URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — A new study from the U of I says more than 70% of Illinois wetlands are not federally protected.

Despite this, one local expert talked about the types of benefits these areas provide.

“We have radically remade the land and water in Illinois,” said Prairie River Network Water Policy Director Robert Hirschfeld.

One of these areas is Busey Woods in Champaign County — and others are scattered across Central Illinois. But since a 2023 Supreme Court decision, much of these lands lost the protection they had from the 1972 Clean Water Act, which experts say could lead to several problems.

“We’ve already lost so many of our historic wetlands,” Hirschfeld said. “Only about 10% remain.”

Much of which have turned into farmland, which he said is already affecting Illinois.

“The amount of flood protection that wetlands provide, you know, it’s hundreds of millions of dollars in Illinois alone annually,” Hirschfeld said.

He said they also help filter drinking water, take in tons of carbon and provide a much-needed habitat for wildlife.

“A lot of endangered and threatened species make their homes in wetlands,” Hirschfeld said.

A study posted this month by the U of I said 72% of the state’s remaining wetlands are not protected under the Clean Water Act.

“None of the wetlands that have already been drained or destroyed are impacted here, whether we’re talking about the federal or state law, right, that what’s done is done,” Hirschfeld said. “What we have to do is protect what remains.”

Hirschfeld and the Prairie River team already have a plan. They’re proposing the State Wetlands Protection Law. He said this would allow the state to continue with what the federal government has historically done.

“You would classify wetlands based on their size, their ecological value,” Hirschfeld said. “And depending on that classification, you get a permit, right? If you get a permit to fill the wetland, you would have to mitigate.”

With one clear exception.

“With so much land being used for farming and agriculture, and agriculture being such a big economic driver, the state bill explicitly exempts normal farming activities,” Hirschfeld said.

He said the bill will most likely get a big push and be discussed in the spring legislative session.