text:  So if a hurricane comes off of the open water of the Gulf of Mexico, as it crosses over wetlands, it crosses over oyster reefs, it tends to weaken. And so it packs less of a punch when it reaches communities inland. So we can't just use levees or floodgates to protect us from storms. We need other things as well. Coastal wetlands, we need coastal forests, we need oyster reefs, we need a healthy coast.