Let’s build a swamp–but do it right this time. “Despite progress in the last 20 years, the goal of no net loss for wetland function is not being met,” according to a press release announcing a new National Research Council committee report. In theory, developers who can’t avoid filling in wetlands can make up for the damage by building new ones. The committee, chaired by Joy Zedler of the University of Wisconsin, found that practice doesn’t follow theory. “Some required mitigation projects are never undertaken or are not completed. Of those completed, most are not fully evaluated, and in the ones that are, the committee and other scientists found shortcomings compared to nearby natural wetlands.” Unless the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers steps up enforcement and creates a national database, there will be no way to make sure that new construction is not destructive.
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In Du Page it’s a public health problem; in Cook it’s a crime. Rui Kaneya writes in the Chicago Reporter (May): “Cook County drug offenders are far less likely to receive drug treatment as part of their probation than those in Illinois’ other 101 counties.
