Coastal Marsh Land Is Valuable To Our Way Of Life
Coastal marsh land is valuable to our way of life.
Larry J. LeBlanc © 2004
It is no secret that I grew up in the marshes of
First, upon return from doing my military duty by serving
in the United States Air Force during the
Second, my wife Pam did not want to live anywhere that
could be completely destroyed and blown away at anytime a hurricane decided to
come through and if you cannot accept that concept then you do not want to live
along the coast. So we compromised and eventually moved up to the
I have often heard the words swamps and marshes used
interchangeably, but they are two entirely different entities. A swamp is an
area of land, usually fairly large that is always wet and overgrown with various
shrubs and trees. It can be almost anywhere. A coastal salt marsh however, is
formed along the shores in temperate or tropical zones when wave action is
normally docile allowing grasses to become established. Very seldom will a tree
be see in a coastal marsh. The most prevalent vegetation found in such a marsh
is black needle rush or needle grass as we called it. As kids we use to brake
off about the top one foot of the thin grass and throw them at each other as the
sharp points would stick right into your clothes and sometime skin
also.
Many people look at the coastal marshland and are struck
first by the flatness. They may be aware of the rumors of poisonous snakes and
alligators. Well those rumors are true as all abound in a healthy coastal marsh.
Beside a few unpleasant creatures let me offer a little positive insight into
our coastal areas, the salt marshes, and their purpose in the natural order of
things.
The salt marshes of our Gulf coast are a very vital part
of an estuarine environment where fresh water from the rivers and streams and
the salt water of the Gulf mix. These areas can be saltwater or freshwater
areas, depending on the tides and rain amounts. As I have mentioned before I
have caught largemouth bass, distinctly a fresh water fish, and croakers,
distinctly saltwater fish, under the
Salt marshes are really aquatic nursery grounds for
juvenile fish and shellfish. Research has shown the economic importance of
coastal marshes in that shrimp catches are directly related to the area of marsh
in these shrimp nursery grounds. The fish productivity of our marshes is
comparable to that of our most fertile agricultural land. Marshes also act as a
buffer between the sea and the land. The grasses have the ability to take toxins
from the water acting as a filter system.
Lifestyles of animals in the marshes can be put into two
categories-transitory and permanent. Raccoons, mice, fish, crabs and birds such
as herons are transitory and enter the marsh only to feed. Then there are the
migratory birds such as ducks and geese. One fact that many may not be aware of
is that the Gulf coast provides critical habitat for 75 percent of the migratory
birds that cross the
So when you see our coastal marshes being drained and
houses being built, or some polluting agents being dumped in them there are more
ramification to consider than the housing market and finding a place for folks
to live or getting rid of unwanted waste. There is the ecological impact to the
Gulf coast and the animal life to consider. Animals with direct economical value
like shrimp and those with less obvious value like cottonmouth water
moccasins.
There is also the potential impact on the people’s lives
that move into those areas to consider. Like the folks who build on mud
mountains out in
So like so many other of our natural resources that we
have learned to protect and cherish let us keep a close and protective eye on
our coastal marshes.
Photography by Larry J. LeBlanc
Photo number R1-021-9
Caption – This pair of mallards on the beach will nest in the marsh when the sun goes down.
