how habitat restoration - illinois dnr : welcome to illinois dnr!

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Resurrecting seeds and a wetland from long ago created more than just hab How Habitat Restoration Story By Michael Wiant Photos By Kelvin Sampson I n late February 2011, an estimat- ed 250,000 snow geese spent several days on the restored Thompson Lake in The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Pre- serve, located between Havana and Lewistown. The birds hud- dled together in a vast floating commu- nity and then, for no apparent reason, they took flight in what appeared to be a feathered cyclone rising skyward. This spectacle is but one of the many natural wonders Emiquon visitors have witnessed since restoration of the area began in 2007 (see OutdoorIlli- nois, December 2008). Foremost, renewal of the wetlands in the stretch of the Illinois River Valley north of the Spoon River confluence has illustrated the tenacity and transformative power of nature. Cattails appeared shortly after water pooled in the Thompson Lake basin; their seeds had been dor- mant for nearly eight decades. Soon thereafter, lotus and myriad other wet- land plants emerged from their slumber despite passing the decades in cultivat- ed fields. Then animals of all shapes and sizes, from dragonflies to otters, arrived to find their niche in this new neighborhood of nature. The transfor- mation from cultivated field to flood plain wetland has been profound and remarkably rapid. The re-creation of Emiquon, under- taken by The Nature Conservancy and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has 2 / OutdoorIllinois October 2011 (Photo courtesy Elizabeth Gray.) As one descends the Illinois Valley bluffs on Illinois Route 78/97, the Emiquon Preserve spans the horizon (left).

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Page 1: How Habitat Restoration - Illinois DNR : Welcome to Illinois DNR!

Resurrecting seeds and a wetland from long ago created more than just hab

How Habitat RestorationStory By Michael WiantPhotos By Kelvin Sampson

In late February 2011, an estimat-ed 250,000 snow geese spentseveral days on the restoredThompson Lake in The NatureConservancy’s Emiquon Pre-serve, located between Havanaand Lewistown. The birds hud-

dled together in a vast floating commu-nity and then, for no apparent reason,they took flight in what appeared to bea feathered cyclone rising skyward.

This spectacle is but one of themany natural wonders Emiquon visitorshave witnessed since restoration of thearea began in 2007 (see OutdoorIlli-

nois, December 2008). Foremost,renewal of the wetlands in the stretchof the Illinois River Valley north of theSpoon River confluence has illustratedthe tenacity and transformative powerof nature. Cattails appeared shortlyafter water pooled in the ThompsonLake basin; their seeds had been dor-

mant for nearly eight decades. Soonthereafter, lotus and myriad other wet-land plants emerged from their slumberdespite passing the decades in cultivat-ed fields. Then animals of all shapesand sizes, from dragonflies to otters,arrived to find their niche in this newneighborhood of nature. The transfor-mation from cultivated field to floodplain wetland has been profound andremarkably rapid.

The re-creation of Emiquon, under-taken by The Nature Conservancy andthe U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has

2 / OutdoorIllinois October 2011

(Pho

toco

urte

syE

lizab

eth

Gra

y.)

As one descends the Illinois

Valley bluffs on Illinois Route

78/97, the Emiquon Preserve

spans the horizon (left).

Page 2: How Habitat Restoration - Illinois DNR : Welcome to Illinois DNR!

itat at Emiquon Preserve.

WORKS

October 2011 OutdoorIllinois / 3

propagated many other opportunities.For example, the extraordinarypotential for research, education andrecreation gave rise to the EmiquonPartnership. In addition to The NatureConservancy and U. S. Fish and

Wildlife Service, the University ofIllinois-Springfield and the Departmentof Natural Resources, Illinois StateMuseum-Dickson Mounds form thecore of the partnership. Other partner-ship affiliates include the Illinois Natur-al History Survey’s Forbes and IllinoisRiver Biological Stations, EmiquonAudubon Society, Emiquon Corps ofDiscovery, Havana Nature Center,Illinois Valley Archaeological Society,Ducks Unlimited and Illinois RiverRoad National Scenic Byway. Workingtogether, these organizations use thepower of private-public partnership toundertake large-scale initiatives andactivities that require resources beyondthose of a single organization.

