Thanks to all of you who sent in the letter you found in last month’s newsletter addressed to the Corps of Engineers urging them to strengthen their proposed revisions of regulations governing wetlands. We will keep you posted as to the outcome.

There is still time to voice your opinion concerning the Corps of Engineers’ New Madrid Floodway project in southeast Missouri that would result in the destruction of 30,000 acres of wetlands, the largest tract of wetlands remaining in Missouri. Although the Corps will make the final decision, the Department of Conservation will give its input on the project. It is therefore important that we contact the Department of Conservation and let them know that we want to SAVE OUR WETLANDS. WGNSS wrote a letter to Mr. Conley, director of MDC, and received the following response: "I assure you that we will continue to monitor the project with an eye toward minimizing all impacts, should the project go forward. While the Conservation Commission has not taken a position for or against it, they feel that flood control for East Prairie can be achieved without great harm to the wetlands and have urged the Corps of Engineers to study other alternatives." Please address your letter to:

Mr. Jerry M. Conley, Director
Missouri Department of Conservation
P. O. Box 180
Jefferson City, Mo. 65102-0180

Wetlands are so important and are disappearing so fast that the National Audubon Society has created a Wetlands Campaign to stop their destruction. Check out their web site at:

http://www.audubon.org/campaign/wetland/. Nearly all waterfowl live in wetlands, and about 3/4 of them breed only in wetlands. Wetlands help control flooding along rivers and coasts by storing excess water; they also clean the water by removing pollutants and trapping sediment. "The loss of wetlands, as well as degradation, have greatly diminished our nation’s wetlands resources; as a result, we n longer have the benefits they provided. The increase in flood damage, drought damage, and the declining bird populations are, in part, the result of wetlands degradation and destruction." (EPA, http://www.epa.gov/OWOW/wetlands/vital/status.html.). Missouri and Illinois are 2 of 7 states that have lost more than 80% of their original wetlands.

Our new Legislative Task Force will be headed up by Dianne Benjamin. We are continuing to look into the problem of the millions of birds killed each year during migration by flying into lighted buildings or into towers and to see what can be done at a local level. This and other new projects are in the works. We are also reaching out to other groups to combine forces. Bill Brizzard of the Sierra Club attended last month’s meeting. Bill is chair of the Conservation Committee of the Eastern Missouri Group and a new WGNSS member.

[Conservation Committee Page] [WGNSS Home]