CONTENTS 



Page 



PREFACE iii 



FIGURES vi 



TABLES ix 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi 



INTRODUCTION 1 



Overview 1 



Background and Organization 1 



Uses of This Study and Objectives 3 



Major Issues 3 



An Alternative Approach to Environmental 



Management 4 



DESCRIPTION OF THE MDPR 6 



Physical Setting 6 



Biological Setting 23 



Socioeconomic Setting 26 



HABITAT DESCRIPTIONS 34 



Agriculture (1) 34 



Beach and Dune (2) 39 



Bottomland Hardwood (3) 43 



Brackish Marsh (4) 45 



Canal (5) 47 



Cypress-Tupelo Swamp (6) 47 



Fresh Aquatic Bed (7) 51 



Fresh Marsh (8) 51 



Fresh Open Water (9) 54 



Fresh Scrub-Shrub (10) 56 



Mangroves (11) 58 



Mud Flats (12) 60 



Nearshore Gul f (13) 62 



River, Stream, and Bayou (14) 64 



Estuarine Aquatic Bed (15) 66 



Estuarine Open Water (16) 69 



Salt Marsh (17) 72 



Spoil Banks (18) 76 



Upland Forests (19) 82 



Urban-Industrial (20) 82 



