Restoring Wetlands

Restoring wetlands can increase the amount of carbon stored in Illinois ecosystems.
Restoring wetlands can help reach the goal of conserving 30% of nature in the state. If all of the historic grassland were restored and protected, Illinois would reach 17% of the goal of conserving 30 x 30.

Conserving, restoring and creating wetlands will help meet the goal of conserving 30% of nature by 2030. Wetlands also sequester carbon, while providing wildlife habitat, filtering air and water, and offering opportunities for people to enjoy nature.

We have developed several “What if….” scenarios to help imagine and compare different scenarios for the future. These scenarios include restoring natural areas (forests, grasslands and wetlands) and creating buffers along rivers and roads. These are not intended as recommendations for policies or management; similarly, the analysis does not recommend or prioritize any specific sites for restoration.

We analyzed the current extent of wetland in Illinois using landcover data from the US Geological Survey. We estimated the amount of carbon stored in wetlands by multiplying a carbon sequestration factor to the wetland acreage.

Impact of Restoring Wetlands

Restoring and conserving all of the historic wetlands can add many acres of conservation land, bringing the amount of conserved land in Illinois up to 17% of the statewide goal. Even restoring 30% of the historic wetlands would make a big contribution.

Visualizing Wetland Restoration

Explore the map below to compare historic wetland areas with current landscapes.

Map: Restoring Wetlands. This map shows the location of historic and current wetlands . Explore the impact of restoring wetlands by clicking on a county to see more detailed data. Using the map tools, you may pan, zoom, and turn layers on and off.

The landcover data shown in this map comes from 2016 National Land Cover Database, provided by the US Geological Survey (https://www.mrlc.gov/data/nlcd-2016-land-cover-conus). Carbon sequestration values of forest, wetland, grassland, and farmland were acquired from a USGS baseline survey of carbon storage (Zhu and Reed, 2014, https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1804).