First STEP Wetland Restoration Project
During the summer of 2001, First STEP was given the green light to restore the wetlands area north of the pond.  During the summer fundraising started and through lunchtime pizza-by-the-slice sales, enough money was raised to buy 16 tons of rock to build two rock dams.

The rock was delivered August 29th, and the rock shifting has begun.
The larger dam will be at the edge of the pond, and will control the water level and act as a holding area for silt that has been forming a delta in the pond. A smaller dam will slow down the water as it enters the wetlands, and help control erosion from runoff into the area.

The first day.  This is what we had.    I'll add more photos as time and the work goes on.

September 14, 2001
The work continues.  We planted three cypress trees at the wetlands.
 
We planted a baby cypress near the outlet of the wetlands, on the edge of the pond. One bigger tree is near the rock dam.
One large tree is near the smaller upstream dam. Some of the rocks on the larger dam have been moved into place, but there's still plenty to do.
The view from the dam across the pond.  There seems to be plenty of pond vegetation this summer. This is the wetlands, looking west toward the prairie.  Well, it WILL be wetlands someday.....

Spring 2002
The rock is now moved and the dam is doing it's job, slowing the runoff and filtering the sediments.