Photo: Whitney Flanagan/The Conservation Fund
Thick vegetation lines the sides of this urban river. The Anacostia has suffered the effects of urban growth and industrial pollution, but with efforts underway to restore it and protect it from further degradation the river's wetlands and forests are slowly rebounding. Hundreds of acres of wetlands are being restored, miles of forested buffers now line the river, and other natural filters such as aquatic grasses, mussels and clams are starting to re-emerge.