Editing Swamp (section)

==Impacts and conservation==
Historically, humans have been known to drain and/or fill swamps and other wetlands in order to create more space for human development and to reduce the threat of diseases borne by swamp insects. Wetlands are removed and replaced with land that is then used for things like agriculture, real estate, and recreational uses. Many swamps have also undergone intensive logging and farming, requiring the construction of drainage ditches and canals. These ditches and canals contributed to drainage and, along the coast, allowed salt water to intrude, converting swamps to [[marsh]] or even to open water.<ref name="Keddy, P.A 2010"/> Large areas of swamp were therefore lost or degraded. [[Louisiana]] provides a classic example of wetland loss from these combined factors.<ref>Keddy, P.A., D. Campbell, T. McFalls, G. Shaffer, R. Moreau, C. Dranguet, and R. Heleniak. 2007. The wetlands of lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas: past, present and future. Environmental Reviews 15: 1–35.</ref> Europe has likely lost nearly half its wetlands.<ref name="Dugan, P. 2005">Dugan, P. (ed.) 2005. Guide to Wetlands. Buffalo, New York. Firefly Books. 304 p.</ref> New Zealand lost 90 percent of its wetlands over a period of 150 years.<ref>Peters, M. and Clarkson, B. 2010. Wetland Restoration: A Handbook for New Zealand Freshwater Systems. Manaaki Whenua Press, Lincoln, N.Z. {{ISBN|978-0-478-34707-4}} (online)</ref> Ecologists recognize that swamps provide  ecological services including flood control, fish production, water purification, carbon storage, and wildlife habitats.<ref name="Keddy, P.A 2010" /> In many parts of the world authorities protect swamps. In parts of Europe and North America, swamp restoration projects are becoming widespread.<ref name="Hughes, F.M.R. 2003"/><ref>Environment Canada. 2004. How Much Habitat is Enough? A Framework for Guiding Habitat Rehabilitation in Great Lakes Areas of Concern. 2nd ed. 81 p.</ref> The United States government began enforcing stricter laws and management programs in the 1970s in efforts to protect and restore these ecosystems.<ref name=":0" /> Often the simplest steps to restoring swamps involve plugging drainage ditches and removing [[levee]]s.<ref name="Keddy, P.A 2010" />

Conservationists work to preserve swamps such as those in northwest Indiana in the United States [[Midwest]] that were preserved as part of the [[Indiana Dunes]].<ref>Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2006). Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 1.
{{cite web |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes |title=South Shore Journal - Alice Gray, Dorothy Buell, and Naomi Svihla: Preservationists of Ogden Dunes |access-date=2012-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913013557/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-1-2006/78-journals/vol-1-2006/117-alice-gray-dorothy-buell-and-naomi-svihla-preservationists-of-ogden-dunes |archive-date=2012-09-13 }}
</ref><ref>Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2009). The Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation. The South Shore Journal, 3. {{cite web |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |title=South Shore Journal - the Historical Roots of the Nature Conservancy in the Northwest Indiana/Chicagoland Region: From Science to Preservation |access-date=2015-11-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101021140/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-3-2009/83-journals/vol-3-2009/75-the-historical-roots-of-the-nature-conservancy-in-the-northwest-indianachicagoland-region-from-science-to-preservation |archive-date=2016-01-01 }}</ref><ref>Smith, S. & Mark, S. (2007). The cultural impact of a museum in a small community: The Hour Glass of Ogden Dunes. The South Shore Journal, 2. {{cite web |url=http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-2-2007/82-journals/vol-2-2007/104-the-cultural-impact-of-a-museum-in-a-small-community-the-hour-glass-in-ogden-dunes |title=South Shore Journal - the Cultural Impact of a Museum in a Small Community: The Hour Glass in Ogden Dunes |access-date=2012-06-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121130085605/http://www.southshorejournal.org/index.php/issues/volume-2-2007/82-journals/vol-2-2007/104-the-cultural-impact-of-a-museum-in-a-small-community-the-hour-glass-in-ogden-dunes |archive-date=2012-11-30 }}</ref>