US seed collection, replanting project focuses on coastal areas damaged in superstorm

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – Vast stretches of the tall grasses that dot the Atlantic coast were destroyed during Superstorm Sandy, removing a vital protective buffer for the region's shoreline.

Now, the New England Wild Flower Society and its partners are planning to collect the seeds of native plants like saltmarsh rush and little bluestem and replant them in areas battered by the deadly 2012 storm.

The $2.3 million project will help make these habitats more resilient to future storms, especially the coastal areas that act as a buffer during storms, the Society said. For inland states, the seeds will be used to help restore river banks in areas that flooded extensively during Sandy.

The two-year project is the first large-scale, coordinated, seed banking effort in the Eastern United States. It is part of the Seeds of Success program, a national initiative the Bureau of Land Management first established in 2001. Wildlife refuges in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island are participating in the New England collection effort.

The Society's partners, North Carolina Botanical Garden and Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank, part of the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, will collect and distribute seeds in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and New York.

Bill Brumback, conservation director for New England Wild Flower Society, said he and his team are collecting seeds from inland areas of wildlife refuges and replanting them near the coast.