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About 300 years ago, more than 221 million acres of wetlands, roughly
twice the size of California, spread over what became the 48 contiguous
states. According to the Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous
United States From 1998 to 2004, an assessment published by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, wetland acreage in the lower 48 states shrunk to 107.7
million acres, less than half of the original total.
In a 300-mile wide belt along the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana contains about
40 percent of the coastal wetlands in the United States and 25 percent of the
total wetlands in the country, but suffers 80 percent of the wetland losses.
Nowhere does land disappear faster than southeastern Louisiana, particularly
in the 4.1-million-acre Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary between the Mississippi
and Atchafalaya rivers. On a recent trip to Barataria, I noticed huge gaps in
places where I had fished right before Katrina hit. Quite often, we threw lures
to patches of grass in open water as much as 30 yards away from the
shoreline. These grass clumps clinging to life marked the shoreline not so
long ago.
In 2005, a year after the USFWS published its survey, Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita ripped out more than 200 square miles of coastal marsh in two huge
gulps, said John Barras, a U.S. Geological Survey geographer. In 2008,
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike further damaged the fragile wetlands of coastal
Louisiana. Each square mile of marsh lowers a storm surge by about one foot.
“From 1984 to 2004, Louisiana lost about 12 square miles of wetlands
each year,” Barras said. “After the 2005 hurricanes, that figure jumped to
about 15 square miles a year. Coastal Louisiana lost 1,300 square miles
between 1956 and 2006.”
About 15 square miles per year equals 1.25 square miles, or 800 acres,
per month and 26.3 acres lost per day. A square miles contains about 640
acres. A football field contains about 1.32 acres, so a football field of marsh
disappears from Louisiana nearly every hour of every day.
By siphoning topsoil from 41 percent of the contiguous United States and
parts of two Canadian provinces, the Mississippi River built the Louisiana
wetlands. Draining 1.245 million square miles, the Mississippi River Valley
includes all or parts of 31 states. The combined Missouri and Mississippi
rivers flow 3,995 miles from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.
For centuries, the silt-laden Mississippi River flooded regularly, depositing
unimaginable tons of mud stolen from lands between the Rockies and the
Appalachians into adjacent low areas. Eventually, that silt compacted into soil
that could support plant life. Although loose delta muck subsided, new floods
periodically deposited more layers for a net land gain. Today, subsidence
continues, but levees and other structures contain the Mississippi River in an
attempt to prevent flooding.
In addition, the majority of silt carried down the Mississippi once originated
in the Missouri River. The Missouri River and its tributaries scoured the Great
Plains after every storm, but dams along the Missouri now trap silt so that
barely a fraction reaches the Mississippi. Most of what does reach the lower
Mississippi dumps over the edge of the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The sediment supply in the Mississippi River has been significantly
reduced,” said Tom Doyle, a USGS ecologist with the National Wetlands
Research Center in Lafayette, La. “Other places along the Gulf Coast have
major river deltas, but they don’t have the problems found in the Louisiana
delta. The subsidence problem in the Mississippi River delta is three to 10
times greater than problems in other North American deltas.”
Besides subsidence, natural and artificial erosion tears apart coastal
wetlands. Ship channels dug for commercial navigation cut wide swaths
through the marshes, often allowing saltier water to penetrate farther inland.
The influx of salty water kills many plants species whose root systems hold
loose marsh soils together.
Oil and gas extraction exacerbates land subsidence. Land that once
“floated” on a reservoir of petroleum sinks as the liquid level drops, much like
a cork floating in a draining tub. Moreover, oil companies dug numerous
canals to get at the black gold beneath the ooze or to pipe it elsewhere. The
channels and canals break solid blocks of land into small parcels subject to
the whims of tides. Today, more than 11,000 miles of pipeline and oil field
service canals crisscross Louisiana. Untold miles of canals dug for logging,
drainage or other reasons tear additional chunks from the marshes.
On the plus side, several diversion projects at Caernarvon, Davis Pond
and other places along the lower Mississippi River put more fresh water into
brackish systems. Openings in some levees also allow more river water to flow
naturally into delta wetlands. Although not a primary goal of most diversion
projects, some silt pours through openings.
