[3] In 1910 the city of Hillsboro began using the Jackson Bottom area for water waste disposal.

By the 1930s farmers in the community protested the water pollution that resulted from waste dumping into the river.

Animals that call the wetlands home include beavers, minks, nutria, ducks, blue and green herons, warblers, frogs, owls, red-tailed hawks, woodpeckers, opossums, deer, raccoons, newts, sparrows, finch, coyotes, and many other small rodents, birds, and reptiles.

[3] Human oriented features of Jackson Bottom include hiking trails,[6] an education center, environmental monitoring and research,[7] and bird watching.

[9] The 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) building is used to educate visitors of the wetlands and includes an exterior 3,000-square-foot (300 m2) deck that wraps around the structure.

These are all designed to increase knowledge about wetlands, water resources, and preservation of the natural environment.