By Tom Linton – Galveston County The Daily News – June 6, 2011

Have you thanked your local wetland today? Many people on Galveston, after Ike, were thankful that they had wetlands in front of their property because of the dampening effect they had on the storm surge. Wetlands have a broader effect than that. Saltwater wetlands have a variety of functions in addition to storm surge protection. They are the nursery grounds for almost all of the creatures that reside in the Gulf of Mexico — most notably shrimp, crabs and our beloved redfish. Another more subtle but no less important contribution they make to our wellbeing is the sequestration of carbon from the atmosphere.  For full story, click here.