The nearby Chautauqua NationalWildlife Refuge and the Illinois Riverhave long been the subjects of biologi-cal research, largely directed by theIllinois Natural History Survey’s Forbesand Illinois River stations. Among a

distinguished legacy of research arelandmark studies on wetland ecology,waterfowl and the Illinois River fishery.

The restoration of more than 6,000acres of Illinois River flood plain pro-vides an extraordinary opportunity fornew research. In a sense, Emiquon is anenormous petri dish in which one canstudy the myriad processes engaged byrestoration and those that sustain wet-lands. Scientists have come to Emiquonfrom nearby and far afield. In particular,this opportunity encouraged the Univer-sity of Illinois-Springfield to establish abiological field station at Emiquon. TheAlfred O. and Barbara Cordwell Therk-ildsen Field Station at Emiquon haslaboratories, classrooms and overnightaccommodations. It has becomeheadquarters for a variety of studiesranging from micro-organisms, the foun-dation of wetland life, to tree planting.

Thousands of snow geese gather

annually at Thompson Lake.

The restored Thompson Lake

attracts a variety of wetland-associ-

ated birds, such as great egrets,

pelicans and great blue herons.

(Pho

toco

urte

syJa

neW

ard

.)

Page 3: How Habitat Restoration - Illinois DNR : Welcome to Illinois DNR!

4 / OutdoorIllinois October 2011

To learn more about the hydrology ofthe Illinois River floodplain, The NatureConservancy consulted with the IllinoisState Water Survey and a fluvial geomor-phologist—an earth scientist concernedwith the behavior of rivers and streams.Cores of sediment—some reaching adepth of 50 feet where they encoun-tered 300-million-year-old bedrock—chronicle the history of the Illinois Riverin unprecedented detail. Here is foundevidence for the late Ice Age KankakeeTorrent, a 16,000-year-old outburst floodthat gave rise to the size, shape and char-acter of the Illinois River Valley, thelong-term development of floodplainwetlands, and the re-deposition ofupland sediment that nearly choked thelife out of the floodplain lakes.

At nearby Dickson Mounds Museum,archaeologists continue to explore thelong record of human history. Thissummer, two university field schools,one from Michigan State University, theother from the University of California-Santa Barbara, excavated at ancientNative American villages. Between 900to 700 years ago, residents of theMorton village site located on the bluffoverlooking Thompson Lake, sustainedlife by drawing on the food resourcesof nearby wetlands and other habitats.

Carefully sifting sediment from the vil-lage, archaeologists found bone, musselshell and carbonized plant remains, alltestimony to the nature of this placeand the resources its people relied onfor food, tools, clothing and shelter.

For the past three years, more thanfour dozen scientists engaged inresearch at Emiquon have assembled atDickson Mounds for a day-long confer-ence to present their findings and planfor future research. The topics includethe aforementioned micro-organisms,rare and endangered plant and fishspecies, stomach contents of large-mouth bass, the daily movement of mal-lards and human use of the land throughtime, to mention but a few. Takentogether, each study contributes a bet-ter understanding of “how the worldworks” and, more specifically, the intri-cate web of life that provides a founda-tion for undertaking future restorationprojects. The conference also providesan opportunity for students to share

their work, an important step in theirdevelopment as future scientists.

Research is the foundation of educa-tional programs and exhibits and Dick-son Mounds Museum is an extraordinaryvenue to articulate the story of humanityand its interdependence with nature.The new Emiquon Gallery on the Muse-um’s third floor features informationabout the geological history of the rivervalley and the remarkable transformationof the landscape. Members of theEmiquon Corps of Discovery, a groupof citizen volunteers trained by MichaelJeffords, Susan Post and Carrie Nixon,Illinois Natural History Survey, docu-ment with pen, paintbrush and photothe development of Emiquon. Thesevolunteers provided much of theartwork for the new exhibit and assistedmuseum staff in exhibit construction.

