What was farm fields before 1993 is now one of the largest man-made marshes in the country and easily accessible via more than 5 miles of foot trails, including 1.4 miles of boardwalk over ponds and streams. The marsh – and the 1,050-acre park – is a result of a land swap when nearby Metro Airport destroyed 200 acres of wetland to expand its runways.State law requires developers to create or set aside 1.5 acres of wetlands for every acre destroyed so the Metro Airport Authority bought dry farmland nearby and flooded it in 1994 to create a 304-acre marsh. Thousands of wetland plants – such as water lilies, hairy asters and marsh marigolds – were imported and planted, tons of dirt were excavated, drains were redirected, ponds created, park infrastructure was installed. In 1997, Crosswinds Marsh opened as the newest and certainly most unusual Wayne County Park.
