A federal study shows that America's wetlands are disappearing faster than efforts can restore and recreate them, with serious consequences for endangered species and our quality of life.
"Over a four-year span, the United States lost more than 360,000 acres of freshwater and saltwater wetlands to fierce storms, sea-level rise and booming development along the coasts, according to a newly released federal study," reports Darryl Fears.
"The disappearance of so much grass and forest marsh on the edge of waterways is a disturbing sign that government projects to restore wetlands are failing to keep pace, environmentalists said, as storms intensify, the sea level creeps up and development paves the way for rising coastal populations."
"The disappearance of marshes during the period covered in the study — between 2004 and 2009 — represented a 25 percent increase in the rate of loss in the same areas from the previous survey [PDF], which covered the six-year period between 1998 to 2004," notes Fears.
Read the full story: Study says U.S. can’t keep up with loss of ecologically-sensitive wetlands
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