Global News - April 2008

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US conservationists struggle to save California wetland'

Fri 25 April 2008 14:00 UK — North America,Birds

Conservationists from the US are struggling to protect a rare wetland area used by a number of rare birds.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that a salt marsh at the mouth of the Tijuana River, on the Californian border with Mexico, is one of the last undeveloped costal areas in the state and home to a number of rare birds.

However, it added that the area is becoming increasingly polluted from waste from the shantytowns that have sprung up around Tijuana.

Oscar Romo, a coastal coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, explained to the AP: "This area is under constant threat. It's essential to keep it alive, to keep it in good shape."

John Callaway of the University of San Francisco added that it was vital the area was protected.

"As we lose salt marsh, it's not just the vegetation that we lose, but all the animals that go with it," he explained to the news agency.

Recent research in the US showed that birds that lived near polluted rivers were at risk of extinction, even if they did not get their food directly from the water.

The study showed that the birds were ingesting dangerous levels of pollutants from spiders which got their food from contaminated waters.

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