Each year, an estimated 60,000 acres of wetlands is lost in the United States. They are the most threatened ecosystem in the country. “People look at a wet, swampy marshy area, and they think: ‘We can improve that. If we drain it, we can turn it into agriculture; if we fill it, we can put buildings on it, and we can improve that land,'” said Mike Saxton, Shaw Nature Reserve’s restoration and land stewardship manager.