272 



Cdiiskil ct Murine Eid.syxrcinx — Our Liviiii; Resaiirces 



Fig. 3. Coa-ital landlo.ss in 

 Louisiana and elsewhere is ana- 

 lyzed by using conipulerized geo- 

 graphic infonnalion systems that 

 produce graphics such as this map. 



For further information: 



James B. Johnston 



National Biological Service 



Southern Science Center 



700 Cajundome Blvd. 



Lafayette. LA 70506 



comparable because of dit'Feiences in time 

 frame, methodology, vegetation classification, 

 and area mapped, the results taken together con- 

 fmii that significant losses of wetland habitat 

 have occuiTed. Marsh and mangrove losses are 

 the product of dredge and fill activities that are 

 now under strict regulatory control; although 

 permitted dredging continues, protective mea- 

 sures e.xist to minimize loss that is not for pub- 

 lic benefit. 



Future Concerns 



To protect the future of gulf coastal wet- 

 lands, status and trends over time must be con- 

 tinually recorded and noted in the scientific and 

 public literature. Preliminary data from selected 

 coastal areas studied in the I980"s show a 

 reduced rate of wetland loss compared with ear- 

 lier decades. While this is good news, the pres- 

 sures of a continuously expanding human pop- 

 ulation make it unclear whether this trend will 

 continue into the 21st century. Only additional 

 monitoring data can answer this question. 



References 



Duke. T.W.. and W.L. Kruczynski. eds. 1992. Status and 

 trends of emergent and submerged vegetated habitats of 

 the Gulf of Mexico. USA. Gulf of Mexico Program. U.S. 

 Environmental Protection Agency. John C. Stennis Space 

 Center. MS. 161 pp. 



Prayer. W.E.. T.J. Monahan. D.C. Bowden. and F.A. 

 Graybill. 1983. Status and trends of wetlands and deep- 

 water habitats in the coterminous United States, 1950's 

 to 1970's. Colorado State University. Department of 

 Forest and Wood Sciences. Fort Collins. 32 pp. 



Good. B. 1993. Louisiana's wetlands: combatting erosion 

 and revitalizing native ecosystems. Restoration and 

 Management Notes. 1 1:125-133. 



Haddad. K.D. 1989. Habitat trends and fisheries in Tampa 

 and Sarasota bays. Pages 1 13-128 in Tampa and Sarasota 



bays: issues, resources, status, and management. 

 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

 Estuary-of-the-Month Seminar Series 1 1. 



Lewis. R.R., III, M.J. Durako. M.D. Moftler. and R.C. 

 Phillips. 1985. Seagrass meadows of Tampa Bay. Pages 

 210-246 //; S. Treat, J. Simon. R. Lewis HI. and^R. 

 Whitman, Jr., eds. Proceedings Tampa Bay Area 

 Scientific Information Symposium. Florida Sea Grant 

 Rep. 65. 



Louisiana Wetland Protection Panel. 1987. Saving 

 Louisiana's coastal wetlands: The need for a long-term 

 plan of action. LI.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 

 EPA-230-02-87-026. 102 pp. 



NOAA. 1991. Coastal wetland.s of the United States: an 

 accounting of a national resource base. National Oceanic 

 and Atmospheric Administration Rep. 91-3. 59 pp. 



Roach, E.R., M.C. Watzin. and J.D. ScuiTy. 1987. Wetland 

 changes in coastal Alabama. Pages 92-101 in T.A. 

 Lowery. ed. Symposium on the Natural Resources of the 

 Mobile Bay Estuary. Alabama Sea Grant Extension 

 Service. Mobile. AL.' MASGP-87-007. 



Sasser. C.E.. M.D. Dozier. J.G. Gosselink. and J.M. Hill. 

 1986. Spatial and temporal changes in Louisiana's 

 Barataria Basin marshes. 1945-1980. Environmental 

 Management 10:671-680. 



Seaman. W., Jr. 1985. Florida aquatic habitat and fishery 

 resources. Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries 

 Society. Kissimmee. 543 pp. 



Turner. R.E. 1977. Intertidal vegetation and commercial 

 yields of penaeid shrimp. Transactions of the American 

 Fisheries Society, Kissimmee. FL. 543 pp. 



Turner. R.E.. and D. Cahoon. eds. 1988, Causes of wetlands 

 loss in the coastal Gulf of Mexico. Vol 1. Executive sum- 

 mary. Minerals Management Service OCS Study/MMS 

 87-0119. 



U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 1988. The gulf ini- 

 tiative: protecting the Gulf of Mexico. John C. Stennis 

 Space Center. MS. 



Watzin, M.C, S. Tucker, and C. South. 1994. 

 Environmental problems in the Mobile Bay ecosystem: 

 the cumulative effects of human activities. U.S. 

 Environmental Protection Agency Tech. Rep. In press. 



White. W.A.. T.A. Tremblay. E.G. Wemiund. and L.R. 

 Handley. 1993. Trends and status of wetland and aquatic 

 habitats in the Galveston Bay system. Texas. The 

 Galveston Bay National Estuary Program. GBNEP-31. 

 225 pp. 