“Diversions are more for adding fresh water into salty systems to make
them more like what they once were instead of putting sediment into those
systems for land building,” explained Heather Warner-Finley of the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “In areas with diversions, marsh grasses
are much more green and healthy. We see more solid strands of grasses
instead of broken marshes.”
Freshwater diversions also spark considerable controversy. An influx of
fresh river water could displace or even kill some marine species. People
upset over changes occurring near diversions frequently ignite lengthy and
costly legal battles.
“There are no simple fixes,” Warner-Finley explains. “The Mississippi River
and the delta marshes are extremely complex systems. Over the years, we’ve
dammed, straightened and moved the Mississippi River. How do we restore
the natural hydrology without affecting people? We can’t. If we fix one
problem, we might create several more.”
Left alone, a river like the Mississippi can create marshes, as evident by
the land forming almost daily in the Atchafalaya River Delta. The Atchafalaya,
which means “Long River” in Choctaw, actually breaks off from the Red River
near Simmesport, La, where the Red joins the Mississippi. Today, a series of
canals and water control structures keep the three rivers from directly
meeting, but the U.S. Corps of Engineers allows about 30 percent of the
Mississippi River flow to wash down the Atchafalaya. Relatively unimpeded,
the Atchafalaya River flows southwest for 142 miles to enter the Gulf of
Mexico through two major openings south of Morgan City where the rich flow
creates a vibrant natural delta.
“The Atchafalaya River builds about half a square mile of marshes each
year in its delta and has been for years,” Barras said. “That delta is what the
Mississippi River was like years ago.”
During the great flood of 1973, the Mississippi River threatened to swallow
the Atchafalaya by washing away a major control structure. Only a massive
effort prevented the Mississippi River from changing course. If the Mississippi
had changed course down the Atchafalaya bed, it would have cut 173 miles
off the 315 miles it now flows between Simmesport and the Gulf of Mexico.
About every thousand years, the Mississippi cuts a shorter route to the
Gulf. When it changes course, it builds a rich new delta each time. Sometimes
dubbed “nature’s kidneys,” wetlands filter harmful elements and chemicals out
of water systems. Wetlands also store carbon in plants and the soil instead of
releasing it to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Nutrient-rich water in wetlands helps create the foundation for life. Delta
systems rank among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Directly or
indirectly, coastal wetlands provide the basis for life for many marine and
estuarine species. The marshes provide the nursery grounds for numerous
forage species such as shrimp, menhaden, crabs and juvenile fish. These
species feed larger predators. In addition, many major game fish, such as
redfish, grow up in or near the marshes before heading offshore as adults.
“Wetlands provide important habitats that support the large recreational
and commercial fishing industries,” Doyle said. “The healthier the wetlands
are, the greater the diversity and abundance of the fisheries they support.”
The river delta marshes help make the Gulf of Mexico one of the richest
fisheries on earth. Fish and shellfish largely dependent upon coastal wetlands
supply about 75 percent of the total annual seafood harvest in the United
States. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the combined fish
and shellfish harvest from the five Gulf states equals nearly 20 percent of the
total U.S. domestic landings, second only to Alaska. The Gulf states also
account for about 40 percent of the recreational finfish landings in the
country. Recreational anglers contribute billions of dollars each year to the
economy.
For more than 200 years, humans attempted to control the Mississippi
River and its tributaries. However, humans can never control the great river,
only temporarily and partially restrain it. Therefore, we must learn to preserve
and restore whatever we can, wherever we can to keep this vital economic
and ecological system functioning as God intended. Wherever possible, we
literally need to let nature take its course.
twice the size of California, spread over what became the 48 contiguous
states. According to the Status and Trends of Wetlands in the Conterminous
United States From 1998 to 2004, an assessment published by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, wetland acreage in the lower 48 states shrunk to 107.7
million acres, less than half of the original total.
In a 300-mile wide belt along the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana contains about
40 percent of the coastal wetlands in the United States and 25 percent of the
total wetlands in the country, but suffers 80 percent of the wetland losses.
