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EPA awards water quality trading research grant |
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If farmers restore wetlands, can cities and industries pay for it? And will that wetland help to reduce nutrient pollution reaching the Gulf of Mexico? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency would like to find answers to these questions and has awarded the Wetlands Initiative one of 10 national grants to study how water quality trading in the Upper Mississippi River Basin could help meet clean water goals. The Initiative has partnered with economists, lawyers, management consultants, and agricultural specialists to develop a test case for water quality trading between farmers and other nutrient dischargers—such as cities and industries—in a rural watershed in north central Illinois.
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One Mississippi, Two Mississippi . . . |
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One out of every 4 people in the United States impacts the Mississippi River, as 31 states drain their cities and farm fields into the mighty river and its tributaries. Now the Wetlands Initiative is one of the founding members of a new campaign to protect and restore the river and its watershed. The campaign, called “1 Mississippi: Can the River Count on You?,” is sponsored by the Mississippi River Network and the McKnight Foundation.
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More rare habitat at Midewin to be restored |
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The Wetlands Initiative and the U.S. Forest Service are extending their 12-year partnership to restore additional rare wetland and prairie habitat at the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet, Illinois. At 19,000 acres, Midewin is the largest prairie restoration effort east of the Mississippi River. Beginning this year, the Wetlands Initiative will lend its expertise to restoring 500 acres of wetland, prairie, and stream habitat along Midewin’s Grant Creek. This vital parcel will create the largest contiguous tract of restored habitats at Midewin, linking approximately 900 acres of previously-restored areas.
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Wetlands can “green” Chicago |
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Can wetlands be part of the effort to “green Chicago” for the 2016 Olympic bid? The Wetlands Initiative and MWH are teaming up to answer, “yes,” as part of a new public-private collaboration. Called “Forward Chicago,” the effort brings together Chicago’s corporate and non-profit communities to reduce greenhouse emissions in the city and to bring environmental benefits to underserved areas near Olympic venues. MWH engineers, with help from Initiative staff, are designing stormwater landscapes—vacant land that is reshaped and replumbed to hold stormwater while, at the same time, offering green space and recreation to residents. The Initiative intends to use the engineering plans to bring these landscapes to life in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, a few miles west of the proposed Olympic Stadium in Washington Park.
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A new look at an old river |
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Much has been written about the ecological and economic decline in and along the Illinois River. Yet, the 273 miles of this grand river could today serve as a “spine for development,” writes land use planner Stephen Christy in a new issue of Wetland Matters, published by the Wetlands Initiative. Christy traveled the length of the river—observing river towns and natural areas—to re-imagine it as the community builder it once was for Native Americans, who were brought together by the river. Christy proposes ideas for cooperation, restoration, development, and ingenuity to bring the river and its diverse communities back to their historical prominence.
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Are wetlands wastelands or valuable lands? |
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The answer might depend on who you ask. If you ask the Wetlands Initiative, you'll find out that wetlands are more valuable wet than dry. Our 2008 Annual Report explains how we meet our mission to restore the wetland resources of the Midwest to improve water quality, increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity, and reduce flood damages. Read it online or contact us to request a paper copy.
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