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The Role of Wetlands by Navis Bermudez, Sierra Club staffer and New Orleans native I watched CNN as the hurricane headed towards the Gulf Coast, worried for my family and friends living there. My immediate concern was getting in touch with loved ones. Most troubling was not knowing my mother's status for four days. As e-mails and calls trickled in from loved ones telling me that they were ok and where they were, I became increasingly worried about my mother. Finally, I received a call that she and others were all safe and doing fine. Until recently, I was so concerned for my family that I hadn't really thought about the enormity of the damage to New Orleans and all the little things about the place I call home. My sister and I in New Orleans, Mardi Gras 1997 Is my favorite snowball stand still there? What happened to Audubon Park, the place I run whenever I go back for a visit? Will the Saints have a winning season if they play their games in a new stadium? I'm worried that a city I love so dearly will fall apart on CNN and not return for years to come. When I was in high school, my science teacher, Mr. Hourcade, took us to Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve to study the ecology of Louisiana's wetlands. We piled into canoes and made our way through the swamps, poking around, squealing at alligator sitings. We made retching noises when he poked his paddle into the mud underwater, releasing bubbles of methane gas that smelled like rotten eggs. This field trip stands out in my mind as the experience that drew me to love studying nature, its interactions, and respecting its great forces with which it changes from season to season. Wetlands provide an important buffer between land and water. Wetlands provide water fowl habitat. They are nurseries for fish and the commercially important shrimp. They store flood waters. The cypress swamps in Louisiana protect the coast against strong winds. But wetlands in Louisiana and other states are disappearing at an alarming rate. I hope that Louisianians and the rest of the nation realize that our coastal wetlands (and all waters of the US) need protection now more than ever. This is our wake-up call and an opportunity to make sure we restore and protect our coastal wetlands to ensure the safety of our communities. Navis Bermudez handles national wetlands issues for the Sierra Club. She is also a New Orleans native. Back to Notes from the Gulf main page. Have your own story from the Gulf Coast? Contact us. Photo: Navis Bermudez/Sierra Club collection; all rights reserved. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club