37 



Fig. 32. Filling ol esluarine wetlands lor reMdentmi housing in Long Island. New York and olher coastal areas was particularly heavy in the 

 1950's and 1960's. Wetland laws in most coastal states now protect these valuable wetlands. 



While most of the coastal wetlands exist along the 

 Alaskan, Atlantic and Gulf coasts. San Francisco Bay 

 represents an interesting example of tidal wetland alter- 

 ation. San Francisco Bay is an important wintering area 

 for waterfowl, especially whistling swans, pintails, shov- 

 elers, canvasbacks, scaup, and ruddy ducks. About 25% 

 of the continent's population of whistling swans winter 

 here as does roughly 409r of North America's ruddy 

 ducks (Bellrose 1976). Originally, more than 200.000 

 acres of coastal marshes existed in the Bay region. To- 

 day, less than 20% remain (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- 

 vice and California Department of Fish and Game 1979). 

 Most of the original wetlands were filled for urban and 

 industrial development, while many remaining tidal 

 marshlands were diked to create salt-evaporating ponds 

 (Figure 33). Since 1976, coastal wetlands have been pro- 

 tected through the California State Coastal Act. while the 

 San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Com- 

 mission has been active in wetlands preservation since 

 1969. Efforts are now needed to restore degraded or 

 modified wetlands to a more natural condition, so that 

 they can once again serve as valuable fish and wildlife 

 habitats. 



All coastal states in the lower 48, except Texas, have 

 enacted special laws to protect estuarine wetlands. These 

 laws vary considerably in their degree of protection, since 



a few exempt major activities that alter wetlands or apply 

 only to state-owned lands. Section 10 of the River and 

 Harbor Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water 

 Act of 1977 mandate a strong Federal role for protecting 

 the Nation's coastal wetlands. Federal permits are re- 

 quired for most types of construction in estuarine wet- 

 lands. While the regulatory tools to protect coastal 

 wetlands are in place, continued enforcement of existing 

 laws is required to maintain the integrity of the remaining 

 wetlands. In addition to regulation, the Coastal Barrier 

 Resources Act of 1982 removes Federal subsidies and 

 discourages development of approximately 700 miles of 

 designated coastal barriers and adjacent wetlands. Its 

 greatest impacts in reducing coastal wetland loss should 

 occur in Alabama, Florida. North and South Carolina and 

 Texas. 



Louisiana's Coastal Marshes 



Louisiana possesses roughly one-third of the coastal 

 marshes in the conterminous U.S. (Turner and Gosselink 

 1975). The state's multi-million dollar commercial in- 

 shore shrimp fishery is directly proportional to the area of 

 intertidal emergent wetland (Turner 1979). Along most 



