I'm not sure if this 104th Congress understands that we cannot risk losing more wetlands. This isn't an issue that can afford to be a pawn in the political game they are currently playing. They are always so concerned with short term gain -- business growth, new development, their next re-election campaign -- that they are sacrificing the long term vision. I am not even talking about all the wild creatures we could lose because to get Congress to accurately quantify their worth is next to impossible. I am talking about the drastic change that will occur to human standards of living if wetland regulations are weakened. From additional flooding to incresed pollutants in our water to a decrease in our groundwater levels. The implications run from a staggering economic cost to loss of human life. The wetlands do not need us, we need them. This is an idea that I'm not so sure that our Congressmen in their insular offices, air conditioned cars, and huge houses understand. Kind of ironic when you recall what a wetland Washington, D.C. used to be. The wetland project I worked on was begun over a year ago. There is hope in my heart that life is beginning to return to Peru Creek now. That the wetland has begun to work its natural magic and purify the water. There is also hope in my heart that we humans will begin to understand that mother nature's been around a lot longer than Congress and, just maybe, she knows best.