THE CGC FORUM COMMITTEE
15TH Annual Forum – January 13, 2022
WHY WETLANDS MATTER
The following are highlights of the presentation:
Associate Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Brooklyn College (CUNY) and Director of the Science and Resilience Institute at Jamaica Bay
Dr. Branco offered a wonderful “Wetlands 101” tutorial with a particular focus on New York City, highlighting the important contributions of wetlands in helping power life on our planet. In the biosphere, wetland plants are very good at capturing sunlight and storing that energy in organic matter. One acre of wetlands can be as productive as one acre of tropical rainforest. Just like rainforests, the productivity of our wetlands supports a high biodiversity of organisms ranging from creatures in the mud, to fish, birds, crabs, and small mammals like raccoons, all abundant around Jamaica Bay. This abundance of life associated with our marshes makes them critical feeding grounds and nurseries for important fish species, and also sustains local populations of horseshoe crabs and diamondback terrapin, two of the iconic species in Jamaica Bay. Wetlands are also important for sustaining hundreds of migrating bird populations along the Atlantic Flyway.
Wetlands also support a diversity of bacteria that helps improve water quality. These bacteria remove nitrogen from water — much like a waste treatment facility – naturally transferring the nitrogen in marsh waters back into the atmosphere. Another important function of wetlands is to help protect people and property from the effects of flooding from storms and hurricanes, as well as the rise and fall of tides, providing a buffer between ourselves and the ocean.
Fortunately, the valuable functions of wetlands are better understood now in the 21st Century than they were in the 20th Century, when most of the wetlands destruction took place around New York City. Dr. Branco recommends the document Wetlands Management Framework for New York City, which informs and gives us optimism for the future of wetlands in New York.
Dr. Branco concluded his presentation by commenting on the resilience of wetlands in urban places like New York City. If you walk along the shores of Jamaica Bay, you will find lots of examples of vegetation reclaiming the land: marsh grass colonizing a roadside, a discarded tire, a crack in the sidewalk. If we give them the space, wetlands will gradually return and provide us with all of their wonderful benefits.
President and CEO, International Crane Foundation
Dr. Beilfuss addressed “Why Wetlands Matter” through the lens of a single iconic species: Cranes — the tallest flying birds on Earth, with 10 out of the 15 species currently endangered. Wetlands provide essential elements for the survival of this endangered species, which is found around the world. Wetlands provide fresh water, a locale for courting and mating, and abundant food sources. Wetlands provide habitat for floating nests, a safe haven for vulnerable chicks, and the unique food each species relies on can only be found in their native wetlands. Appropriate location is also critical for migrating species, with even small wetlands providing relatively safe resting spots on long journeys. Wetlands can be found in forests, deserts, and agricultural lands, and are critical for these migrants on their journey.
The global appeal of cranes makes them an excellent flagship for conservation as the environments that serve cranes well also allow many other, less well-known species to thrive. Importantly, most favored crane places are also “people places” where people depend on fisheries, farming and agriculture. Preservation solutions for cranes must address the needs of people whose livelihoods depend on the health of the same environments. Dr. Beilfuss gave as an example, the Kafue flats in Zambia where the International Crane Foundation has signed a 20-year undertaking to manage a 1500-mile flood-plain system incorporating two national parks, which is home to 470 bird species as well as vast herds of plains animals like the lechway. The Crane Foundation is working with international and local partners to address multiple threats such as dams, overgrazing by cattle, over hunting, invasive species, and fires — all of which threaten commercial fisheries, agriculture, etc. Dr. Beilfuss shared one of the success stories involving community-based solutions – a project to clear mimosa, an invasive species, which employed local people who became advocates for “Working Wetlands for All!”
Associate Vice President, Climate Resilience Coasts and Watersheds, Environmental Defense Fund – ‘Restore our Coasts’
Ms. Snider examined the importance of building coastal resilience to climate change – from the macro vision to the micro reality, translating policy to projects. As head of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Coastal Watershed program, her goal is to establish resilient ecosystems and communities along coastal rivers that thrive with water and are safe, equitable and prosperous places to live, work, and play. She emphasized the power of the natural infrastructure to tackle the impact of climate change and acknowledged that the causes of wetlands loss are complex — some are natural and some are man-made.
