Rebuilding Louisiana's Coastal Marshes One Plant at a Time

Sometimes it’s hard to tell where the land ends and the sea starts. Louisiana’s coast is that sort of place. Marshes of all sorts make up much of the southern edge of the state. A bit inland are freshwater marshes full of floating water lilies and lotus flowers. Herons of every size and sort show up here. These leggy birds fish, poke their bills into the water, and squawk in nearby trees. Closer to the sea are brackish marshes, a kind of wetland filled with semi-salty water. Here webbed-foot turtles called terrapins swim after snails and crabs. Alligators swishing by are a common sight, too. The large toothy state reptile of Louisiana was once an endangered species. But thanks to successful conservation work, American alligator populations have completely recovered.

Right up against the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are salt marshes. These stretches of salt-loving grasses look like seaside fields of tall grass. Water-filled pathways—called tidal bayous—snake through the soggy grasses where ocean tides flow in and out. Colorful birds come to the salt marshes to feed, including the remarkable roseate spoonbill. The nearly three-foot tall bird looks like a pink flamingo with red legs and a spatula-shaped bill. The spoonbill uses its odd bill to feel for small fish, shrimp, and crabs in the shallow water of the salt marsh.

Louisiana’s marshes and other wetlands are important habitat for all kinds of wildlife. They’re nurseries for many of the seafood species people fish for and eat. Coastal marshes also protect communities from incoming hurricanes, help soak up floodwaters, and filter out water pollution. Unfortunately, marshes are disappearing—faster than in any other state. Louisiana loses more than 10,000 acres of marshland every year. By cutting canals and changing how soil and water flow into the marsh, humans have made marsh land disappear very quickly.

Where Will Your Pennies Go?

Once land is washed out to sea, it’s gone forever, right? Not necessarily. Louisianans are working hard to rebuild their coastal marshlands—from the water up. It’s called Coastal Marsh Restoration for the Masses. Conservationists use machines called dredges to collect mud and sediment from canals and pile it up into close-by eroding marshland. But that new land can wash right back into the Gulf of Mexico if left as bare dirt. So volunteers—including kids!—are planting plugs of already growing (not seeds) marsh grass. The grass plugs grow and spread, anchoring the soil, and building future marshland over time. Marsh restoration like this creates new habitat for alligators, birds, otters, crabs, and other creatures. Your pennies can help rebuild Louisiana’s amazing marshes! Donations will buy plugs of cordgrass, bulrushes, and other native marsh plants needed to restore vital marshland. 

As the spreading Gulf oil spill threatens birds and wildlife on Louisiana's coast, it is more important than ever for healthy habitat to remain healthy.  

For a free Pennies for the Planet starter kit, write to pennies@togethergreen.org.

PHOTO CREDITS: (top, l to r): Tom Mann/Mississippi Museum of Natural Science; Melanie Driscoll; iStock/Frank Leung. (right, t to b): Melanie Driscoll; NOAA. (bottom l to r): Bill Stripling; Karen Westphal; iStock/Bill Stamatis