 

In short, native plant communities absorb both storm energy and storm water; pavement and rooftops absorb neither.

 

The Obama administration attempted to act on these findings. The National Seed Strategy allocated funding to NPCC Affiliates New Engaland Wild Flower Society, North Carolina Botanical Garden and others to propagate local native plants for restoration of coastal wetlands after Hurricane Sandy.

 

Unfortunately, these proposals and findings were not acted upon by Houston, Florida, or most other hurricane vulnerable areas. In Houston, the largest U.S. city without any zoning laws, wetlands, prairies and other natural areas are being paved at breakneck pace.

 

According to the Washington Post, since 2015, the population of Harris County (Houston and suburbs) has grown 42 percent. As the population grew, the city paved the native plant communities that had served as “natural sponges” during floods. Between 1992 and 2010, 30 percent of the county’s coastal prairie wetlands were paved.

 

Florida tells a similar tale, according to an article in the Intercept. Six years ago Governor Rick Scott cut funding for water management and ecosystem restoration by $700 million and replaced many of the scientists managing wetland programs with more development friendly businesspeople. Around the same time, Scott signed the state legislature’s repeal of the state’s 1985 growth management law, leading to a spike in development. As a result, mangroves forests and wetlands that previously protected the state from storm surges and absorbed floodwaters have been lost, according to the New York Times.

 

More Information on native plants and storm protection is available on the Ecosystem Services section of the NPCC web page.

 

NOTE: The role of accelerating climate change in intensifying these megastorms is another scientific issue that has gotten short shrift from the media. Studies by Public Citizen and Media Matters found that, with a few exceptions (CNN, Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, NY Times), few media outlets discussed climate change in their hurricane coverage. ABC and NBC made no mention of climate science at all.

 

But evidence of worsening storms is mounting and has important implications. According to the Washington Post, Harvey was the third "500 year storm" (i.e. a storm so large it is expected to occur only once in 500 years) that has hit Houston in the past three years.

 

What were once 100 or 500 year events may now be expected much more often. Conservation and restoration of native plant communities such as Mangroves, prairies and wetlands must be part of the response.