MONEY MAKER
The San Francisco Bay has always been considered a beautiful healthy bay, that brings visitors from all over. In 2018, San Francisco alone brought in 25.8 million visitors, who spent 10 billion dollars (Li, 2019). This huge economic value will continue to increase even more in future years if the San Francisco Bay is protected and healthy. But would people still visit if the water was brown, and shorebirds were gone? Flocks of birds off Baker Beach and the sea lions at Pier 39 are profit-generating attractions, that wouldn’t be there without a healthy bay. All of the bay’s organisms rely on wetlands to remove toxins, hatch fish, and control tides. This is an example of the use-value of the salt marsh harvest mouse.
THE MARSH WILL SAVE US
The salt marsh harvest mouse has significant instrumental value because of its role in the ecosystem. Wetlands are the natural nurseries for fish, which we catch and sell for our own economic benefit (Commonwealth, 2019). Without wetlands, our highly urbanized coastlines would be more prone to flooding. Wetlands slow down the speed of the water and distribute it more evenly across the floodplain. They are also absorbent which gives them a high carrying capacity, can even handle the increased runoff water caused by pavement (EPA, 2018). Since 1980, flood damage has cost the US well over 260 billion dollars (Lightbody, 2016). Protecting and rebuilding wetlands will minimize these expenses.
CLIMATE CHANGE COMBATTER
The marshes also sequester excess carbon from our atmosphere through photosynthesis, which makes them a “carbon sink.” Destroying our carbon sinks releases the carbon back into the atmosphere, usually in the form of methane, which is an even more potent greenhouse gas (Weaver, 2012). This means that our marshes are defending against global warming. Unfortunately, destroying marshes creates a positive feedback loop. This means that the faster we destroy, the destruction will increase exponentially from other sources. In the case of marshes, this destruction is from sea level rise. The more wetlands we destroy, the more methane we release. More methane in our atmosphere means increased atmospheric temperatures, which in turn leads to higher water temperatures. Our warming oceans combined with the melting glaciers are set to cause sea level to rise 28 inches by 2100 which would cover acres of wetland as well as urban areas (Shaftel, 2018).
NATURAL FILTER
Another service of tidal marshes is the capability to naturally filter water. All the pollution from fertilizers, pesticides, and road runoff flowing into our streams and out towards the open water. Before reaching our ocean though, it flows through the marshes in the deltas. Here pollution is trapped in sediment and absorbed by plants and microorganisms. A single swamp was tested and the results showed that it was purifying the equivalent of a $5 million water treatment plant (NPS, 2015). In the US alone, there are 15,000 such plants, each costing millions to operate every year (U.S. Wastewater, 2019). Wetlands do the exact same job but without the work and cost. And without any filtering, our pollution kills fish, amphibians, and plants (Marshall, 2017).
IT CAN'T SAVE ITSELF
The salt marsh harvest mouse doesn’t have the means to stand up for itself. Its body is a minuscule 2-3 inches long and it weighs .3 to .7 ounces (Jaiswal, 2018). It has no means of defense against the countless threats that humans have caused in addition to those it already naturally faces. California voles are pushing the salt marsh harvest mouse further and further out because they are better at surviving around us humans. Right now, the only thing keeping the salt marsh harvest mouse alive is it’s unusual ability to survive off saltwater. This is something extremely rare in mammals, and if we lose the species, we lose this incredible feat of evolution. The mouse also deserves protection, because every living creature has a right to live in its natural habitat. If all other reasons are not enough, then we should at least save it for its intrinsic value. Everything species deserves a place to live, and every future generation should have the chance to see these beautiful species. So if its functional benefits aren't enough for you, then at least save it for its bequest value, and let your children and grandchildren enjoy it for years to come.
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Unfortunately, due to the small population, it is nearly impossible for us humans to see the mouse, and truly appreciate how cute and special it is. As it gets pushed towards the very edges of the marshes, it becomes ever more difficult to see. Coming from the other direction are the rising sea levels. If we don’t act now, the habitat will continue to shrink, and we will lose this adorable little mouse forever.
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THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
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In August 2019, the Trump administration made a change to the Endangered Species Act that has pushed many new species to the edge of extinction. President Richard Nixon first signed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, and it helped protect the futures of many species such as the bald eagle, California condor, grizzly bear and the northern grey wolf. If you want our future generations to be able to experience life with these beautiful animals, then the changes will concern you. With the new changes, species that are considered “threatened” will no longer get the same protection as endangered species, even though they are only one category away. The point of the act is to prevent extinction, but with these new changes that are being displayed by the administration, it will only do the opposite (Aguilera, 2019).
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