"Greed Is Good"

Gordon Gekko, new or old, was right: money and profit matter, even in wetland restoration. There is little dispute that wetland restoration on private property creates significant ecological benefits that can be assigned cash value. Economists have estimated the monetary value of wetland functions as fishery nurseries, flood control, and pollutant removal. Those economic benefits are spread regionally and often to locations far removed from the restored property. Wetlands used for wildlife breeding can support recreational hunting and commercial fisheries tens, hundreds, and thousands of miles away.