Nowhere does land disappear faster than southeastern Louisiana, particularly
in the 4.1-million-acre Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary between the Mississippi
and Atchafalaya rivers. On a recent trip to Barataria, I noticed huge gaps in
places where I had fished right before Katrina hit. Quite often, we threw lures
to patches of grass in open water as much as 30 yards away from the
shoreline. These grass clumps clinging to life marked the shoreline not so
long ago.
In 2005, a year after the USFWS published its survey, Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita ripped out more than 200 square miles of coastal marsh in two huge
gulps, said John Barras, a U.S. Geological Survey geographer. In 2008,
Hurricanes Gustav and Ike further damaged the fragile wetlands of coastal
Louisiana. Each square mile of marsh lowers a storm surge by about one foot.
“From 1984 to 2004, Louisiana lost about 12 square miles of wetlands
each year,” Barras said. “After the 2005 hurricanes, that figure jumped to
about 15 square miles a year. Coastal Louisiana lost 1,300 square miles
between 1956 and 2006.”
About 15 square miles per year equals 1.25 square miles, or 800 acres,
per month and 26.3 acres lost per day. A square miles contains about 640
acres. A football field contains about 1.32 acres, so a football field of marsh
disappears from Louisiana nearly every hour of every day.
By siphoning topsoil from 41 percent of the contiguous United States and
parts of two Canadian provinces, the Mississippi River built the Louisiana
wetlands. Draining 1.245 million square miles, the Mississippi River Valley
includes all or parts of 31 states. The combined Missouri and Mississippi
rivers flow 3,995 miles from the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico.
For centuries, the silt-laden Mississippi River flooded regularly, depositing
unimaginable tons of mud stolen from lands between the Rockies and the
Appalachians into adjacent low areas. Eventually, that silt compacted into soil
that could support plant life. Although loose delta muck subsided, new floods
periodically deposited more layers for a net land gain. Today, subsidence
continues, but levees and other structures contain the Mississippi River in an
attempt to prevent flooding.
In addition, the majority of silt carried down the Mississippi once originated
in the Missouri River. The Missouri River and its tributaries scoured the Great
Plains after every storm, but dams along the Missouri now trap silt so that
barely a fraction reaches the Mississippi. Most of what does reach the lower
Mississippi dumps over the edge of the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico.
“The sediment supply in the Mississippi River has been significantly
reduced,” said Tom Doyle, a USGS ecologist with the National Wetlands
Research Center in Lafayette, La. “Other places along the Gulf Coast have
major river deltas, but they don’t have the problems found in the Louisiana
delta. The subsidence problem in the Mississippi River delta is three to 10
times greater than problems in other North American deltas.”
Besides subsidence, natural and artificial erosion tears apart coastal
wetlands. Ship channels dug for commercial navigation cut wide swaths
through the marshes, often allowing saltier water to penetrate farther inland.
The influx of salty water kills many plants species whose root systems hold
loose marsh soils together.
Oil and gas extraction exacerbates land subsidence. Land that once
“floated” on a reservoir of petroleum sinks as the liquid level drops, much like
a cork floating in a draining tub. Moreover, oil companies dug numerous
canals to get at the black gold beneath the ooze or to pipe it elsewhere. The
channels and canals break solid blocks of land into small parcels subject to
the whims of tides. Today, more than 11,000 miles of pipeline and oil field
service canals crisscross Louisiana. Untold miles of canals dug for logging,
drainage or other reasons tear additional chunks from the marshes.
On the plus side, several diversion projects at Caernarvon, Davis Pond
and other places along the lower Mississippi River put more fresh water into
brackish systems. Openings in some levees also allow more river water to flow
naturally into delta wetlands. Although not a primary goal of most diversion
projects, some silt pours through openings.
“Diversions are more for adding fresh water into salty systems to make
them more like what they once were instead of putting sediment into those
systems for land building,” explained Heather Warner-Finley of the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “In areas with diversions, marsh grasses
are much more green and healthy. We see more solid strands of grasses
instead of broken marshes.”
