EFFECTS OF WETLAND DETERIORATION ON THE 

 FISH AND WILDLIFE RESOURCES OF COASTAL LOUISIANA 



David W. Fruge 



U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 



P.O. Box 4305 



Lafayette, LA 70502 



ABSTRACT 



The vast wetlands of the Louisiana Coastal Region (LCR) are of national 

 importance to fish and wildlife. These wetlands are winter habitat for one-fourth of the 

 North American dabbling duck population, a large portion of the Mississippi Flyway's 

 diving ducks, and over 400,000 geese. Coastal Louisiana also supports numerous other 

 migratory birds, many of which nest in its wetlands. The LCR marshes produce the 

 largest fur harvest in North America, and support the largest volume of 

 estuarine-dependent fish and shellfish landings in the United States. Fish and wildlife 

 related recreation in the LCR is also extensive, including over 5 million man-days of 

 saltwater fishing in 1975 and 676,000 man-days of waterfowl hunting during the 1977-78 

 season. 



Prior studies documented an annual land loss rate of over 42.7 km^(l6.5 mi )/yr in 

 the LCR. More recent investigations indicate that this rate of wetland loss has more 

 than doubled since 1956. Wetland deterioration, which is partially attributable to natural 

 causes, has been greatly accelerated by human influences such as navigation channel 

 excavation, agricultural drainage, and construction of mainline Mississippi River levees 

 that have prevented freshwater and sediment overflow into adjacent subdelta marshes. 

 Continued wetland deterioration may lead to serious declines in estuarine-dependent fish 

 and shellfish harvest, fur catch, waterfowl habitat, and related fish and wildlife 

 productivity. 



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has long advocated freshwater diversion for 

 habitat improvement in the Mississippi deltaic plain region and is presently participating 

 in the evaluation of several freshwater diversion sites being investigated by the U.S. 

 Army Corps of Engineers. It is anticipated that marsh restoration measures involving 

 freshwater diversion and other approaches will also be financed by the State of Louisiana 

 through its Coastal Environmental Protection Trust Fund. 



INTRODUCTION 



Area Setting 



The Louisiana Coastal Region (LCR) contains a vast expanse of valuable wetlands. 

 Chabreck (1972) estimated that this area contained approximately 1 million ha (2.5 

 million acres) of fresh to saline marsh, 0.7 million ha (1.8 million acres) of ponds and 



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