SAVANNAH — Coastal Georgia regulators want to change a rule designed to protect the state’s marshes, which serve as a buffer against storms and rising sea levels and are a vital part of the coastal ecosystem. But advocates say the seemingly small change points to a need for a broader review of marsh protections.
The state passed a law to protect its coastal salt marsh half a century ago, meaning that now, though Georgia has a relatively small coastline, it has a large amount of the East Coast’s remaining intact salt marsh. Those marshes absorb the power of strong storm surges and capture carbon in their grasses and mud.
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