The United States Army Corps of Engineers announced the signing of a pact with a series of agencies to restore the valueable ecology and habitat in threatened salt marshes. According to a recent New York Post article, New York City will receive $20 million to restore 38 acres of wetlands and grasslands located on the shores of Jamaica Bay. These natural habitats are adjacent to the Paerdegat Basin Combined Sewer Overflow Facility.

Jamaica Bay surrounds the Gateway National Recreation Area, a preserve containing a wildlife refuge known for its biodiversity. The marshlands are the core of the bay's ecosystem, providing a haven for more than eighty species of fish and shellfish, a remarkable diversity of migratory birds and a number of endangered and threatened species, including the Atlantic Ridley sea turtle and the Peregrine Falcon.

        Will the marshlands make a comeback? (Picture taken from 10,000 Birds Conservation)

Noteworthy efforts were made to protect the marshes and waters since 1972 as part of the Gateway National Recreation Area.  However, pollution has caused tremendous deterioration of the bay. The bay houses four wastewater treatment facilities (pollution plants), which are part of the sanitary sewer system for Brooklyn and Queens. According to environmentalists, the rate of deterioration is 44 acres a year. In other words, unless substantial efforts are made, many of your children and/or grandchildren will never be able to hike, bird watch, or perform a ritual at the bay. Saving the bay means saving the marches first. Dan Mundy, the president of the Jamaica Bay Eco Watchers, sees the vital role the marshes play in the wider ecosystem:  "They are the best agent in Jamaica Bay for cleansing and filtering the water."

The various agencies involved are hopeful that the federal stimulus funds will transform the bay into an inviting "ecology park" and model of transformation for dwindling habitats. The city hopes to reintroduce local vegetation, construct a sizeable catch basin to prevent polluted waters from reaching the bay and restore the shoreline. These are all essential aspects of a proposed stormwater management plan that, if effective, would be tremendous step toward restoration and preservation of the area.

Anthropogenic pollution has caused the decline of many species in ecosystems throughout the world. The current rate of extinction is 0.5 extinctions/year or one species extinction every 2 years! This is 33-333 times greater than the background extinction rate (rate prior to the influence of humans). It took a 10-kilometer-wide asteroid to cause the catastrophic mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs and many other species 65 million years ago. Are humans causing yet another mass extinction?

Protecting Jamaica Bay involves reducing wastewater pollution and nitrogen buildup. Most importantly, it involves a sense of responsibility, urgency and duty. All potentially dangerous activities must be prohibited. The area has already banned shellfishing. Most of the land and water, owned by the US federal government and New York City, is widely used for various activities, including Hindu ritual services. However, these beautiful ceremonies must not be followed by inappropriate "consecration" of ritual items in the bay. In accord with the principles of Hinduism, we must live in harmony with all of God's creations. Polluting a habitat can kill an organism. The death of one organism leads to the decline and possibly extinction of a species. Do not contribute to this horrific chain of events.