The area also provides unique research opportunities. After the eastern half of the federally managed land was designated as a National Wilderness Area in 1968, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service returned the area to an unblemished natural state, restoring drained wetlands and removing all traces of human habitation. Eight miles of trails through the wilderness area are accessible only on foot and offer expeditions especially sublime. A walk through the swamp usurps your will, absorbing you into its primeval past. Hillock poke through shallow puddles.
Tree stumps dissolve into the muck and new growth arises from the decay.
For bird lovers the Great Swamp is paradise. Endangered species include the blue-spotted salamander, the bog turtle, and the wood turtle.