NYC's Jamaica Bay Wetlands Fading Away

[mcscajun]

AP - NEW YORK

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...the salt marsh islands dotting Jamaica Bay are disappearing.

The loss of the islands could have huge ramifications for the environment because a quarter of the country's bird population makes its way through Jamaica Bay.

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Records show Jamaica Bay averaged a loss of 26 acres a year from the mid-1970s until the mid-1990s, but the pace picked up to more than 40 acres a year by 1999, the last time a comprehensive look was taken, said Brad Sewell of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who serves as co-chairman of an advisory committee for the bay.

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There are around 1,000 acres of salt marsh islands in the bay. If the disappearance continues at its current rate or accelerates, the islands could be gone in less than 20 years, Sewell said.

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Mundy pointed out that the islands act as a buffer for waves coming across the bay. Without them, the waves would roll in several feet higher than they already do. "It's like a disaster waiting to happen here," he said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000097_pf.html