Wild and Wacky Wetland Facts!
Losing Wetlands
- In 2000, 50% of all people living in Louisiana live in coastal parishes.
- There are 3.4 million acres of swamp and marsh located east of New Orleans all the way to the Texas border.
- From 1990-2000, 24 square miles of wetlands were lost each year. That’s like losing a football field every 38 minutes!
- In the next 50 years, 500 more square miles of wetlands will be lost.
- Since 1930, Louisiana has lost 1,900 square miles of wetlands.
- 30% of all the coastal marshes in the United States are located in Louisiana.
- Every 2.7 miles of wetlands absorb 1 foot of storm surge during hurricanes.
- Humans have caused much damage to the wetlands. They have drained wetlands for agricultural purposes, dredged canals for ship navigation, and harvested wetland trees for building materials. All of these activities have helped us, but they also hurt us, in that we no longer have the wetlands to protect us from big hurricanes!
- Wetland loss is attributed to several factors:
- Salt water intrusion from dredging canals and rising sea levels.
- Tropical storm and hurricane damage.
- Subsidence - which means the land is sinking. This has always occurred, however since the Mississippi River is now dammed, flood waters no longer bring fresh soil deposits to the lower portion of Louisiana.
Benefits of Wetlands
- 5 of the top 15 largest ports are located in Louisiana. The wetlands provide storm protection for these ports.
- Each year 469 million tons of waterborne commerce is carried to the Louisiana ports.
Wetland Animal Facts
- Louisiana is known for good hunting. Lots of animals live in the wetlands. In 2001, hunting expenditures brought 446 million dollars to Louisiana.
- Each year people spend about 168 million dollars wildlife watching in Louisiana.
- Trapping in coastal Louisiana generates 2 million dollars a year.
- Louisiana alligator bring in 30 million dollars annually.
- Louisiana’s coastal wetlands provide habitat for more than 5 million migratory waterfowl.
- Nutria was introduced to Louisiana in the 1930’s. People used to trap the nutria for their fur. Now nutrias are not as popular to hunt. The nutria is an herbivore, meaning that he eats plants. The nutria population has risen tremendously and they are quickly eating many of the plants that protect the wetlands from erosion. You can help the wetlands by eating nutria! Visit www.nutria.com for yummy recipes.
- Barataria-Terrebonne is a huge area of wetlands in South Louisiana. It is a habitat for many animals. The following is a list of threatened and endangered species of this area:
- Mamals
- Louisiana Black Bear
- Florida Panther
- Finback Whale
- Humpback Whale
- Right Whale
- Sei Whale
- Sperm Whale
- Red Wolf
- Birds
- Eskimo Curlew
- Bald Egale
- Arctic Peregrine Falcon
- Brown Pelican
|
- Piping plover
- Least Tern
- Bachman’s Warbler
- Reptiles
- Gopher Tortoise
- Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
- Green Turtle
- Hawksbill Turtle
- Loggerhead Turtle
- Ringed Sawback Turtle
- Finfish
- Gulf Sturgeon
- Pallid Sturgeon
|
References:
Department of Natural Resources. Louisiana Coastal Facts.
http://dnr.louisiana.gov/crm/coastalfacts.asp
Department of Natural Resources. Restoration Program Background.
http://dnr.louisiana.gov/crm/background/
Maygarden, D.F., and P. Coreil. LSU Agricultural Center. Barataria – Terrebonne Wetlands. Functions and Values Coastal Land Loss, Non-point Source Pollution.
National Geographic Magazine. Gone with the Water.
http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature5/?fs=www3.nationalgeographic.com&fs=plasma.nationalgeographic.com
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Imported Nutria. http://www.nutria.com/site.php