Freshwater diversions also spark considerable controversy. An influx of
fresh river water could displace or even kill some marine species. People
upset over changes occurring near diversions frequently ignite lengthy and
costly legal battles.
“There are no simple fixes,” Warner-Finley explains. “The Mississippi River
and the delta marshes are extremely complex systems. Over the years, we’ve
dammed, straightened and moved the Mississippi River. How do we restore
the natural hydrology without affecting people? We can’t. If we fix one
problem, we might create several more.”
Left alone, a river like the Mississippi can create marshes, as evident by
the land forming almost daily in the Atchafalaya River Delta. The Atchafalaya,
which means “Long River” in Choctaw, actually breaks off from the Red River
near Simmesport, La, where the Red joins the Mississippi. Today, a series of
canals and water control structures keep the three rivers from directly
meeting, but the U.S. Corps of Engineers allows about 30 percent of the
Mississippi River flow to wash down the Atchafalaya. Relatively unimpeded,
the Atchafalaya River flows southwest for 142 miles to enter the Gulf of
Mexico through two major openings south of Morgan City where the rich flow
creates a vibrant natural delta.
“The Atchafalaya River builds about half a square mile of marshes each
year in its delta and has been for years,” Barras said. “That delta is what the
Mississippi River was like years ago.”
During the great flood of 1973, the Mississippi River threatened to swallow
the Atchafalaya by washing away a major control structure. Only a massive
effort prevented the Mississippi River from changing course. If the Mississippi
had changed course down the Atchafalaya bed, it would have cut 173 miles
off the 315 miles it now flows between Simmesport and the Gulf of Mexico.
About every thousand years, the Mississippi cuts a shorter route to the
Gulf. When it changes course, it builds a rich new delta each time. Sometimes
dubbed “nature’s kidneys,” wetlands filter harmful elements and chemicals out
of water systems. Wetlands also store carbon in plants and the soil instead of
releasing it to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.
Nutrient-rich water in wetlands helps create the foundation for life. Delta
systems rank among the most productive ecosystems in the world. Directly or
indirectly, coastal wetlands provide the basis for life for many marine and
estuarine species. The marshes provide the nursery grounds for numerous
forage species such as shrimp, menhaden, crabs and juvenile fish. These
species feed larger predators. In addition, many major game fish, such as
redfish, grow up in or near the marshes before heading offshore as adults.
“Wetlands provide important habitats that support the large recreational
and commercial fishing industries,” Doyle said. “The healthier the wetlands
are, the greater the diversity and abundance of the fisheries they support.”
The river delta marshes help make the Gulf of Mexico one of the richest
fisheries on earth. Fish and shellfish largely dependent upon coastal wetlands
supply about 75 percent of the total annual seafood harvest in the United
States. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, the combined fish
and shellfish harvest from the five Gulf states equals nearly 20 percent of the
total U.S. domestic landings, second only to Alaska. The Gulf states also
account for about 40 percent of the recreational finfish landings in the
country. Recreational anglers contribute billions of dollars each year to the
economy.
For more than 200 years, humans attempted to control the Mississippi
River and its tributaries. However, humans can never control the great river,
only temporarily and partially restrain it. Therefore, we must learn to preserve
and restore whatever we can, wherever we can to keep this vital economic
and ecological system functioning as God intended. Wherever possible, we
literally need to let nature take its course.
Louisiana loses about a football field
of marshland every hour of every day
of marshland every hour of every day
Mark Davis, a professional angler and television show host, shows off a
redfish he caught on a Bomber Walkie Talkie topwater bait while
fishing in the Barataria Estuary near Lafitte, La. The pocket of open
water behind him used to be solid marsh. Louisiana loses a football
field of marsh each hour to subsidence, erosion and other factors.
redfish he caught on a Bomber Walkie Talkie topwater bait while
fishing in the Barataria Estuary near Lafitte, La. The pocket of open
water behind him used to be solid marsh. Louisiana loses a football
field of marsh each hour to subsidence, erosion and other factors.
