It's the classic conflict between development and the environment. Many area leaders welcome growth and higher tax bases.
Environmentalists say if the wetland is suffocated, everyone loses.
Lost wetlands are restored for a number of reasons. Sometimes, they replace a wetlands area lost because of construction or farming. Typically those projects are small in scope. Now a conservation group is looking to create an entire ecosystem in the Midwest through a massive wetland restoration program. An experimental wetland built by Purdue University a couple of years ago to see if it could clean up routine runoff from farm fields got an unexpected challenge recently when manure from a confined animal feeding operation spill was diverted into it.