Louisiana Wetlands Part 2: Why Should We Save the Coast? Louisianas coastline is extremely important to the nation.

Over two million people live along this coast. It is also the top fishery producer in the U.S., bringing in over $3 billion dollars in revenue every year, with an additional $35 billion annually. The state is the top producer of domestic oil, which brings in another $70 billion. Louisianas coast should be saved just to protect the culture, which is one of the richest cultures in the states. The wetlands provide the environment for many of the economic activities, like fishing and navigation. The culture can be summed up through music, food, and living off of the wetlands. Louisianas heritage is based on the coast. Louisiana also offers both commercial and recreational fishing, with over 20% of the fish harvested in the lower 48 states being caught in Louisiana. Commercial Fishing accounts for $3.5 billion dollars and over 40,000 jobs. Recreational Fishing brings in an additional $895 Million per year. The wetlands currently being destroyed provide important habitats for many wildlife, like the brown pelican. Bird watching, hiking, photography, and camping in south Louisiana contributes another $220 million to Louisianas company every year. It is also a natural hub for navigation. Almost 3,000 miles of channels are located in the wetlands and five of the largest United States ports are located in South Louisiana. Oil and gas is also a prominent export of Louisiana. 80% of the nations offshore oil and natural gas is produced in Louisiana. The coastal zone also contains over 43,000 oil and gas wells, the Henry Hub (one of the nations major natural gas distribution centers, and two storage sites for said oil. Louisiana has 3819 vendors and equipment suppliers in 165 different communities to service this array of infrastructure. These wetlands serve as a type of storm protection, with one foot of storm surge being absorbed by every 2.7 miles of wetlands. This protection, if put into numbers, amounts to between 520 million and 2.2 billion dollars. The Mississippi River ends in Louisianas Coastal Zone, leaving nutrients from the very top of the continental United States, as well as Canada. Levees nowadays channel these nutrients into the Gulf of Mexico. Before these levees were built, however, this runoff was filtered by Louisianas wetlands and converted into biologically useful materials, building up the wetlands. Resources: Coast in Crisis. Uplifting the Coast. N.d. Web. 11 Dec 2013. <http://www.upliftingthecoast.org/coastincrisis.htm>