Healthy Illinois Wetlands Support a Healthier Mississippi River

Illinois lawmakers have an opportunity to reduce flood risk, protect water quality, and conserve essential wildlife habitat by restoring and protecting wetlands. 

Many wetlands in Illinois have been lost over the years, affecting the birds and communities that rely on them. The Wetlands Protections Act would create a comprehensive state permitting program that, except for exempt actions like normal farming activities, would require permission prior to modifying or filling wetlands. This would help avoid impacts to the 72% of Illinois’s 981,000 acres of remaining wetlands that are at risk of development or drainage. The state would be compensated for any impacts that are unavoidable; those funds could then be used for future restoration activities. 

Passage of the Wetlands Protection Act could be part of a broader effort to increase state wetland protections and restoration efforts. For example, in Wisconsin, the state legislature authorized a demonstration project to test natural flood risk reduction practices, such as wetland restoration projects, to mitigate flood impacts in flood-prone areas of Ashland County, WI. The project proved to be so successful that the Wisconsin legislature followed it up with the creation of a Pre-Disaster Flood Resilience Grant Program. Illinois could follow the same formula to create its own pre-disaster flood resilience grant program to support voluntary wetland construction and restoration projects across the state.  

With the risks of further wetland loss leading to greater harm to bird and human communities in Illinois and downstream on the Mississippi River, efforts to protect and expand wetlands are more important and urgent than ever. Illinois and other states lacking comprehensive wetland protections should take steps now to establish programs and safeguards to conserve these critical habitats. 

The Mississippi River was historically characterized as a rich mosaic of braided channels, islands, lakes, and wetlands supporting diverse plant and animal communities. Since the 19^th century, millions of acres of wetlands have been lost throughout the ten states of the mainstem Mississippi River, as well as the river's 1.2 million square mile basin. As European settlers moved westward across the United States, they transformed much of the Mississippi River Basin from forests, wetlands, and prairies to row crops, pastures, and towns. Many wetlands were drained or plowed under for agricultural production, streams and rivers were straightened to improve navigation and planting and harvesting efficiency, and the increase in impervious surfaces like roads and rooftops decreased water infiltration across the landscape, increasing overland runoff.  

Corn Belt states have experienced some of the largest losses of pre-settlement wetlands in the country. Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Ohio have lost more than 85 percent of their historic wetlands. These states now invest millions of dollars each year to prevent pollution, especially nutrient and fertilizer pollution, from entering waterways that eventually flow to the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. Wetlands provide natural filtration that removes these contaminants, improving and protecting water quality.  

Wetlands are also nature’s sponges. Just one acre of wetland, one foot deep, can store up to 1.5 million gallons of water. By storing and slowly releasing water, wetlands reduce streambank erosion, recharge groundwater, and reduce flood damage. Unlike traditional flood mitigation structures, like levees and floodwalls, wetlands do not have expensive upkeep and repair costs following a flood event. A recent study found that every $1 invested in wetlands restoration in Ohio returned $8 to the public.  

In addition to protecting water quality and reducing flood impacts, wetlands provide essential habitat for birds. Approximately one-third of North American bird species, including Bald Eagle, Great Blue Heron, and Brown Pelican, use wetlands for food, shelter, or breeding. Wetland-dependent birds in the Mississippi Flyway include cranes, grebes, herons, kingfishers, loons, owls, perching birds, pelicans, shorebirds, falcons, and waterfowl. They use wetlands for breeding and nesting, as well as for rest stops during long migratory journeys.  

Unfortunately, many of these critical habitats, especially isolated wetlands, are at risk of being lost because they are not protected. States have the regulatory authority and responsibility to protect wetlands. They can define wetland protections and implement programs to support wetland conservation and restoration. Illinois can do this during the current state legislative session, starting with the passage of the Wetlands Protection Act.