To successfully address these issues we need to take a holistic approach. Ms. Snider stressed that the ‘big gate’ solution proffered for the NY and NJ harbor region is ill-advised. Not only is it costly and time-consuming, but it induces flooding in adjacent communities, with environmental consequences such as altering tidal flow/flushing and circulation, degrading water quality and habitat, restricting species movements, impacting ecology, altering sediment movement, and increasing erosion. She suggested that taking a multiple-line-of-defense approach that takes into account barrier systems like oyster reefs, marshes, etc. to protect the communities behind those wetlands is a better, more-sustainable approach.
Ms. Snider identified six key elements to coastal resilience planning: build consensus on goals with clear expectations; lead with science; focus on people; account for uncertainties; take collective action; and secure funding for implementation. She said the real solutions to the loss of our wetlands are education, leadership, advocacy and action. It is critical that those on whom the loss of wetlands will have the greatest impact understand how that loss will affect their lives and livelihood, and the greater community needs to give them the support and tools necessary to advocate for change. Civic and community engagement is critical to the success of protecting our wetlands and waterways.
What should be our contribution to this environmental issue? What can we all do? Start by learning more about your local wetlands, and then find a way to engage with a hands-on solution that takes a 3-pronged Defend/Retreat/Adapt approach: 1) Defend natural resources and use man-made ones where necessary; 2) Retreat from wetlands environments that are not appropriate for development; 3) Adapt structures and services to continue to function during periods of flooding. As a final thought, Ms. Snider stressed that we need to change our approach to disasters from being “reactive” to “deliberative” — especially since investing up front to get ahead of disasters is one-sixth the cost of post-event reactive relief and restoration.
Chief Science Officer, The Everglades Foundation
Dr. Davis spoke about the work of the 29-year-old Everglades Foundation, whose mission is to restore and protect not only the l.5 million acres of Everglades Park, but also the surrounding area of several million acres. He said that the Everglades is made up of diverse habitats — from fresh-water marshes to cypress forests, to mangroves, to estuaries with sea grasses — all connected through fresh-water flows. The water, especially during the rainy season when South Florida gets about 5 feet of rain, overflows out of Lake Okeechobee. Originally the excess water swept South to the coast in a 60-mile wide, shallow sweep. But in the late 1800s and early 1900s, land South of the lake was drained and used for agriculture, disconnecting and compartmentalizing the landscape, and resulting in a reduction of about 50% of the Everglades. This changed the direction of the water flow from the lake to the East and West, rather than the South. The Everglades Restoration Plan aims to reverse this, sending more water South through the landscape, thus restoring wetlands. It also includes massive reservoirs and systems to store water and move it – supplying fresh water to Miami and surrounding communities
Dr. Davis went on to describe specific aspects of the Everglades Restoration Plan, which hopes to get more clean water into Florida Bay on the southern coast. Wetlands created through restoration can remove pollution, sequester carbon, preserve habitats, and improve water quality. Dr. Davis emphasized that “restoration works,” and cited the restoration of the Kissimee River — originally a 100-mile meandering river — which, in the past century, was made into a straight 50-mile canal called the Picayune Strand for a failed housing project. During the past year, the canal was filled in and the river was allowed to re-find its natural, historic course — which resulted in improvement in water quality, increased waterfowl, improved fishing, etc.
The government of Florida is dedicated to restoration, according to Dr. Davis, and has built more than 70,000 acres of treatment wetlands to address the problem of phosphorus pollution south of Lake Okeechobee. Since most of South Florida rests on limestone under a layer of built up peat moss, it is important to keep the peat moss wet to prevent the release of its stored carbon. Restoration leads to restored habitats of sloughs, seagrass ridges and tree islands, which each shelter different animals — many famously iconic like wading birds, alligators, panthers, black bears, manatees, and sea turtles. Tourism makes up about a third of Florida’s economy. Restoration provides clean water for recreation, among many other benefits.
Through his understanding of the science, the examples he cited, and his enthusiasm, Dr. Davis left the audience with a feeling of optimism that the work of restoration is successfully ongoing and, despite the problems, many of its goals are being met.