McPherson Valley Wetlands preserves part of a once much larger chain of marshes, wetlands, and shallow lakes stretching through central Kansas. In the late 19th century, the valley held 52 marshes and more than 9,000 acres of water, including Big Basin and Lake Inman, Kansas’s largest natural lake. After heavy market hunting of waterfowl, most marshes were drained around 1900 for farmland, though much of the land remained too wet for reliable cultivation. Beginning in 1989, restoration rebuilt wetland habitat and protected thousands of acres. The area has again become major habitat for migrating birds, with more than 200 species recorded, including returning whooping cranes.