Worry over wetlands: the environment and the economy face a crisis in Louisiana's wetlands.

• Author: Savage, Melissa

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

For more than 200 years, the wetlands along the coast of Louisiana have been melting into the Gulf of Mexico. Today the area is shrinking at the rate of one football field every 30 minutes.

What people in Louisiana have known for years has only recently started making its way into the consciousness of the rest of the country.

"The people of Louisiana are very aware of the storm protection a healthy wetland can provide," says Susan Kaderka with the National Wildlife Federation. "Beyond the storm protection, the wetland is home to millions of migratory birds, fish and other animals. Sadly, the wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate."

It's not as though the plight of the wetlands has been ignored by everyone. Researchers have long recognized the peril, and federal legislation and conservation projects have tried to grapple with the problem. But it took two devastating hurricanes to focus attention and spur action by lawmakers and others that may finally make a difference--to both the unfolding environmental crisis and the deteriorating state of crucial energy infrastructure.

Unlike in Las Vegas, what happens in Louisiana doesn't stay in Louisiana. The ecosystem that forms the wetlands has tentacles that reach into most of the nation.

The Mississippi River drains water from 31 states and two Canadian provinces. The watershed stretches from western New York to parts of Montana and south from Minnesota through Louisiana. As the Mississippi flows to the Gulf of Mexico, it takes with it sediment and other natural materials that sustain and create land in the wetlands. Without human interference, the river would naturally flood in spring and summer, providing nourishment to the existing wetlands and depositing new terrain.

ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AT RISK

In 1927, the Mississippi River flooded 27,000 square miles and caused $400 million in damage in seven states. In the aftermath, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designed a system of levees to offer flood protection to homes, farms and people living in New Orleans. A key unintended consequence of the levees was that the redirection of the river cut off the wetlands from the natural process they needed to survive.

Today, hundreds of coastal restoration projects are underway in the wetlands of Louisiana. Restoration involves a variety of efforts, all intended to stop the dramatic land loss that has occurred since the Mississippi River was redirected and its load of silt sent toward deep water. Generally speaking, the projects focus on reconnecting the river to the delta, removing some channels and other structures, and moving dredge spoils to areas that will bolster wetlands and build up barrier islands. Others include restoring natural coastal habitats so migratory birds and fish are able safely to return to their winter homes.

If the wetlands had been healthy when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit, some researchers say, they would have provided a natural barrier and protection to the city of New Orleans. The city would have flooded, but far less damage would have occurred.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

But the wetlands weren't healthy, and disaster played out. The silver lining is renewed attention to the problem. Even that attention, though, will not lead to change without "intervention on the part of the federal government," says King Milling, president of the America's WETLAND Foundation.

The foundation, established in 2002, is a group of elected officials, environmentalists, academics, business representatives and government agencies working to raise awareness about the plight of the wetlands. One message the foundation is trying to get across in Louisiana and across the country is that the situation went from bad to worse after the 2005 hurricanes.

"During Rita and Katrina, the coast of Louisiana lost some 200 square miles," says Sidney Coffee of the foundation. "It was an urgent situation before the storms. Now you can imagine."

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Wetland areas in general are among the most productive habitats on Earth, providing food and shelter for fish, birds and other species...