In 1993, Harford Land Trust protected its’ first parcel, 103 acres of lake and stream bordered by marsh, shrub swamp and bottomland hardwood forest. The water from this wetland complex flows into the Bush River and ultimately into the Chesapeake Bay. Additional wetlands have been protected by the Trust since then, but why would a land trust work to protect “swamps”? Until the 1950’s, wetlands were generally regarded as wasteland, vile and treacherous places harboring dangerous people and haunted by evil spirits. Even words describing wetlands are homonyms with unpleasant meanings: bog, quagmire, swamp, muck and mire. Fortunately, scientific research over the past 60 years has clearly shown that wetlands and their ecological functions have great value to all of us.