ABSTRACT
Understanding the Watershed Context for Wetland Restorations ..................... 136 Runoff Travel Time ................................................................................................ 139 Denition of Early, Middle, and Late Areas Relative to the Red River Main Stem ....................................................................................................................... 139 General Hydrological Framework for Considering Wetland Restoration .............. 140
Biological Productivity and Diversity, and Hydrology Relationships .............. 140 Diversity, Hydraulic Performance, and Outlet Design Characteristics Were All Related ............................................................................................................. 143
Summary ........................................................................................................... 144 Kankakee Sands, Rensselaer, Indiana .................................................................... 145
The Restoration Process .................................................................................... 145 Summary ........................................................................................................... 151
Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 153 References .............................................................................................................. 154
Typical wetland restorations in developed western nations proceed from regulatory actions and the goals of conservation groups. Most restored wetlands are small, a few to several hundred acres, and not on a landscape scale. Some projects have aimed to restore historic hydrological conditions, but few achieve high-quality biological outcomes. Most projects contribute little to regional or global-scale biodiversity, water management, or other valuable functional outcomes. Rarely do these western projects provide much for human subsistence.
