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WHY DO WETLANDS NEED PROTECTION?
Over the last two hundred years, the United States has lost over 117 million acres of its wetlands through dredge and fill activities, drainage, development, pollution, and natural causes. Erosion, flooding, and sedimentation has resulted. Furthermore, the decrease in wetlands has decreased populations of waterfowl, fish, and shellfish. With over 54 percent of the total wetlands in the continental United States already lost, and an additional 200,000 acres disappearing every year, protecting our remaining wetlands has become a critical national priority.
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