Mission

The Wetlands Initiative designs, restores, and creates wetlands. We innovate, collaborate, and employ sound science to improve water quality, habitat for plants and wildlife, and our climate.

What We Do

We work to restore and protect damaged and vulnerable ecosystems in Illinois and Indiana, with a focus on wetlands. Our diverse projects include restoring post-industrial sites such as Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie near Joliet, Illinois, and Indian Ridge Marsh in Chicago's Calumet region; returning agricultural land to native habitats, including our own Dixon Waterfowl Refuge along the Illinois River; and helping Illinois farmers reduce nutrient pollution by installing constructed wetlands on their cropland.