The Wetlands Initiative

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The Wetlands Initiative
Founded1994(30 years ago) (1994) (operations began in 1995) [1]
TypeNonprofit conservation organization
Focus Wetland conservation
HeadquartersChicago, Illinois, United States
Area served
Midwestern United States
Executive director and president
Paul Botts [1]
Staff (2019)
27 [2]
Website wetlands-initiative.org

The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) is a non-profit conservation organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, United States. [3] The Wetlands Initiative works with nonprofit and government partners and local communities to advance wetland restoration and science in the Midwestern United States. [4] The organizational vision of TWI is: "A world with plentiful healthy wetlands improving water quality, climate, biodiversity, and human well-being." [1]

Contents

History

The Wetlands Initiative was incorporated in 1994 and operations began in 1995. [1] In 2020, TWI celebrated its 25th anniversary with the release of two short films, including a celebration of co-founder Al Pyott, who died in June 2020. [5] "Wetlands: Havens of Life" is an original video essay by author and naturalist Julian Hoffman, [6] who was to serve as keynote speaker at a 25th-anniversary event that had been called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [7]

Projects

American lotus (Nelumbo lutea) at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge Nelumbo lutea, American lotus at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge.jpg
American lotus ( Nelumbo lutea ) at Dixon Waterfowl Refuge

The Wetlands Initiative owns and manages the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge just outside of Hennepin, Illinois. Most of the site is former Illinois River backwater lakes and wetlands that was drained in the early 20th century and farmed for more than 75 years. TWI purchased the land in 2000 and proposed to demonstrate that such a site could be, within a practicable cost and time, restored to genuinely high quality even after having been drained and farmed for so long. Restoration began in spring 2001, and by 2004 the refuge had been named by the National Audubon Society as an "Important Bird Area". [8] In 2012 the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge was named a "Wetlands of International Importance" [9] under the global Ramsar Convention, only the 34th site in the United States to achieve that recognition. A 26-acre portion of the preserve contains a rare seep, the largest high-quality seep in the Illinois River Valley, that is under protection as an Illinois Nature Preserve. [10] [11]

TWI is a leading partner at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, a United States Forest Service site. [12] The site includes rare and endangered dolomite prairies and sedge meadows. In 2013, a section of Midewin restored by TWI and Openlands won a Conservation and Native Landscaping Award from Chicago Wilderness. [13]

Starting in 2016, TWI with partners launched major restoration projects in the bi-state Calumet Region. At Indian Ridge Marsh, a Chicago Park District site at the extreme southeastern edge of Chicago, the partners are working to establish functional hemi marsh [14] and prairie habitats at a site which for decades was used as a dump for slag and other waste produced by the area's Industrial Age steel mills. [15] [16] In Northwest Indiana, TWI helped organize a growing partnership which is restoring wetlands hydrology and native vegetation across a 2,000-acre corridor of the Little Calumet River which was cleared and leveed off for flood control. [17] Each of these sites had long been identified by area conservationists as promising, but highly challenging, restoration targets.

Targeting agricultural runoff from Illinois farmland that is a major contributor to the growth of the Gulf Coast dead zone, [18] TWI is encouraging and helping Illinois farmers to install constructed wetlands that mitigate the flow of agriculture pollutants into the Illinois River. [19] The "Smart Wetlands" project operates in close partnership with the Illinois Sustainable Ag Partnership and farm-sector groups including the Illinois Corn Growers Association. [20] [21] Four of the in-line treatment wetlands had been installed as of fall 2020: two on farms in Bureau County, [22] one on a farm in Livingston County and one on the campus of Illinois Central College, a community college which has the state's busiest agronomy degree program.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsar Convention</span> International treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands

The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on Wetlands. It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran, where the convention was signed in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsar site</span> Wetland site as designated by the Ramsar Convention

A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, also known as "The Convention on Wetlands", an international environmental treaty signed on 2 February 1971 in Ramsar, Iran, under the auspices of UNESCO. It came into force on 21 December 1975, when it was ratified by a sufficient number of nations. It provides for national action and international cooperation regarding the conservation of wetlands, and wise sustainable use of their resources. Ramsar identifies wetlands of international importance, especially those providing waterfowl habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallgrass prairie</span> Ecosystem native to central North America

