The document analyzes the loss of tidal wetlands in New York from 1880 to 2000 based on a study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, finding a 48% loss from the 1880s to 2000 and an additional 19% loss from 1970 to present despite protective legislation passed in the 1970s, indicating wetland decline continues to be a problem. It discusses how wetlands provide important ecosystem services like habitat for marine organisms and nutrient cycling. The main cause of ongoing wetland loss is increased amounts of open water on marsh surfaces due to excess nitrogen leading to the wetland's demise, though laws in the 1970s aimed to protect from draining and filling wet