Over a million acres have disappeared since the 1930s and, at the present loss rate of 24 square miles a year, an additional 500 square miles of coastal land will wash away by 2050. Gone forever will be precious nursery habitat for fish and shellfish; nesting and feeding grounds for migratory waterfowl and wildlife; storm surge protection for vulnerable coastal communities, ports, and roads; and land that buffers oil and gas pipelines, production platforms, and shore-based processing facilities against storm and wave damage. Louisiana's coastal marshes are the cradle of nearly one-third of the total commercial fish and shellfish harvest in the lower 48 states. Seventeen percent of the nation’s oil and twenty-five percent of its natural gas are mined in the state's offshore waters. Louisiana’s four major ports handle more than 21 percent of U.S. foreign waterborne trade. Calling Louisiana’s coastal marshes "a national treasure" is no exaggeration. We are losing this valuable habitat for several reasons including a lack of sediment being deposited by the Mississippi River, saltwater intrusion into our freshwater marshes, natural waterways being modified by man, boat wakes, and a loss of sediment that is trapped behind dams along the Upper Mississippi River.   First and foremost new sediment needs to get into coastal Louisiana from Mississippi River diversions. Barrier Islands and other shorelines need to be restored. We need vegetative plantings on barrier island dunes and in the marsh itself. There is also a need for hydrologic restorations. For more information see our links for scientific sites or go to www.coast2050.gov.   Express your interest in solving the problems facing our coast to your senators and congressmen. Click here to help us by buying a book to send to a public official. Join conservation groups that have an interest in the wetlands. Help the wetlands by not buying bald cypress mulch; many places these are logged will never regenerate. Educate yourself on the Louisiana coast.