An early observer remarked that it was doubtful that organic life was anywhere more exquisitely adjusted to its environment "than in the marshes of the ocean shore." Yet through most of American history, coastal wetlands have been viewed as noxious regions, some good for recreation but most fit only for dredging and reclamation. Recently, however, ecologists have recognized the diversity and biotic fecundity of the nation's tidelands.
Joseph Siry carefully traces the interplay among scientific knowledge, popular values, legal frameworks, and public policy in the development of a wetlands...