Nine thousand years of untouched swamp history vanished when the land was drained 260 years ago, and now the controversial decision to flood it again is finally underway. The massive restoration project aims to reverse generations of damage, reconnecting the land to its original waterways and reviving long-lost habitats.
In August 2011, Hurricane Irene delivered 12 inches of rain onto an active wildfire in Virginia’s Great Dismal Swamp. The fire, already burning for weeks, continued for a total of 111 days, smoldering beneath the floodwater. The rain could not reach the fire because the fire was not burning on the surface. It was burning inside the peat soil itself.The Great Dismal Swamp is a peatland on the Virgi…