What we need to do is look past their smell and bugs and mud. We need to realize their full worth as natural flood controllers, groundwater suppliers and pollutant filters. It was estimated that if just 13 million acres of wetlands had been restored in the Mississippi watershed area, the devastation of 1993 could have been averted. $15.7 billion dollars of damage could have been avoided if only we had understood the importance of those marshy bogs. From a purely aesthetic point of view, I appreciate the wetlands. No, I'm not a mud afficianado, nor do I wish to someday wear Au de Marsh perfume. Rather, I'm a bird lover and a newfound fan of froges. The sight of baby birds in these thriving wetland maternity wards; flocks of nesting migratory birds all clammering away at this pit stop; the deafening sound of spring peeper frogs in late spring. Then of course there are the countless other animals who complete the picture of this amazing ecosystem.