A US Naval airship is in New Orleans to assist cleaning up the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The blimp is the latest addition to efforts to save marine animals, and protect the ecosystem.

The blimp's next destination is expected to be Gulfport, Louisiana, and then Mississippi, to coordinate surface resources taking part in the clean-up.

Coast Guard workers says the airship is well suited for this type of large scale effort.

Howard Wright, Commander of Spokesman for Unified Area Command, said, "This is going to give us a dedicated aerial capability of greater endurance than we have right now. It's going to be able to stay on scene longer to identify areas of oil, identify the closest assets and bring those assets to bear on that oil to fight that oil. It'll make better use of our skimming and burning task forces. Also, it'll help us to better identify where there may be marine mammals in distress and bring assets in to help those mammals."

The spewing oil is fouling beaches and creeping into inshore wetlands.

In one area, it's coated about one mile of marsh grass and has the potential to do long-term harm to the delicate ecosystem.

In one spot, crab trapped in the marsh bed all died.

The carcasses of oiled seabirds are being plucked from beaches and coastal areas affected by the oil.

Tourists lined a beach road taking pictures of the oil that was still visible and sticking to their feet.

Leah Coker, Tourist, said, "Oil is just everywhere in here now and it does, it just makes you sick. "

Residents in coastal Mississippi are worried about the impact the spill could have on their community.

Evangeline Vizzini, Local Resident, said, "We were just praying somehow that it wouldn't come here and yesterday we realized that's not going to happen. So I don't know what to expect I've never experienced anything like this before."

Louisiana's wetlands face a major environmental crisis.

And stretches of coast in Alabama, Florida and now, Texas are also affected.

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