Although the focus of my study was on individual case studies involving a direct interaction with the habitats and their components, there exists litereture relevant to the investigation as well. These sources are relevant for obtaining information about general topics or regional topics. Local knowledge was gained through interviewing and websites created by those whom have an initimate interaction with the landscapes I studied.

The literature that was used in reference to wetlands and their restoration was fairly consistent between the different sources. Their was an emphasis on the components and types of wetlands in addition to their decline, and the process of restoring them as a result. The fact that they were based on the restoration aspects of wetlands shows that this practice is indeed relavent and appropriate in the present. Wetland restoration is unique to each wetland type and each area and is a useful tool in improving the biotic value of a region, through increased habitat for waterfowl and other species and the filtering of water and sediments by the wetland (Hammer 1992; Marble 1992; Shaw 2000).

Tester provides an excellent overview of Minnesota habitats, a read that is informative, accurate, and interesting. He supports his work with photographs, diagrams, and maps when appropriate. He is credible and gets a lot of his information from government records. Although the author is a well-educated professor at the University of Minnesota who has titles such as an Honorary Research Fellow of Aberdeen University in Scotland, he makes the information readable and enjoyable for a broad audience (Tester, 1995).

The three field guides used in this study provide informative and detailed descriptions of plant species. They all come from accredited sources that are reliable and accurate sources of information about plants. The wildflowers guide, A Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North America, comes from a well-respected field guide series, the Peterson Field Guides and is written by Roger Tory Peterson himself, along with Margaret McKenny. The field guide to Minnesota trees, Minnesota Trees, was published by the University of Minnesota and provides species profiles that are specific to this region alone. On the other hand, A Field Guide to the Ecology of Eastern Forests North America gives more broad-based descriptions of species that are found in the eastern portion of the country, and is unique because it provides information in light of ecosystem properties rather than just individual species (Kricher & Morrison 1988; Peterson & McKenny 1996; University of Minnesota).