Oregon's 1910 Grass Planting Transformed Pacific Northwest Coast

In 1910, Oregon planted European beachgrass to stabilize shifting sand dunes along its coast. This effort successfully stopped sand movement but drastically altered the coastline. A 2012 Ecology study found that the Pacific Northwest coast changed from open, shifting dunes to dense grassy ridges due to two non-native beachgrasses. These dunes now cover about 45% of the coastline, reshaping the region's landscape over the past century.

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