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By Melissa Soule
To go forward, sometimes you first need to take a step back. At Emiquon, a 7,100-acre preserve in central Illinois owned by The Nature Conservancy, that’s exactly what scientists and land stewards are doing to restore this once-thriving wetland formerly known as the jewel of the Illinois River.
The Rebirth of a Wetland
For thousands of years, Emiquon’s complex freshwater system supported generations of wildlife and people who lived off the land, using its resources for food and shelter.
But around the turn of the 20th century, a levee was built to isolate Emiquon’s fertile lands from the Illinois River and make them suitable for agriculture. Over the next 80 years, the lands at Emiquon remained isolated from the river, preventing them from functioning as a natural floodplain.
In spring 2007, The Nature Conservancy turned off the pumps that had dried out the land for nearly a century. Within months, something remarkable happened: A wetland was reborn.
“As soon as you put water on it, ducks and geese show up,” says Jim Herkert, director of conservation science for The Nature Conservancy in Illinois.
A Multitude of Animals, Reptiles and Birds Return
By restoring the land to its former state, the Conservancy has seen other birds and animals return to Emiquon:
- Grassland birds such as Henslow’s sparrow as well as eastern bluebird, orioles and migrating warblers are back.
- Mammals living in this habitat now include river otter, muskrat, beaver, mink, raccoon and short-tailed weasel.
Reptiles such as the prairie king and western ribbon snakes — along with frogs such as the plains leopard, northern cricket and green frog — can be found here as well.
The Restoration Helps People, Too
While wetlands support a diversity of wildlife, they also help people. Wetlands like Emiquon are vital to the health of the surrounding land, providing natural filtering properties to purify drinking water and delivering nutrients downstream to the soil of nearby agricultural fields.
Wetlands can also moderate droughts by storing and releasing water, critical to a place like Emiquon between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River.
“The Nature Conservancy has proven that we can manage beautiful places,” says Jason Beverlin, deputy director of the Conservancy’s Illinois River Program. “Now we’re trying to restore a system.”
Beverlin has help from the Emiquon Science Advisory Council, a group of more than 40 scientists of regional and national acclaim. The Conservancy is also counting on colleagues from the Illinois State Water Survey and the University of Illinois to create computer models for the restoration.
These models will allow Conservancy scientists to evaluate different management scenarios to predict where water will occur on the property, how deep it will be, where water will carry and deposit sediment, and how plant communities will respond to the changes.
“These types of models are invaluable,” Beverlin says. “They give us the ability to determine how the lands and waters of Emiquon will respond under different conditions and allow Conservancy scientists to plan for management challenges before they occur.”
The Conservancy also works closely with the Illinois Natural History Survey and other partners to collect baseline data about the current state of Emiquon’s species and natural communities. Michigan State University is also active at the site, at work on a multi-year project to conduct excavations and uncover cultural history buried beneath the impressive ridgeline that overlooks Thompson Lake.
Native American burial sites found here will remain unexcavated, but a rich and unusual history will be tapped, since the archaeology here hints at a history of warfare and conflict.
One of the Best Places to Study Floodplain Restoration
Restoration at Emiquon continues to balance the needs of people and wildlife. As management work continues, visitors will be able to birdwatch — taking in the sight of tens of thousands of waterfowl alighting on the water, or the several dozen black-crowned night herons that have adopted Emiquon, or perhaps glimpsing the bald eagles that winter in central Illinois.
Rigorous science continues to guide restoration work, and a partnership with University of Illinois - Springfield resulted in the recent opening of an on-site field station that supports both faculty and student learning.
Emiquon is now one of the best places to study floodplain restoration, and perhaps future generations will again know it as the jewel of the Illinois River.
Melissa Soule is a Michigan-based marketing manager for The Nature Conservancy.
Photo credits (top to bottom, left to right): © Tim Lindenbaum (Sunset over Emiquon wetlands, through a Creative Commons license); © Tim Lindenbaum (Common bullfrog, through a Creative Commons license)
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