The size and scope of this spill grows everyday. The coastal wetlands down here are stress as it is, and I can see there being major lost of habitat. What do you guys think are the best and worst case scenarios of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill?

I don't know if there is a best case scenario, just degrees of bad. So far the weather has kept it out of the marshes, the breeding waters for shirmp and the oyster beds, but there is no way to know how long the good luck will hold out.

Have there been any studies of the effects of oil spills on marshlands/swamps?

There has been a few studies, but point to a need for more reseach. A beach landing would have a smaller impact than a marsh, but if the spill drifts futher east it could start killing coral reefs. It like watching a hurricane make landfall, you hope it doesn't hit you, but feel sorry for whoever it does.

Governor Jindal of Louisiana Approves Dredging Without Corps Permit

The state began a dredging project Friday to keep oil from a massive Gulf of Mexico leak out of the state’s wetlands — even though the federal government has not approved the project.

“We can’t afford to wait any longer,” Jindal said of waiting for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to approve an emergency permit for the project. “We know the oil is coming in.”

Jindal has been pleading for days with the corps to approve the state’s emergency permit application that would allow a fleet of dredges to build up the state’s barrier islands.

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/94640884.html