About Us

Research

Faculty

Publications

S.C. Prescribed Fire Council

Partners

Contact Us

DATE: 05-16-07

CONTACT: Chuck Gresham, Baruch Institute, 843-546-6314, cgrshm@clemson.edu

WRITER: Stephanie Beard, 843-546-1013, sLbeard@clemson.edu

Photo courtesy of Betsy Brabson/Beach Vitex Task Force

BARUCH INSTITUTE AWARDED DUNE RESTORATION GRANT

For South Carolina dunes infested with beach vitex, sometimes called the “kudzu of the beach,” more help is on the way. This week, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the recipients of its Private Stewardship Grants Program, and local forest researcher Dr. Chuck Gresham is among those awarded funds. Gresham is a faculty member at Clemson’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science at Hobcaw Barony. As part of the Beach Vitex Task Force, he has been instrumental in eradicating the invasive species from almost 20,000 square meters on 75 beachfront lots in Georgetown and Charleston counties. The $135,000 grant will allow removal of vitex and replanting of native dune vegetation on 71 additional parcels. The goal of the Private Stewardship Grants Program is to help private landowners manage their land to benefit rare and endangered species. Dr. Gresham’s work is important for promoting nesting habitat for sea turtles, which are all federally listed as either threatened or endangered in South Carolina. When female sea turtles come ashore to lay eggs, they abort their attempt to dig a nest if they encounter vitex at the base of the dune.

Gresham’s field technicians have already identified the next properties they would like to target, but have not contacted the property owners yet. These priority lots have been evaluated for level of vitex infestation and accessibility to infested areas. It costs approximately $1500 per lot to remove the vitex and replant native dune grasses. The labor intensive process takes place in four stages. First, the highest priority areas are identified and evaluated, and written permission from the property owner is obtained. Next, field crews use a machete to wound larger vitex stems. An herbicide is dabbed into the wound, and the area is left alone for four months. After four months, the dead stems are sawed off at ground level so that there is minimal disturbance to the dune. The debris is chipped up into mulch and hauled away. The final phase of work involves hand-planting sea oats and bitter panicum, which are naturally occurring species that trap sand and build dunes. Stable dunes allow sea turtles to excavate nests for laying eggs.

The Private Stewardship Grants funding allows Dr. Gresham to expand the search for vitex infested beaches all along South Carolina’s coast, instead of focusing only on Georgetown and Charleston counties. Property owners who have been chosen for this round of treatments should expect to be contacted this summer.