Wetland Restoration
For North Carolina
Save and protect your local environments.
ILM Specializes in Wetland Restoration
and Wetland Re-Creation for North Carolina.
What is a Wetland?
In North Carolina, including communities like Rutherfordton, wetlands are the critical transition zones where land and water meet. They appear in many forms—such as marshes, bogs, swamps, and floodplains—but all share common features: they remain wet for part of the year, contain soils formed under saturated conditions, and support plants adapted to water. Across the state, wetlands provide essential benefits. They filter and improve water quality, reduce erosion, store carbon, help control flooding, and create habitat for a wide variety of plant and animal life. In addition, wetlands offer scenic spaces for recreation, from birdwatching and fishing to hiking and paddling. Protecting and restoring wetlands in Rutherfordton and across North Carolina is vital to the health of our environment, our communities, and our future.
Loss of Wetlands in North Carolina
Since European settlement, North Carolina has experienced extensive wetland loss—much of it due to agriculture, development, and infrastructure expansion. In regions like Rutherfordton, this loss has reduced natural flood protection, degraded water quality, and diminished wildlife habitat. Statewide, only a fraction of North Carolina’s historic wetlands remain, creating urgent challenges for both local communities and ecosystems. Protecting and restoring these wetlands is critical to ensuring cleaner water, healthier habitats, and stronger resilience against flooding and climate impacts across the state.
Recreating and Restoring Wetlands in North Carolina
Across North Carolina—including communities like Rutherfordton—there is a growing effort to recreate and restore wetlands because of their vital role in protecting water quality, reducing flooding, and strengthening climate resilience. Much of this restoration takes place on former agricultural land, where drainage systems such as tile drains, ditches, and pumps were originally built to dry the soil. By plugging, filling, or removing these systems, water can once again saturate the land and support natural wetland functions. Fields may be reshaped into shallow basins that hold water, while nearby streams and floodplains are reconnected to encourage healthy water flow. Native plants such as sedges, grasses, and aquatic vegetation are introduced to stabilize soil, filter runoff, and provide critical habitat for wildlife. Long-term management is essential to control invasive species and help native ecosystems thrive, ensuring that North Carolina’s wetlands remain resilient and beneficial for generations to come.
Wetland restoration at Pingree Grove. View the project here.
Wetland Restoration Service Examples
Invasive Plant Control
Invasive wetlands plants like narrowleaf cattail (Typha angustifolia), hybrid cattail (Typha x glauca), and giant reed (Phragmites australis ) are a concern due to their aggressive spread and ability to displace native plant species and wildlife. A targeted approach for their control often combines herbicide treatment with physical management.
The best time to apply a wetland-approved herbicide is late summer to early fall, when plants are storing energy in their roots. Herbicide is wiped directly to tall stems or sprayed using a backpack sprayer to coat the leaves and stems. Wait 2–3 weeks after herbicide application to allow it to move into the roots. Then cut or mow dead stalks to remove biomass and open the canopy for native regrowth. In large areas, burning dead material is an option, but this does require permits.
One treatment is rarely enough. It typically takes 2–3 years of follow-up to fully control cattails or phragmites, especially in dense stands.
Wetland Scrape
A wetland scrape is a shallow excavation made to create or enhance wetland habitat by lowering the land surface to encourage water to collect. It is designed to hold seasonal or permanent water and improves conditions for native plants and wildlife while supporting water retention, flood control and improved water quality. Excavators dig out material 6 inches to 2 feet deep and these “pockets” are often left unplanted to create open water habitats. Wetland scrapes are especially beneficial for waterfowl, reptiles and amphibians.
Recent wetlands scrapes include the Forest Preserve District of Kane County (Pingree Grove 2023) and Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (Mill Creek 2025).
Take an in-depth look at a our Pingree Grove Wetland Scrape project.
Wetland Re-creation
Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge is a growing conservation landscape straddling McHenry County, IL, and Walworth County, WI, just between the Chicago and Milwaukee metro areas. Established in 2012, it aims to protect approximately 11,200 acres of wetlands, oak savanna, prairie, and riparian corridors. By removing drain tiles, filling in old drainage ditches, and reestablishing the creek’s original meander, hydrology will be restored along Nippersink Creek that will result in over 100 acres of re-created wetlands. Project will be completed summer 2025.
View some our results at Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge.
Photo courtesy of Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge
Wetland Channel Dredging
Wetlands channels are subject to filling in especially when the wetland is comprised of aggressive cattail and common reed. These plants produce a great deal of biomass every year, coupled with their rhizomatous root growth, fill-in, and choke-off channels over time. The only way to restore the channel is to dredge out the plant material.
Access to wetlands is a challenge since they are – wet. Traditional construction equipment will sink without the use of timber mats which are time-intensive and costly to install. Another option is to wait for the frozen ground to support the equipment which is unreliable given our warmer winters. The solution to this access issue is amphibious equipment. The use of this low-ground pressure dredging equipment allows for access to the most difficult of locations with no concern about wetness or weather.
Click here to dig deeper into our Wetland Channel Dredging service.