The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachment of trees, recycling soil nutrients, and facilitating seed dispersal and germination. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled large scale conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies extended throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie</span> Largest tallgrass prairie restoration area in the United States, located in Illinois

The Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (MNTP) is a tallgrass prairie reserve and is preserved as United States National Grassland operated by the United States Forest Service. The first national tallgrass prairie ever designated in the U.S. and the largest conservation site in the Chicago Wilderness region, it is located on the site of the former Joliet Army Ammunition Plant between the towns of Elwood, Manhattan and Wilmington in northeastern Illinois. Since 2015, it has hosted a conservation herd of American bison to study their interaction with prairie restoration and conservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cache River (Illinois)</span> River in Illinois, United States

The Cache River is a 92-mile-long (148 km) waterway in southernmost Illinois, in a region sometimes called Little Egypt. The basin spans 737 square miles (1,910 km2) and six counties: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union. Located at the convergence of four major physiographic regions, the river is part of the largest complex of wetlands in Illinois. The Cache River Wetlands is America's northernmost cypress/tupelo swamp and harbors 91 percent of the state's high quality swamp and wetland communities. It provides habitat for more than 100 threatened and endangered species in Illinois. In 1996, the Cache was designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention.

The Calumet Region is the geographic area drained by the Grand Calumet River and the Little Calumet River of northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana in the United States. It is part of the Great Lakes Basin, which eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It is a sub-region of the greater Northwest Indiana region and the even larger Great Lakes region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum</span> National Historic Landmark

The University of Wisconsin–Madison Arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the site of historic research in ecological restoration. In addition to its 1,260 acres (5 km2) in Madison, Wisconsin, the Arboretum also manages 520 acres (210 ha) of remnant forests and prairies throughout Wisconsin. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2021, in recognition for its role as a pioneer in the field of ecological restoration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prairie restoration</span> Conservation efforts focused on prairie lands

Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. The primary aim is to return areas and ecosystems to their previous state before their depletion.

Powderhorn Lake, within Illinois but close to the state line, is a 48 acres (19 ha) lake that is part of the sand wetlands of the Indiana Dunes, most of which are located in the nearby state of Indiana. It is the centerpiece of the 192 acres (78 ha) Powderhorn Lake Forest Preserve, part of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County in Cook County, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joliet Army Ammunition Plant</span> United States Army arsenal in Illinois

Joliet Army Ammunition Plant (JOAAP, formerly known as the Joliet Arsenal) was a United States Army arsenal located in Will County, Illinois, near Elwood, Illinois, south of Joliet, Illinois. Opened in 1940 during World War II, the facility consisted of the Elwood Ordnance Plant (EOP) and the Kankakee Ordnance Works (KNK). In 1945, the two were deactivated and combined forming the Joliet Arsenal. The plant was reactivated for the Korean War and renamed Joliet Army Ammunition Plant during the Vietnam War. Production of TNT ended in 1976, and the major plant operations closed shortly after in the late 1970s. The facility briefly revived an automated load-assemble-pack (LAP) artillery shell operation that was managed by the Honeywell Corporation during the Reagan administration in the 1980s before it was finally closed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area</span> State park in Illinois, USA

Goose Lake Prairie State Natural Area is a 2,537-acre (1,027 ha) state park and listed state nature preserve. More than half of the state park is a tallgrass prairie maintained as a natural area of Illinois. It is located in Grundy County near the town of Morris approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest of Chicago.

The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge is an American wildlife refuge. It is located in the Cache River watershed in southernmost Illinois, largely in Pulaski County, but with extensions into Union, Alexander, and Johnson counties. The refuge was established in 1990 under the authority of the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986. The refuge protects over 16,000 acres (65 km2) of the Cache River wetlands, and has a purchase boundary of 36,000 acres (146 km²) contiguous.

The Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge is a 11,122-acre (45.01 km2) wetland wildlife refuge located in Waterford Township in Fulton County, Illinois across the Illinois River from the town of Havana. Only 3,000 acres (12 km2) are currently managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges Complex. It is in the Central forest-grasslands transition ecoregion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge</span> National wildlife refuge in Minnesota, United States

Glacial Ridge National Wildlife Refuge was created on October 12, 2004, the 545th National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Its creation was the result of cooperation between at least 30 agencies or governmental entities. The creation of the refuge was spearheaded by The Nature Conservancy, and the initial endowment of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) of land was donated by the Conservancy. In light of its planned final size of 37,756 acres (153 km2), it is described by the US Fish and Wildlife Service as "the largest tallgrass prairie and wetland restoration project in U.S. history."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pointe Mouillee State Game Area</span> Protected area in Michigan, U.S.

Pointe Mouillee State Game Area is a state game area in the U.S. state of Michigan. It encompasses 7,483 acres (30.3 km2) of hunting, recreational, and protected wildlife and wetland areas at the mouth of the Huron River at Lake Erie, as well as smaller outlying areas within the Detroit River. Pointe Mouillee State Game Area was established in 1945 and is administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The North American Wetlands Conservation Act signed into law by President George H. W. Bush on December 13, 1989 authorizes a wetlands habitat program, administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, which provides grants to protect and manage wetland habitats for migratory birds and other wetland wildlife in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. A nine-member council meets periodically to decide which projects to fund.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dixon Waterfowl Refuge</span> Wetland preserve in Putnam County, Illinois

The Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge is a 3,100-acre riverine wetland in Putnam County, Illinois. Located just south of the county seat of Hennepin, it occupies the former site of Hennepin Lake and adjacent Hopper Lake. The reclaimed wetland is a Ramsar treaty site, a wetland of international importance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hobart Nature District</span>

The Hobart Nature District is located in the City of Hobart, Indiana and includes over 1,000 acres (400 ha) of scenic parks, wetlands and floodplains, winding rivers, peaceful lakes, open prairies, oak savannas, old-growth forests, and undulating ravines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ducks Unlimited Canada</span> Canadian conservation organization

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is a Canadian non-profit environmental organization that works to conserve, create, restore and manage Canadian wetlands and associated uplands in order to provide healthy ecosystems that support North American waterfowl, other wildlife and people. They work with industry leaders, government agencies, landowners and other non-profit organizations to collaboratively protect critical habitats. DUC is a separate organization from Ducks Unlimited Inc. (DU) and Ducks Unlimited de Mexico (DUMAC). However, the three organizations collaborate on conservation projects that benefit the wide variety of species that migrate across the continent during their annual biological cycle.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "The Wetlands Initiative". The Wetlands Initiative. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  2. "Irreplaceable Wetlands: An Anniversary Celebration & 2019 Annual Report" (PDF). The Wetlands Initiative.
  3. "Charity Navigator – Rating for The Wetlands Initiative". Charity Navigator. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  4. "The Wetlands Initiative – McKnight Foundation". Mcknight.org. January 6, 2017. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  5. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : The Wetlands Initiative at 25. YouTube .
  6. "Bio". March 12, 2010.
  7. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : Wetlands: Havens of Life. YouTube .
  8. "Important Bird Areas".
  9. "Ramsar Designation".
  10. "DNR". February 25, 2015. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  11. "Illinois Nature Preserves Commission". Dnr.illinois.gov. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  12. "Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie – Partnerships". Fs.usda.gov. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  13. "Conservation and Native Landscaping Awards – Chicago Wilderness". Chicagowilderness.org. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  14. "Hemi-Marsh | Storm Lake, IA - Official Website".
  15. "Indian Ridge Marsh | Chicago Park District".
  16. "The Calumet Region".
  17. "Chicago District > Missions > Civil Works Projects > Little Calumet River".
  18. Batty, Stuart. "Excess Nutrients". Epa.illinois.gov. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  19. Levey, Morgan. "Can Farm Wetlands in Illinois Stop a Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico?". Chicago magazine.
  20. Mitsch WJ, Day JW, Gilliam JW, Groffman PM, Hey DL, Randall GW, and Wang N (2001). "Reducing Nitrogen Loading to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin: Strategies to Counter a Persistent Ecological Problem". BioScience. 51 (5): 373–388. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0373:rnlttg]2.0.co;2.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. "Home". smartwetlands.farm.
  22. "Bureau County hosts conservation expo". Bcrnews.com. Retrieved October 26, 2017.