Thus, even minor beach traffic directly across the plants during the growing season is detrimental, causing mortality and reduced seed production. Even during the growing season, pedestrian traffic generally has little effect on populations of seabeach amaranth. Many beaches with daily use by thousands of sunbathers, joggers, and other recreation enthusiasts have substantial and apparently healthy populations of seabeach amaranth. The main exceptions appear to be in the vicinity of high-rise hotels or condominiums, where beach usage is concentrated and portions of amaranth populations are sometimes eliminated or reduced by repeated trampling. The general compatibility of human pedestrian recreation enthusiasts and seabeach amaranth lies in their preferences for different parts of the beach.
Joggers inevitably prefer packed sand and stay seaward of amaranth.
The great majority of sunbathers prefer to be close to the water and away from beach vegetation, so they generally choose sites seaward of those favored by amaranth. While pedestrian traffic appears to be a minor problem in the Carolinas for seabeach amaranth, it is possible that the heavier traffic borne by northern beaches near major population centers may have been partially responsible for the extirpation of seabeach amaranth in those regions. Breadth of beach can minimize impacts, however. This information was modified slightly from the original source for presentation as html documents. The fees for recovery plans vary, depending on the number of pages.