Individuals from all walks of life have devoted their time, energy, and money to restoring the state's lost wetlands. Clare Howard and David Zalaznik take readers into the marshes, bogs, waterways, and swamps brought back to life by these wetland pioneers. Howard’s storytelling introduces grassroots conservators dedicated to learning through trial and error, persistence, and listening to the lessons taught by wetlands. They undertake hard work inspired by ever-increasing floods and nutrient runoff, and they reconnect the Earth’s natural rhythms. Zalaznik's stunning black and white photos illuminate changes in the land and the people themselves. Seeds sprout after lying dormant for one hundred years. Water winds through ancient channels. Animals and native plants return. As the forgiving spirit of a wetland emerges, it nurtures a renewed landscape that alters our view of the environment and the planet.

An inspiring document of passion and advocacy, In the Spirit of Wetlands reveals the transformative power of restoration.

Clare Howard is a journalist formerly at the Peoria Journal Star. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists. David Zalaznik is a photojournalist formerly at the Peoria Journal Star and the Lincoln Courier. He is the author of Life along the Illinois River.