Whither the Mangroves? from the Gulf war to the Gulf of Mexico

What if, instead of a nasty oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the US public was now confronted with a natural catastrophe in the Grand Canyon or in the Redwood forests of California? Within the popular imagination, certain types of ecosystems elicit more sympathy than others, and very low on the totem pole are mangrove forests. Located in the tropics, mangroves are a mess of thick, tangled, salt-tolerant trees and shrubs which thrive in brackish tidal waters. When I paddled through the Florida Everglades in a canoe some 15 years ago, I found mangroves bizarre looking: the trees have long roots which stick out above the water level. Perhaps because they are swampy and inhospitable, mangroves have failed to capture the public's attention. Yet they fulfill a vital environmental purpose, as they are home to a wide diversity of plant and animal life. What's more, their myriad exposed roots provide a nursery for many commercial and recreational fish species, including shrimp and spiny lobster. Above water, they serve as a nesting and foraging area for wading and fish-eating birds.