Date of Award
Master of Arts in Marine Affairs
A panoramic lack of conservation education has produced a populace largely unaware of the value of marshland resources or measures for their protection. In a relentless era of ecological abuse, wetlands and salt marshes rank with endangered animal species in the quantitative loss culminating in extinction. Challenged continually by the relentless sea and exploited by unsound attempts at development, management, or even conservation, the efficiency of the marshlands is decreasing with each successive invasion. There is a demonstrated reduction in biological productivity, flood control, and water quality in areas where dredging, draining, and filling of marshes has taken place.
Blais, Gerard Desire Jr., "Saltmarsh Ecology and Resource Protection" (1972). Theses and Major Papers. Paper 22.