It is really quite easy to make a wetland. In many parts of the world, if you dig a depression below the water table, or build a small dam across a drainage ditch, in short order, you have a wetland. Within several years, it may even have a good deal of biological diversity. I have both dug ponds and dammed ditches myself, with satisfactory results, creating habitat for everything from yellow water lilies to otters to snapping turtles. So why, someone practical might ask, is wetland restoration such a big deal? Why bother to study it at all – why not just buy a back hoe and get to work? Why are there conferences, and symposia, and workshops, and books, and book chapters (like this one) addressing wetland restoration? In this chapter we will approach the topic of restoration in the following steps. We will begin looking at some simple examples of wetland restoration. Then we will consider just what the word restoration really means, and the issue of why these simple wetlands are often insufficient. We will then look at another set of examples. We will then look at some common problems that cause restoration to fail. Finally, we will look at some conceptual issues that provide a scientific framework for the task of restoration.