All that has changed. Today, the crowds are armed only with cameras, binoculars and birding guides. Attendance is limited to 1,000 cars at a time. Yearly attendance had dropped to below 500,000 visitors. The marsh is restricted to canoeists or visitors using a boardwalk.
People are shuttled to the southern tip by a tram service.
Not so much as a fallen feather, a shell or a wild flower can be carried away. Millions of foreign plants have been ripped out and roadbeds returned to natural habitat. Apple trees have been replaced with native trees. Nesting pairs of bald eagles have returned. Today, high above the beach, a peregrine falcon ripped a migrating blue jay out of a flock too hesitant to make the lake crossing.