Wetlands perform vital ecosystem services, including stormwater storage, improved water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreation. Identifying potential wetland restoration sites can enhance green infrastructure planning and improve watershed resilience to increasing precipitation and land-use pressures. Working with the South East Michigan Council of Governments we developed a geospatial approach to identify potential wetland restoration sites and evaluate their ecological condition. We used a 0.6-m DEM to identify potential wetland restoration sites using stochastic depression analysis. Storage capacity was estimated using depth–area relationships derived from contour analysis. Additional screening was performed using impervious surface data and NDVI derived from NAIP imagery to remove developed areas. Wetland condition was assessed using Alpha Earth imagery and a Random Forest classifier trained with field observations and image interpretation. Sites were classified as healthy or invaded wetlands, open water, or upland. Healthy wetlands included floating aquatic, emergent, shrub, and forested wetlands, while invaded wetlands were characterized by Phragmites and Typha. The resulting land-cover map achieved 91% overall accuracy. Combining potential wetland water storage capacity and ecological condition provides decision-support for communities wishing to prioritize wetland restoration and green infrastructure investments.
