RECONSTRUCTING WETLANDS: Reconstructing wetlands ... 
we'll explain on Passport to Texas
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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife

Natural and human forces have whittled away Texas' 
wetlands by half. 

"We're paying the price for losing half of our coastal wetlands."

Dr. Larry McKinney is Director of Coastal Fisheries for 
Texas Parks and Wildlife. Fish, wildlife and water quality 
all suffer from this reduction. Plus, people lose that all 
important storm buffer wetlands provide. So, given the 
known importance of these ecosystems, shouldn't we ... 
not only protect them ... but also create more of them?

"We're doing a lot of that right now. In fact, over the last ten 
years, we've reconstructed over ten thousand acres of wetlands, 
primarily in the upper coast."

Wetlands ecologist Nathan Kuhn says, storm ravaged New 
Orleans could easily create more protective wetlands 
simply by using the natural power of the Mississippi. 

"All they have to do is cut a hole in a levy somewhere and make 
sure it doesn't get much bigger by making sure it's protected 
from blowing out. And they can create wetlands by using nature 
instead of fighting it."

Reconstructing coastal wetlands in Texas isn't as simple. 

"In Texas we use things like dredge material to create new 
wetlands. And so, we do it here, but it's a lot more labor 
intensive and costly, because we have to do it mechanically."
 
Learn about wetlands - its in your best interest.

That's our show for today ... made possible by a grant 
from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program ... 
For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.