Blog 6 - - - Section 10

Life and death of the salt marsh

Understanding the important factors of salt marches are critical to the conservation of water quality. Salt marshes are located on the coast of the oceans, and can grow on land and float in the ocean. They flourish in tidal zones, from being exposed to the mixture of water and air throughout the day. Marshes create many distinctive features, and they can be used to determine the health of a salt water marsh system. Sounds of bubbling air and the smell of iodine are produced as healthy marshes process and grow, where as polluted marshes change, sounds are reduced and rotten eggs replace the natural smell of the ocean. Healthy marshes also have a correct feeling, the feeling of the ground is squishy, as people walk on it, this shows a good mixture of root, mud, and water concentrations. Even though slat marshes are adaptive to dry and moist environments, human and unnatural process are still the biggest dangers. The human effects these lands directly and indirectly with many types of pollution and development. Destruction of wetland is always going to be a way of life, every year small percentages disappear from the building communities, or roads to access the wetlands themselves. Some wetlands are also being altered to control mosquito populations. Wetland damage can be reduced by limiting land access and increasing water access, reducing the amount of human infrastructure placed though out nature. The nation as a whole have to plan the controlled modifications of these wetlands, to reduce the overall impact, as wetland work a together over thousands of mile, and local impacts can hamper the effectiveness of the entire system. A major problem is corporate black mail happening within coastal communities. Corporations threaten to leave towns if wetland cannot be set aside for their in building expansion, instead of being used as a park or natural reserve. This is an unfair fight for conservation, as the marsh systems are challenged every year for development, causing them to constantly fight to save it, where as the builders only have to win the argument once, because then the land is changed forever with construction. The large size of these systems, east coast of North America, makes it difficult to protect. The substantial size of salt marshes is vital for the health function to continue to exist, more effort needs to be put forth to protect this natural filter.

Salt marshes are becoming more rare every day, from development by people that do not understand there critical service to the environment. People have to become aware of the effectiveness of these marsh systems, at keeping our pollution out of our drinking waters and oceans. Government enforces laws, on a national level, will make it harder for developers to gain building permits on these delicate systems, preserving the large system on the east coast. The government could also control access regulation, but increasing their uses as parks, but from water access to reduce the overall impacts.