The wetlands of Louisiana are home to thousands of plant and animal species. The waters are filled with crawfish, shrimp, oysters, red snappers, flounder, pompano, bream, crabs, and alligators. These wetlands are among the world’s most diverse and productive ecosystems, but they are disappearing at a scary rate. The state loses 16.6 square miles of wetlands annually, the equivalent of one football field every hour. Louisiana's wetlands today represent about 40 percent of the wetlands of the United States, but about 80 percent of the losses. The main cause for this extreme erosion is that oil and gas companies have dredged an estimated 10,000 miles of canals to make way for pipelines and access to drill sites through the state's 5 million acres of coastal marshes. These canals allow the salt water from the Gulf to come in and eat away the wetlands, destroying them completely. At the present net rate of wetlands loss, Louisiana will have lost this crucial habitat in about 200 years. That would be devastating to the fishing industry which annually contributes $3.5 billion and over 40,000 jobs to the state’s economy. The loss of Louisiana’s coastal wetlands is one of the most serious environmental problems facing the country today. Across the region, communities are being threatened, jobs are being lost, and habitats are vanishing but not much is being done about it. Please take a moment to let Governor Bobby Jindal know your support for the protection of the Louisiana wetlands using this link:
http://www.gov.la.gov/index.cfm?md=form&tmp=email_governor