Click on the map icons to learn more on each initiative. They're practically invisible but they're not going away. Last summer, the 'dead zone' was the size of New Jersey. Some of the reports are the size of a phone book and they're hard to get through. We believe that the solution starts with public understanding and a much greater appreciation of the role of natural resources in dealing with pollution.
Nutrients used on farm fields infiltrate the Mississippi River via lakes and streams.
The Mississippi carries them into the Gulf of Mexico, where high nutrient loads stimulate growth in the form of plankton blooms, and when those organisms die they sink to the bottom and decay. The decay process uses up available dissolved oxygen, causing mobile organisms like fish and shrimp to leave the area. Immobile animals like clams and oysters essentially suffocate. Natural Water Filters Wetlands serve as natural water filters. Dr. Payne estimates that wetlands are disappearing at a rate of 170,000 acres a year.