Using a geoprobe, drillers extracted

cores of sediment to depths of more

than 40 feet. Upon examination,

the cores chronicle the history of

the Illinois River.

Michigan State University

archaeologists have been excavating

the Morton site, an ancient Native

American village located on the

bluffs overlooking Thompson Lake.

Page 4: How Habitat Restoration - Illinois DNR : Welcome to Illinois DNR!

October 2011 OutdoorIllinois / 5

ject and all participating partners andtheir affiliates. You’ll also have anopportunity to see a brief videoclip ofsnow geese on the wing at Emiquon.

Synergy is a process by which thesum of the parts is greater than thewhole. The Emiquon Partnership, citi-zens, not-for-profit organizations, univer-sities, and state and federal governmentagencies, have combined their resourcesto create research, education, recreationand life-enriching opportunities atEmiquon that would not have been pos-sible by their individual efforts alone. AtEmiquon, each individual’s contributionshave become magnified because theyhave chosen to work together for thebenefit of citizens and nature.

If you build it, they will come. Andcome they have. From iridescent dragon-flies to international scientists and nowthe public—boaters, birders and day-tripping families—wetland restoration isdrawing a crowd at Emiquon.

At a glanceIllinois State Museum, DicksonMounds Museum, 10956 NorthDickson Mounds Road, Lewistown, IL61542Telephone: (309) 547-3721Web site: http://www.museum.state.il.us/ismsites/dicksonDirections: Dickson Mounds is locatedin Fulton County, along Route 78/ 97.

Emiquon PreserveThe Nature ConservancyTelephone: (309) 547-2730Web site: www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/illinois/placesweprotect/emiquon.xmlDirections: The Public Use Area at theEmiquon Preserve is located along Route78/97 2.5 miles north of Route 136.

Emiquon National Wildlife RefugeTelephone: (309) 535-2290Web site: http://www.fws.gov/refuges/profiles/index.cfm?id=33654Directions: Emiquon Refuge is locatedat the confluence of the Spoon and Illi-nois rivers in Fulton County. Situatedjust west of Havana, on Route 78/97,the refuge is accessible by Highway 24from Peoria or Lewistown, and High-way 136 from Havana.

Science lectures on subjects such asastronomy—the night sky aboveEmiquon is unforgettable—migratorybirds and mushrooms are sponsored bythe University of Illinois and DicksonMounds and they are open to the pub-lic free-of-charge.

On June 4, 2011, The NatureConservancy dedicated its new lake andwetland observatories on the west bankof Thompson Lake. Winding roads andtrails encourage the visitor to explorehabitats that form the foundation offlood plain ecology. From an observa-

tion tower with a spotting scope and apier extending into the lake, one has anopportunity to see first-hand hownature works. Both venues are enrichedby educational exhibits that relateIllinois River history and the impor-tance of wetlands and their restoration.And for those more intrepid, one cantravel onto the lake in a canoe, kayak orboat with an electric trolling motor toexplore wildlife with binoculars andcameras or to fish. Depending on theseason, birders will be treated to egrets,herons, pelicans, eagles, cormorantsand many more species. For example,once rare, more than 70 black-neckedstilts were seen in one day this year.Stocked by DNR, the largemouth bassand crappie fishery in particular hasdrawn more than 3,000 anglers peryear from far afield.

Emiquon also is a prominent featureof the Illinois River Road National ScenicByway that runs on both sides of theriver between Ottawa and Havana. Assuch, Emiquon and many other attrac-tions along the river are brought to theattention of a wide national audience.

To find out more about Emiquonand its upcoming events, go toexperienceemiquon.com, a Web sitethat features information about the pro-

For an overview of the Emiquon

project, stop by Dickson Mounds

Museum and view the newly

renovated Illinois River Gallery,

then enjoy time on the preserve

kayaking, birding or fishing.