The problem is that wetlands don t quite stand out like a Mt. McKinley or a redwood forest. We know so much more about the standout wonders of other places. Our children know more about the South American rainforests than they do about the wetlands in their own backyard. A pity, because our local wetlands are beautiful places, but it is a beauty that is not easily accessible to the casual observer.
Rainforests are important, of course.
They need protection because they are the lungs of the world . Let s make sure our children know about them. Wetlands are equally as important. But wetlands are being destroyed here as shamefully fast as are rainforests in South America. Houston has a great diversity of wetlands because we sit at the convergence of prairie and forest, and saltwater and freshwater ecosystems.