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Project Summary

Naval Postgraduate School Dune Restoration

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1. Project Identification

Name Naval Postgraduate School Dune Restoration
Region Southwest
State CA
Location  
Date of this update  

2. Problem(s) addressed (check one or more)

Habitat Restoration/Protection  
Wetlands
River systems
Beaches/Dunes
Offshore areas
Mangroves
Assisting Species at Risk
Pollution Mitigation
Non-Point Source Pollution
Other (describe)  

3. Project Description (100 words or less. Please include qualitative information, e.g. acres of habitat restored, miles of steam reopened to migration, and legislative authorization, e.g. WRDA, ISTEA, CWA/NEP, CZMA, etc.)

This $295,000 project was jointly funded by the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval Facilities Engineering Command through their respective natural resources management programs. The City of Monterey, California accepted the funding and implemented the work through the City Parks Department. The City of Monterey has the responsibility for managing these coastal beaches and the Navy felt, as part of its "good neighbor" policy, that such a collaborative effort to restore the native plant community was worth undertaking. The project was required after a severe winter freeze in 1991 that left approximately 44 acres of coastal dunes without any protective vegetative cover. The vegetation that had existed was a combination of exotic plants, primarily iceplant, that could not, ironically, tolerate the freezing temperatures experienced that year. Thus, without its protective vegetative cover, the sand dunes were in jeopardy of shifting and causing severe damage to the NPS facilities and to adjacent private property.

With funding secured the City of Monterey and the Naval Postgraduate School agreed on the project scope and its implementation. Over 150,000 seedlings have been planted, representing 26 species of native dune vegetation and all exotic vegetation was removed using volunteers from the Monterey Dune Coalition and the Big Sur Land Trust. Only native plants were used to enhance the habitat for the endangered species known to frequent the area, specifically, smith=s blue butterfly, the black legless lizard as well as the dune gilia, Gilia tenuiflora ssp. arenaria, an annual herb of foredunes and coastal scrub communities. Additionally, the use of native plant material would minimize the reoccurrence of vegetative loss on the dunes should another freeze occur. The project has been endorsed by the California Coastal Commission, the FWS, the Monterey Dune Coalition, the Big Sur Land Trust and the California Native Plant Society (for its use of native plant material in the restoration of a coastal dune bluff ecosystem).

4. Goals/Benefits (quantify where possible using measures of success list) Was a cost-benefit study conducted for this project? yes/no If yes, provide a summary of findings.

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5. Partners (include each participant's responsibilities - funding, permitting, etc.)

6. Funding/Contributions (organization and amount)

7. Legislative authorities used by each participant

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8. Value added by Coastal America Partnership including Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) goals achieved through this collaboration (500 words or less)

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9. Project Status

Initiation date  
Completion date  
Current stage  

10. Contacts

11. Any additional information/comments

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This page was last updated on Saturday, 24-Jun-2000 11:48:49 EDT
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comments to lawrencea@fas.usda.gov