he Illinois River is ancient and resilient. Her waters have shaped history and, to this day, still ferry much-needed food to the world. Never though have people impacted the river so significantly until this century, when her waters were polluted and then confined to a narrow shipping channel — prevented from reaching the floodplain so essential to life and abundance. All that is changing.

The people of the Illinois River valley today know a lot more about how to ensure that ecological bounty thrives alongside economic prosperity. A new spirit of restoration now infuses the Illinois’ slow-moving waters. With this bold, new vision, the people of the valley are giving birth to a new age of hope. Alongside them, The Nature Conservancy is working to restore and revitalize the waters of the ancient Illinois, a river that thrived for millennia and once was one of this nation’s glittering jewels.

From the Mackinaw River downstream into the Illinois River’s Spunky Bottoms and now Emiquon, the Conservancy salutes the ancient Illinois by helping to restore and sustain her for generations to come.