Assateague Island Seabeach Amaranth Survey Data — 2001 to 2018

Seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) is a plant species that was once prevalent on beaches of the U.S. mid-Atlantic coast but is now listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For much of the 20th century, seabeach amaranth was absent from the mid-Atlantic coast and thought to be extinct, presumably as a result of increased development and recreational pressure.  One region where there has been an effort to restore the seabeach amaranth population is Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), a National Park Service land holding located along the coasts of Maryland and Virginia.  Here, the Natural Resources staff at ASIS planted seabeach amaranth cultivars for three growing seasons from 1999 to 2001 to re-establish a wild population. To monitor the effectiveness of this restoration effort, the Natural Resources staff performed yearly surveys on Assateague Island to locate seabeach amaranth from 2001 to the present. The surveys were typically conducted during early August, when the presence of the plant could be monitored following the efforts to re-establish a population from earlier in the year. The surveys were conducted in coordination with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. In each survey, GPS was used to measure the location of each plant found while also tracking several parameters including: (1) plant size, (2) evidence of grazing by insects or ungulates (2005 and later), and whether the plant was protected by cages put in place by ASIS Natural Resources staff (2004 and later).