Quick Wetland Facts (sources -EPA, CRLC, NPR)

• A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with moisture either permanently or seasonally. Such areas may also be covered partially or completely by shallow pools of water. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, and bogs, among others. ...
• The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) estimates that the United States loses approximately 100,000 acres of wetlands annually.
• Twenty-two states have lost at least 50 percent of their original wetlands. Since the 1970s, the most extensive losses have been in Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.
• Louisiana contains approximately 40 percent of the coastal wetlands found in the lower 48 states, and about 80 percent of the wetlands lost.
• An acre of wetland can store 1-1.5 million gallons of floodwater.
• Wetlands and barriers islands form a natural buffer zone that absorbs storm surges and blunts the force of high winds.
• For every one mile of inland wetland lost, 1-1.5 feet of storm protection is lost.
• Up to one-half of North American bird species nest or feed in the wetlands.
• Migratory birds are dependent on wetlands in many parts of the United States.
• Wetlands serve as natural filters of sewage and other pollutants introduced through drainage basins and the larger watershed region.
• Although wetlands only comprise approximately 5 percent of the land surface in the United Sates, they are home to 31 percent of our plant species.
• Less than 5% of the land area of the U.S. is considered wetlands, but approximately half of the more than 200 animal species, 75% of bird species and 25% of plant species identified as endangered or threatened depend on wetlands for survival.
• The plants found in wetlands are some of the most site specific plants found anywhere in the world. They must be able to thrive anaerobic soils and constant inundation in the narrow band of land between open water and uplands.
• The abundance of our fisheries is directly attributed to the millions of acres of coastal marsh used as a nursery by young fish and shellfish.
• Mississippi delta sinks into the ocean at a rate of 50 acres a day.
• The lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley, arguable the most important wintering area for mallards in North America, has wintered between 1-2 million mallards in recent years.
• The marsh's edge, in the inter-tidal zone is the most productive zone in terms of invertebrates and small fishes. It is where the herons and egrets feed. Destroying that edge, destroys 90 percent of the animal production.

Louisiana Wetland facts

• Louisana's coastal marsh is the source of 30-40% of the commercial seafood harvest in the United States.
• 9.2 million ducks, and birds use Louisana's coastal habitats for migration and winter habitat.
• Louisana loses about 25 square miles of its fertile marsh annually. Fifty acres a day are lost to the Gulf of Mexico. This equates to the loss of an area about the size of one football field every 30 minutes.
• Scientists estimate that approximately 2.7 miles of wetlands is capable of absorbing one foot of storm surge.
• As barrier islands and wetlands erode, south Louisiana communities will be exposed to the direct brunt of storms and hurricanes.
• If wetlands and barrier islands continue to erode as projected, more than 2 million people living in south Louisiana could be subject to more frequent and severe flooding.
• Louisana's 3 million acres of coastal wetlands provide habitat for over 5 million migratory waterfowl annual and serve as a home to many endangered or threatened species.
• The economic benefits of wildlife related harvests and watching total approximately $1.2 billion, creating an estimated 16,500 jobs for Louisiana citizens.

Recent Stats From NPR

• Over 1,843,786 -- Gallons of dispersants were used to break up the oil
• 1,499 -- Birds with oil on them found dead
• 1,699 -- Visibly oiled birds collected alive (of those, at least 594 have been rehabilitated and released)
• 2,168 -- Baby sea turtles relocated from their nests on beaches in the path of the oil spill and released into the Atlantic Ocean
• 600 -- Miles along the Gulf coastline impacted by the oil, including 365 miles along Louisiana's coast, 111 miles in Mississippi, 68 miles in Alabama and 88 miles in Florida
• $32/$60 -- Cost per gallon of oysters before and after the spill, according to Byron Marinovitch, who runs the Black Velvet Oyster Bar in Empire, La.
• 4.9 million -- Barrels of oil spewed from the BP well before it was capped last month
• 0 -- Accidental maritime oil spills larger than this one