I spent a lovely Sunday afternoon walking round Crosswinds Marsh which is one of the largest man-made wetlands in the country. It was built to replace the wetlands that were going to be paved over to expand Detroit Metro Airport. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality required the airport to move away any threatened or endangered plants and animals and create one-and-a-half acres of new wetlands for every one-acre impacted by the construction. Crosswinds Marsh is a 1,000-acre wetland interpretive preserve which offers a unique opportunity to observe a variety of wetland environments, including forested wetlands, wet meadows, shallow water emergent wetlands, and deep water habitats. The area offers a blend of natural and man-made wetlands, wildflower meadows, and upland forests, attracting more than 140 species of birds, 30 species of mammals, and a variety of reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Butterflies and dragonflies abound!