Minutes - Council - 07/26/1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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fishing industry. It is estimated that 200 kinds of fish and large quantities of shellfish depend on wetlands for all or part of their life cycles. In addition to being exceptional nurseries of life, wetlands have many ecological virtues. They are natural filters fo[ removing waste and pollutants from rivers'and streams and for purifying underground aquifers. They store water during rainy anq~ flooding seasons~ and later release it slowly into streams, rivers, and aquifers. Tidal wetlands protect shore-- lines from erosion by waves. Because of the very nature of their often prolific plant life, wetlands perform sig- nificant, essential functions. In the process of photosynthesis, for example, all green vegeta- tion absorbs carbon dioxide from the air and returns oxygen to it. This is necessary for sus- taining life. Plants in wetlands, however,, are unique in that they are especially efficient in this process. _. - ........ ~' /- .:i For centuries many countries have'" recog- nized the inestimable value of wetlafid man- agement for food production. China and India, for example, lead the world in rice pro- duction, with other countries of Asia not far behind. Grown in wedands called paddies, rice is one of the world's most important food crops. About ball the' world's population eat rice as their chief food. The United States and Canada began in time to realize the impor- tance of wetlands and bogs for-their produc- tion of rice and cranberries~.... Wildlife too share in the feast provided by the wetlands. Not only are seeds and insects in abundance for the birds but they also feed the fish and crustaceans that spawn' and grow to maturity in the wetlands. Ducks, geese, and other waterfowl in turn feed 'on these under: water creatures swimming in abundance in these oases of life. The current ecology bal- ances matters to some extent by serving up a variety of fowl to the four-footed creatures who may wander into the wetlands looking for a meal. In the wetlands there is something for everything. They are truly nurseries of the . world. · .. ...... The Raoo to Destroy Wetlands ' In the' United States, the man who became 'its first president opened the floodgates of mass destruction of wetlands when in 1763 he 'formed a company to drain 40,000 acres of the Dismal Swamp--a wild marshland, a haven for wildlife--on the Virginia-North Carolina border. Ever since then, America's · wetlands have been viewed as a nuisance~ .a roadblock to development, a source of sick- ness and disease, a hostile environment to be conquered and destroyed at any cost. Farmers were encouraged to drain wetlands and use them for cultivated land and were compensat- ed for doing so. Highways were built where wetlands teeming with exotic life once were. Many became sites for urban development. and shopping centers or were used as conve- nient shallow depressions for dumping gar-. bage. .. tn the last few decades of this century, the United States has been destroying its wetlands at the rate of 500,000 acres a year. Today, only.. about 90 million-acres remain. Consider, for. example, the pothole region of North Ameri- ca. In a 300,000-square-mile arc of land that stretches from .,Llberta, Canada, to Iowa in the United States, thousands of prairie wet- lands were- the breeding grounds for millions upon millions of ducks. It is said that in flight they would darken the sky like dense clouds. Today their numbers have dwindled alarm- ingly. : "....~ · .-,..; , The long-range problem, however,' is this: When the wetlands are destroyed, the feeding- grounds are gone. Without adequate foo6, ducks lay fewer eggs, and the hatching rate of those that are laid is notably affected. As their habitats are destroyed, more ducks flock to Awaket' )anuary 22, 1994