If you haven’t yet seen the news, there are some very significant pending policy shifts regarding the protection of wetlands in Illinois and across the United States. These are changes we must understand together, because they affect the limited fragile wetlands that remain in Illinois. The Federal Shift: Narrowing the Scope of the Clean Water Act At the federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new rule that would dramatically restrict what counts as a federally-protected “wetland” under the Clean Water Act. Here are some of the key elements: The new definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) would confine protections to relatively permanent bodies of water (rivers, lakes, oceans) and those wetlands with a continuous surface connection to such waters. ( Federal Register ) Seasonal, intermittent, or groundwater-flow-connected wetlands would be excluded from federal oversight. ( Restore America's Estuaries ) The change builds on a 2023 Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision, which held that only wetlands with a continuous surface connection to navigable waters are covered. ( Natural Resources Defense Council ) Environmental groups warn that the change could strip federal protections from tens of millions of acres of wetlands nationwide , including many in the Midwest and Great Lakes region. ( WWNO )