It is very fitting that the citizens of Louisiana recognize this special event and get involved in conservation and restoration efforts because of our strong ties to wetlands. On a per acre basis, our coastal wetlands are some of the most productive areas in the world producing an abundance of seafood and wildlife. Louisiana's 3.5 million acres of coastal wetlands represent about 40 percent of all the coastal wetlands in the continental United States. The state's commercial and recreational fisheries are among the nation's best because these wetlands were formed through sediment deposition from the Mississippi River over the past 7,000 years. They serve as buffers to storms, winds and coastal flooding.
Wetlands also act as biological filters, filtering pollutants from the water.
Louisiana loses approximately 25 to 35 square miles of these vital lands each year, which accounts for 80 percent of the coastal wetland loss in the lower 48 states. Hundreds of people are working diligently through cooperative wetland conservation and restoration efforts to reduce those losses. The Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act, also known as the Breaux Act, was passed in 1990. The Task Force is comprised of the State of Louisiana and five federal agencies, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.