THE WETLANDS INITIATIVE
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Mission Statement
The Wetlands Initiative is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring the wetland resources of the Midwest to improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce flood damage.
About This Cause
The Wetlands Initiative (TWI) was founded in 1994 to focus restoration efforts and funds on reversing the environmental damage created by the drainage of valuable wetlands in the upper Midwest. Nearly two decades later, the staff of TWI continues their work as “conservation entrepreneurs” to develop new methods and strategies for restoring our lost wetland ecosystems. TWI operates primarily in northeastern Illinois, targeting the Illinois River Basin. The organization seeks to conduct and support high-quality restoration projects through direct, on-the-ground work and by forming larger partnerships to demonstrate innovative ways to finance large-scale wetland restoration, such as ecosystem service markets. With a focus on science-based, economically sustainable projects and collaborative work with public agencies, TWI’s goal is to develop restoration methods and models that others may copy. In pursuit of its mission, TWI has completed a number of large-scale restoration projects with demonstrated success. TWI has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service for nearly 20 years to restore more than 1,800 acres of rare wetland and prairie habitat at Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie--the largest protected conservation site in the Chicago metropolitan region. TWI’s very first restoration at Midewin was honored in Chicago Wilderness’s first-ever regional Conservation and Native Landscaping Awards. TWI has also restored 3,000 acres of historic backwater floodplain in Putnam County, Illinois, now known as the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge. To date, more than 630 native plant species can be found at the site, and 274 bird species have been observed, including 23 of the 31 state-listed species. In 2012, the Refuge was added to the list of Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands—one of only 38 sites in the U.S. to have received this prestigious designation. The Wetlands Initiative is engaged in other partnerships to restore wetlands on both public and private land. In agricultural watersheds in north-central Illinois, TWI is partnering with farm-sector groups to conduct outreach and provide technical assistance to help farmers install constructed wetlands on their properties. These small, precisely sited wetlands are designed to naturally reduce the nutrient runoff leaving farm fields into local rivers and streams. If widely replicated, they could provide an effective solution to the nutrient pollution that fuels the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico without taking large amounts of farmland out of production. TWI is also partnering with the Chicago Park District, Audubon Great Lakes, and other groups on an assessment of remnant wetland sites in the Calumet region on Chicago's Southeast Side. The knowledge gained from this conservation planning effort will inform management and restoration work to restore healthy hemi-marsh in the Calumet to benefit rare wetland birds and wildlife. In 2016, TWI began restoring Indian Ridge Marsh, a high-priority site along the Calumet River.