Father began wetland restoration in 1993; son later restored nearly 48 acres

Thirty-three years after an Indiana landowner first tried to turn a flood-prone and difficult farm field back into a natural wetland, his son has completed the restoration of nearly 48 acres in St. Joseph County, creating a protected space for native wildlife to return. The project, described in an official report by the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA NRCS), shows the long-term transformation of farmland managed by Jim Wicks and Tom Malcolm. Through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Wetland Reserve Easements (WRE), administered by Indiana NRCS, the landowners permanently set aside 47.7 acres of former farmland. The easement ensures the property remains a protected natural area and prevents future farming, land clearing or commercial development. The story of the property began in 1993, when Wicks’ father first applied to place the wet and difficult farmland under federal wetland protection programmes.