The proposed One Lake project would destroy 1,500 acres of Jackson-area wetlands that we will never get back. Wetlands are among the most valuable ecosystems on the plant. According to a recent study, the economic value of the ecological services provided by wetlands is $5,582/acre/year.
-A bottomland hardwood swamp can remove the same amount of pollutants as a $5 million water treatment plant.
-Wetlands function like natural sponges, storing water and slowly releasing it, reducing flood heights, allowing for groundwater recharge, and slowing the water's erosive potential. Maintaining only 15% of a watershed in wetlands can reduce flood peaks as much as 60%. Wetlands can reduce flood damage by $8,000/acre/year by absorbing stormwater. An acre of wetlands can store 1-1.5 million gallons of floodwater.
-Two thirds of all fish consumed worldwide are dependent on wetlands at some stage in their cycle.
-The cost saving for removal of carbon from the atmosphere is $2 of damage prevention annually per ton of carbon removed. Wetlands are estimated to store between 81 and 216 metric tons of carbon per acre.
-Wetlands are home to 31% of our plant species.
-Wetlands are some of the most biologically productive natural ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests. and coral reefs in their productivity and diversity of species.
-Up to 50% of North American bird species nest or feed in wetlands.
These wetlands belong to all of us and to our future generations, not to the One Lake developers.
Learn more here: https://www.pearlriverkeeper.com/one-river-no-lake.html
Sources: EPA and the Conservation Fund (https://valuewetlands.tamu.edu/…/wetland-ecological-benefi…/)
Pearl Riverkeeper is a licensed member of the Waterkeeper Alliance, the largest and fastest growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water.