Louisiana coast. We are working with 

 the Corps of Engineers to maximize 

 delta development in Atchafalaya Bay 

 when navigation maintenance and de- 

 velopment work is required. We have 

 excellent opportunities to reintro- 

 duce fresh water into several marshes 

 with this effort. 



I want to commend the Louisiana 

 Legislature for directing the Loui- 

 siana Department of Transportation 

 and Development to prepare a fresh- 

 water reintroduction plan. With both 

 State and Federal efforts, we are 

 optimistic that we can retard the 

 loss and develop more Louisiana marsh 

 habitat. 



The restoration of Louisiana 

 wetlands will be of significant val- 

 ue for hurricane protection, pollu- 

 tion control, nutrient cycling, and 

 flood control. Many of the measures 

 we are recommending to benefit fish 

 and wildlife have benefits to people 

 as well, but they have not been ade- 

 quately quantified. 



The freshwater inflow to estua- 

 ries issue is more complex along the 

 Texas coast of the Gulf of Mexico 

 than in Louisiana for several 

 reasons : 



Many rivers are involved in 

 Texas while in Louisiana most of 

 the freshwater flows to estu- 

 aries comes from the Mississippi 

 River and its distributaries. 



The Texas coast rainfall ranges 

 from semi-arid levels in the 

 Brownsville and Corpus Christi 

 area to relatively high levels 

 around Galveston and Houston. 

 Great natural differences in 

 rainfall occur between wet or 

 hurricane years and dry or arid 

 years . 



The competition for the use of 

 water is intense in Texas be- 

 cause of irrigation development, 

 population and industrial 

 growth. Much of the industrial 

 growth is concerned with energy 

 production, one of our Nation's 

 primary problems. Water avail- 

 ability is a primary deterrent 

 to increase agricultural and 

 industrial growth in Texas. 



The State of Texas has been 

 dealing with the freshwater inflow to 

 estuary problems effecttively from 

 the standpoint of data collection and 

 the development of predictive models. 

 The freshwater needs of six estuarine 

 areas have been quantitatively de- 

 scribed in a study conducted by the 

 Texas Water Resources Department that 

 has been submitted to the Texas Leg- 

 islature. Therefore, the people of 

 Texas recognize the need for provid- 

 ing freshwater inflow to sustain 

 estuarine ecosystems if they expect 

 estuaries to produce shrimp, oysters, 

 fish, or waterfowl in the future. 



The FWS has several programs 

 along the Texas coast that involve 

 freshwater inflow to estuaries: 



The FWS considers the Texas 

 coast to be one of the highest 

 priority areas in the U.S. when 

 it comes to preserving habitat 

 for endangered species and for 

 wintering migratory waterfowl 

 and other birds. The coastal 

 national wildlife refuges fur- 

 nish part of these habitat needs 

 but we intend to use all our re- 

 sources to protect additional 

 habitat through identifying and 

 providing information on fresh- 

 water inflow needs and habi- 

 tat values, and by making sound 

 scientific recommendations in 

 our Coordination Act reports. 



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