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habitat for fish and ......ildlife. The cultural resources of floodplains include the maintenance of a harvest of natural products, places for recreation, scientific study, and outdoor education, and sites of historic and archeological interest. Although the value of these resources is now well recognized and most of the processes contributing to them reasonably well understood, it has proven difficult and sometimes impossible to assign economic values to the functions served and benefits provided by floodplains. Water Resources \Vater can be put to human use either while it is in the stream or other water body or v....hen it is diverted and used elsewhere. OfTstream, surface ......ater can be used for irrigation, for industrial and municipal purposes, and energy production. These uses reduce the flm... or level of water, at least tem- porarily, and inevitably degrade its quality somewhat. Instream uses of ......ater include navigation, fish and wildlife propagation, waste transport, hydropower generation, agricultural and industrial uses, recreational activities, and sup- plying drinking water. Instream uses usually require a minimum flow or water level and hence tend to compete with offstream uses. Flood and Erosion Control I\'atural, unaltered floodplain systems can reduce flood velocities, reduce flood peaks, and reduce wind and wave impacts because their physical charac- teristics affect flood flows and, typically, provide space for the dispersal and temporary storage of flood waters until the natural drainage can carry them away. This natural function obviously can reduce the potential damages and loss of life from floods. One acre of a floodplain can store about 325,000 gallons of ......ater if flooded to a depth of only one foot. Floodplain vegetation, Natural and Cultural Resources of Floodplains Water Resources Natural Flood and Erosion Control . Reduce flood velocities . Reduce flood peaks . Reduce wind and wave impacts . Stabilize soils Surface Water Quality Maintenance . Reduce sediment loads . Filter nutrients and impurities . Process organic and chemical wastes . Moderate temperature of water . Reduce sediment loads Maintain Groundwater Supply and Quality . Promote infiltration and aquifer recharge . Reduce frequency and duration of low flows; i.e. increase/enhance base 00\'0.' Living Resources Support Flora . Maintain high biological produc- tivity of floodplain and wetland vegetation . Maintain productivity of natural forests . Maintain natural crops . Maintain natural genetic diversity Provide Fish and Wildlife Habitat . Maintain breeding and feeding grounds . Create and enhance waterfowl habitat . Protect habitat for rare and endangered species Cultural Resources Maintain Harvest of Natural and Agricultural Products . Create and enhance agricultural lands . Provide areas for cultivation of fish and shellfish . Create and enhance forest lands . Provide harvest of fur resources Provide Opportunities for Recreation . Provide areas for active and consum ptive uses . Provide areas for passive activities . Provide open space values . Provide aesthetic values Provide Areas for Scientific Study and Outdoor Education . Provide opportunities for ecological studies . Provide historical and archaeological sites Coastal barrwrs art comtantly changing IIlnd forms. The;- protect m1.Uh if the Atlllntic and Gulf coart from the direct dftas if high water, waves, currents. and I!:v€re simms. Devewpmmt on a coastal barrier, Graru! Isk, Louisiana. - 9