billions will be gone. The final question is: "Can we afford the loss of Louisiana's 

 wetlands?" 



INTRODUCTION 



South Louisiana's 6.5 million acres of coastal wetlands account for 40% of the 

 Nation's nnarsh ecosystems (Gosselink 1980). The region is defined by elevation and the 

 absence of trees. Where the land is at least 0.5 m (18 inches) above sea level, a swamp 

 forest will be evident. The marsh, on the other hand, is a conspicuous lowland—literally 

 a sea of grass. 



The physical and biological complexities of this unique physiographic province are 

 the subject of numerous technical reports, papers, and monographs. The initial work of a 

 multitude of wetland scientists established the guidelines for subsequent research. These 

 individuals contributed significantly to the systematic examination of alluvial 

 environments. Their interdisciplinary studies provided insight into the surface and 

 subsurface elements that comprise the various marsh habitats. From this foundation, 

 interest in the coastal lowlands proliferated. 



Early investigators discovered the vast expanse of marsh is larger than Connecticut 

 and Delaware combined and a product of the wandering distributaries and alluvial 

 processes of the Mississippi River. With each channel change river-borne sediments were 

 diverted into new areas. The Mississippi River, therefore, created this large extensive 

 band of coastal property. Prior to the late 1800's, south Louisiana experienced at least 

 6,000 years of deltaic progradation. 



Unfortunately, Louisiana's coastal zone is presently out of balance— a great natural 

 catastrophe is occurring. Land is disappearing. For the entire Louisiana coast, marsh 

 losses in 1980 exceeded 10,000 ha (25,000 acres)/yr— a rate that is increasing 

 geometrically and not arithmetically. With I million ha (2.5 million acres) of fresh to 

 saline marsh, 700,000 hectares (1.8 million acres) of ponds and lakes, and 900,000 

 hectares (2.2 million acres) of bays and estuaries, there is now more water than land 

 (Fruge 1981). Land building in the deltaic plain has been replaced by a projected rate of 

 loss of approximately 100 km (40 mi )/yr (Gagliano, et al. 1981), coupled with a rise in 

 sea level estimated to be 30 cm (I ft) per century, the wetlands are in serious danger. By 

 comparison, on the national level approximately 400,000 ha (I million acres) of coastal 

 marshes have been lost since 1954 at a rate of 15,000 ha (38,000 acres)/yr (Gosselink 

 1980). In Louisiana, at least 300,000 ha (800,000 acres) have been lost in the last 80 

 years with more than half of this occurring since 1950 (Gagliono 1981). 



These land loss figures are staggering, since Louisiana's wetlands provide a habitat 

 for more than two-thirds of the Mississippi Flyway's wintering waterfowl, the largest fur 

 and alligator harvests in North America, and more than 25% of the country's commercial 

 fisheries. Few states can compete with Louisiana in the production of renewable and 

 nonrenewable resources; yet due to land loss, they are threatened and may vanish. 



The land that is eroding at a record rate is a result of sediment deposition 

 associated with the Mississippi River. For centuries, sediment laden water has fanned 

 out along the coast, creating two distinct zones: the deltaic and chenier plains, east and 

 west, respectively, of Vermilion Bay. 



141 



