Defenders of Wildlife Blog

From the ever-growing dead zone to last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, it’s no secret that the Gulf of Mexico faces a world of trouble. But here’s something you might not know: every hour, an area of coastal wetland equivalent to the size of a football field disappears into Gulf waters. You read that right – every hour. And as any sports fans will tell you, that’s quite a lot of land. Already, 2,000 square miles of the Mississippi River Delta have slipped into the sea.

For the diverse wildlife that make the region’s coastal wetlands home, this loss is devastating. The wetlands at the mouth of the Delta provide habitat for a range of animals, including endangered species such as the Louisiana black bear, wood stork and snail kite. They’re crucial spawning grounds for fish in the Gulf, and also provide wintering habitat for migratory ducks.

And that’s not all – wetlands are important for people too. From decreasing flooding to acting as a buffer from storm surges, this ecosystem provides a natural defense against some of the worst nature can throw at us. The aquatic habitat also removes pollutants from water and recharges groundwater, providing us with a clean, reliable source of drinking water. Not to mention the financial benefits of healthy fisheries and coastal economies. Failure to protect this resource would be a tremendous loss.

Every hour, an area of coastal wetland equivalent to the size of a football field disappears into Gulf waters.

Fortunately, action is being taken to reverse this alarming trend. Right now, the Gulf Coast Restoration Task Force (created by President Obama in the aftermath of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil disaster) is developing a plan to restore the Gulf shore to its former glory and strengthen it going into the future. How do they expect to tackle such an ominous feat? Well, one strategy is to simply let nature take its course.

In this image you can see where water and sediment from the Mississippi is washed into the Gulf of Mexico. Photo courtesy NASA.

Right now, levees direct water flowing from the Mississippi River far out into the Gulf of Mexico, where it carries the nutrients and sediment that result in the dead zone.  The Task Force is looking instead at diverting that river water back into its original destination — the Delta’s vast coastal wetlands. Doing so would not only rebuild previously washed-out habitat, but it would shrink the dead zone as well — simultaneously creating habitat on shore and off. Better yet, this strategy also happens to be the most budget-effective plan of action proposed so far, saving the region hundreds of billions of dollars.

That’s not to say this is a quick fix — restoring the Gulf region will not be easy. But letting this vibrant ecosystem fall into the ocean is simply not an option. By taking advantage of the natural flow of the Mississippi River, we can save time, money and energy, as well as the those who call the coast home.

Learn more:

Get more information about how wetlands are crucial to humans and wildlife. 

Read a more detailed account of the Gulf Task Force’s strategy to save the Gulf.

(Scene: hiker spots something in the woods at Alligator National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina)

“What was that? It looked like a wolf! Must have been a coyote… Wolves aren’t found in this part of the country, right?”

Oh, but they are!

The endangered red wolf (cousin to the gray wolf out West) roams the wilds of northeastern North Carolina. Historically, red wolves ranged throughout the southeastern U.S. from Pennsylvania to Florida and as far west as Texas. But by 1980, the red wolf was virtually extinct in the wild because of habitat destruction and extermination. Now, thanks to captive breeding programs and reintroduction to a restoration area in North Carolina, red wolves number over one hundred.

Red wolves look like delicate versions of gray wolves, except with longer muzzles, larger ears, and fur tinged reddish brown in some spots. Like grays, they live in packs and are most active at night – that’s when they howl. The Alligator River NWR actually offers ‘howling safaris’, where you can visit the refuge at night and experience the thrill of hearing red wolves communicating with each other.

What Defenders Is Doing

Red wolves resemble coyotes, which unfortunately leads to many mistaken identity deaths caused by humans. To reduce the confusion, Defenders partnered with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Red Wolf Recovery Team and the Red Wolf Coalition to produce a red wolf education guide for hunters.

Defenders is exploring the economic and environmental benefits of red wolves, in order to inform policy makers and landowners. Our latest report discusses the receptivity of landowners towards payment in exchange for conservation practices.

Learn More

Click here to read more about the red wolf.

Watch a video of the red wolf courtesy of USFWS.

In the aftermath of the Gulf oil disaster, Defenders of Wildlife received hundreds of phone calls and emails from concerned Americans wondering what they could do to help wildlife and coastal habitat impacted by the catastropic spill. Having already built a tool called the Conservation Registry to track and map conservation projects across the country, we decided to create a section of the site geared specifically toward people looking to aid in Gulf response and recovery. 

With the help of Google Maps, the Gulf Oil Spill Recovery website combines the latest locations of oil along with information on important wildlife habitats.  Users are able to see what impacts have occurred, response steps taken already and what projects still need volunteers. The interactive site also invites people to record the impacts they have witnessed themselves, and spread the word about what areas need help most.

Proud that Defenders is using Google Earth as a tool to help change the world, a video explaining the site is being featured on Google Earth Heroes – a program that salutes ordinary individuals achieving extraordinary goals and shares their stories in the hopes that they will inspire even more initiatives to help make the world a better place.

Visit the Gulf Oil Spill Response and Recovery website at gulfoilspillrecovery.org and see how YOU can be a hero.

Despite weather-related setbacks, the federal government says work must go forward on a relief well meant to permanently plug BP’s blown-out well in the Gulf of Mexico. Retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen said during a news conference today that the well has not yet been killed. Read the full AP story here.

But that doesn’t mean that Gulf communities will bounce back as soon as the cement sets. In the New York Times’ DotEarth blog, Andrew Revkin recounts some lessons in resilience. As Hurricane Katrina demonstrated all too well, creating community resilience is a long-term process. 

In fact, economic pain is worsening in the Gulf region, reports AFP. Fishermen express fear that it could take years or decades for the region’s fisheries to recover from the oil and chemical dispersants now mixed in Gulf waters, and lament BP’s tardiness in reimbursing their lost business.

Meanwhile, the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival plans on celebrating its 75th year come Sept. 2nd. In some ways, says the Times-Picayune, the festival (which has been cancelled just once and postponed twice) is “more resilient than its namesake industries.”

As BP moves into the final stages of drilling a relief well and permanently sealing its Macondo well, it’s tempting to believe the worst of the damage done to wildlife and natural habitats in the Gulf has passed. However, the harm inflicted upon the region’s natural resources are far from over.

The coastal wetlands bordering the Gulf of Mexico will feel the impacts of the BP oil disaster far into the future. These wetlands provide vital habitat for a remarkable variety of wild animals—including several threatened and endangered species. They also serve as nurseries for many important commercial species of fish and shellfish, as well as acting as pollution filters, shoreline stabilizers and storm buffers.

The immediate impacts of oil on wetlands can be devastating as it coats and kills roots and leaves. But residual, undegraded oil can persist in marshes for decades, causing lingering harm to plants and animals.

Read our new factsheet and learn more about what the Gulf oil disaster could mean for coastal wetlands for years to come.

The danger of Tropical Storm Bonnie has passed, but hurricane season in the Gulf region not yet come to an end. What could happen should a storm surge or hurricane hit the Gulf coast?

Defenders senior policy advisor and offshore drilling expert Richard Charter says, “It is possible that a heavy surge, which is almost like a small tsunami or a large high tide, could carry more oil further into the marshes of Louisiana… we could see oil carried further inland than we’ve previously seen, into sensitive bays, estuaries and river mouths.”