FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES IN COASTAL MARSHES 



Because of the high energy output and heavy standing crops of marsh- 

 producer organisms, marshes provide food and shelter for a rich diversity 

 of fish and wildlife resources. Otter, mink, raccoon, muskrat, and nutria 

 are important furbearers in coastal wetlands. Game animals like the white- 

 tailed deer and rabbit are abundant in coastal freshwater marsh areas. 

 The habitats are also the domicile for small rodents like the hispid cotton 

 rat and marsh rice rat which are important links in food chains of hawks, owls, 

 foxes, and coyotes. For the rare and endangered red wolf, the marshlands of 

 southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas offer a last natural refuge. 



The marsh vegetation also provides construction materials for marsh- 

 nesting passerines, rails, and gallinules. Seeds, leaves, stems, rhizomes, 

 and tubers of marsh plants offer a varied diet for massive numbers of over- 

 wintering ducks and geese. The American woodcock, Virginia and sora rails, 

 purple gallinule, American coot, and the common snipe are other migratory 

 species dependent on wetland environments. 



Amphibians and reptiles may reach moderate abundance in coastal habitats. 

 Cormon amphibians include the lesser siren, three- toed amphiuma, and a variety 

 of frogs and toads. Included among the common reptiles are the American 

 alligator (which has reached commercial abundance in parts of its range), 

 common snapping turtles, sliders and cooters, and a variety of snakes^ 



Tidal creeks, bays, and estuaries serve as nursery areas for early 

 life history stages of economically important crustaceans like shrimp 

 and blue crabs and finfishes like menhanden and croaker. In fresh to 

 brackish marsh areas, largemouth bass, bluegill, and freshwater catfish 

 are abundant. Oysters and clams support a thriving shellfish industry. 



EPILOGUE 



The alteration and destruction of marshes and other wetland habitats 

 in favor of other land uses has encroached heavily on the sustenance of 

 our fishery and wildlife resources. The passage of wetland protection 

 acts in many coastal states is a major effort to protect marshlands. At 

 the Federal level, the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 recognizes the 

 vulnerability of coastal tidelands and their aqueous system to downstream 

 influences of inland systems and the tidal influx of marine materials. The 

 boundaries of the marsh-estuary are open to fluxes of important nutrients 

 as well as to toxic substances; thus, the integrity of this ecosystem may 

 be threatened by what takes place upstream in the watershed of the river 

 mainstem and its tributaries; by the intrusion of undesirable substances 

 from the sea as a result of offshore activity; and, more directly, by 

 changes in the use of the water, shorelines, and wetlands of the estuarine 

 area itself. The strategy of preservation and management, therefore, should 

 involve a broad and comprehensive approach entailing the combined and effec- 

 tive implementation of local wetland acts, the Coastal Zone Management Act 

 and its subsidiary provision on marine and estuarine sanctuaries, and legis- 



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