State cypresses endangered

Georgia’s once-vast cypress forests are threatened by a growing demand for landscaping mulch, according to an environmental group’s list of the Southeast’s most imperiled natural areas.

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Cypress swamps logged recently in the Ebenezer Creek area of the Savannah River are among 2,000-plus acres of the habitat lost in the past two years.

In a top 10 list released Tues­day by the Southern Environ­mental Law Center, cypress forests and nine other habitats were characterized as facing “immediate, potentially irreversible” damage this year.

Many of Georgia’s remaining stands of mature cypress are along the Savannah River below Augusta, said Tonya Boni­ta­tibus, of Savannah Riverkeeper, which documents habitat changes.

“In the Savannah River watershed alone, and just in the last two years, we’ve lost more than 2,000 acres,” she said. “That is just what we have documented, and the actual amount could be much larger.”

Cypress trees, which grow in low-lying wetlands, are ecologically valuable to water quality and wildlife. The slow-growing, long-lived trees are difficult to replace after they are removed.

The spiraling demand for mulch is probably fueling the increased harvest of cypress, Bonitatibus said.

“Mulch is supposed to be a good way to use what is left over from timber,” she said. “But what we are seeing is that harvesting of cypress is not always correlated with the lumber industry, so we think it is more and more involving the mulching industry.”

Activists in other states have lobbied stores such as Lowe’s, Home Depot and Walmart to stop carrying cypress mulch and offer consumers alternative materials. The campaign has met with success in some areas, including Louisiana, she said.

Another option is to find ways to grow cypress in upland areas, away from water.

“It would be beneficial to find alternative ways to grow it,” she said, “where they can get cypress without taking it out of the wetlands.”

Associated Press reports were used in this article.