By Mark Tercek – The Huffington Post – August 10, 2012

I first visited the Emiquon Preserve in Illinois a few years ago -- not long after The Nature Conservancy and its partners had begun restoring nearly 7,000 acres of wetlands here. As I drove to the site, I remember passing one farm field after another. Then, topping a hill, I suddenly caught a glimpse of the wetlands, alive with flocks of waterfowl below. I was reminded of this moment by the recent designation of Emiquon as a Wetland of International Significance under the Ramsar Convention. The news is encouraging. Just a few years before my visit, much of these wetlands had all but disappeared. Decades ago, the land had been cut off from the Illinois River with levees and then drained to create farm fields -- a common practice that contributed to the loss of more than half the wetlands in the United States. For full blog post, click here.