Rampant Development Threatens Wetlands in the South

Environmentalists battle developers to save the coast of Georgia.

1 minute read

September 3, 2003, 10:00 AM PDT

By Connie Chung


Thousands are flocking to the coast of Georgia, "building condos, mansions and golf courses with marsh and oceanfront views. Real estate prices have quadrupled on Georgia's coast, particularly south of Savannah, which is overflowing with people from the North....Georgia, the least developed of all the coastal areas on the Eastern Seaboard, is struggling to preserve its 350,000 acres of salt marshes--a third of all the marshes on the East Coast--that form stepping stones to the Atlantic Ocean....As waterfront property becomes scarce, developers are looking to erect houses anywhere there is soil, including the once-pristine marsh hammocks, small patches of land covered with trees and vegetation that have long served as sanctuaries for migratory birds and other wildlife."

Thanks to Connie Chung

Tuesday, September 2, 2003 in The Chicago Tribune

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