Restored wetlands are like people. That’s how Clare Howard begins “In the Spirit of Wetlands,” a book just published by the University of Illinois Press that includes photographs by David Zalaznik.
“For hundreds of years, people generally thought of swamps, bogs, marshes and moors as unproductive land—even menacing and foreboding land," stated Howard.
But each one of those bogs or swamps that make up the world of wetlands has its own character and personality, she noted.
Wetlands serve a number of benefits. They help filter fertilizers and pesticides from the soil. They can help prevent rivers from flooding. They also serve as sanctuaries for wildlife and they store carbon.
The Illinois River wetlands covered in “Spirit” reflect the dedication and hard work of the people who restored them, said Howard.
Many of those people featured in the book will be names recognizable to the central Illinois public: Bud Grieves, Doug and Diane Oberhelman and the Peoria Park District’s Mike Miller.
Other wetlands heroes include the mayor of Gurnee, area farmers, Nature Conservancy personnel and Donald Hey, the co-founder of Wetlands Research in Wadsworth, Illinois.
Hey sees nutrient farming as a way to incentivize farmers to establish more wetlands. By measuring nutrient loss after flowing through a wetland, the monetary value could earn more for farmers than corn or soybeans, Hey suggests.
“We didn’t want to write a science book,” said Howard. “We’re journalists. We wanted to know who are the people who put their belief in swamps? We found dozens,” she said.
Howard worked for 25 years on the Peoria Journal Star, covering numerous environmental issues. She edited the Community Word, a Peoria monthly, for eight years and was the recipient of a Ford Foundation grant to investigate efforts by chemical giant Syngenta to protect its controversial herbicide atrazine.
Zalaznik served as an award-winning photographer on the Peoria Journal Star for 32 years, leaving in December 2020. His previous book, “Life on the Illinois River,” was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2009.
The 80 photographs that accompany Howard’s text in “Spirit” are in black and white for emphasis, said Zalaznik. “They range between landscape shots, personality and people profiles along with wildlife scenes. They’re all intertwined,” he said.
A number of Zalaznik’s photos will be on display at a book signing/reception at the Peoria Art Guild, 203 Harrison St., in Downtown Peoria from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 5.
Copies of the book can be ordered from the U. of I. Press at (800) 621-2736.
