Harvesting Wetland Plants for Restoration & Propagation

Virginia has placed a requirement in the Code of Virginia that living shorelines are to be the default practice for shoreline armoring unless the best available science indicates that it is not feasible. The result has been an increase in demand for wetland plants often used in living shorelines, such as smooth cordgrass (spartina alterniflora), salt-meadow cordgrass (spartina patens), and black needlerush (juncus romerianus). Academic researchers have engaged in limited harvesting of marsh and wetland plants for propagation for coastal restoration research, but the legality of even limited harvesting from marshes per state law is unclear. In partnership with researchers at Norfolk State University, Old Dominion University, and ODU’s Institute for Coastal Adaptation & Resilience (ICAR), this project examines current Virginia law to assess where these ambiguities currently lie, identify an existing allowable “scope” of harvesting, and determine potential recommendations on clarifying existing language and/or updating statutes to allow for efficient, but environmentally conscious, harvesting of both plugs and seeds for increased propagation at first an academic scale, and potential a commercial one in a future phase of analysis.

• People and Entities Involved Outside W&M:
  • Taylor Sloey, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University
  • Erik Yando, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences, Old Dominion University
  • Andrew Larkin, Assistant Director for Engagement, ODU Institute for Coastal Adaptation & Resilience
  • Stephen Via, Associate Professor of Biology, Norfolk State University
  • Maddison Shwarz, University of Richmond Law School J.D. Candidate (Spring 2026)
• People & Entities at W&M Involved:
  • Thomas Ruppert, VCRC Director
  • Cameron Bruce, VCRC Assistant Director
  • Madeleine Fernandez, W&M Environment & Sustainability, Biology; Class of 2027 (Spring 2026)