SHELL BEACH, La. (AP) - The Gulf of Mexico's wetlands have been
weakened by hurricanes, erosion and flood-control projects. Now
they face another test as a monster oil slick creeps closer.
About 40 percent of the nation's coastal wetlands are clumped
along southern Louisiana in the path of oil that's gushing from a
ruptured underwater well.
Experts say if the vegetation could suffocate if it gets soaked
with oil. That would leave nothing to hold the wet soil in place.
Coastal wetlands are crucial nesting and spawning areas for
birds and fish, including some endangered ones.
Construction of flood-control levees over the years has
prevented the Mississippi River from depositing new layers of
sediment that could replenish the marshes.



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