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Floodplain wetlands at Emiquon Preserve Photo © Byron Jorjorian Emiquon - Resources Read about our recent restoration efforts at the Emiquon Preserve. Learn more about the Conservancy's work in Illinois. Emiquon needs lots of volunteers to keep things running smoothly. Please contact Karen Tharp at ktharp@tnc.org or 866-VSN-LINE (876-5463) if you would like to volunteer.

Jason's Journal:

The Rebirth of Emiquon

By Jason Beverlin
Deputy Director of the Illinois River Program

May 2007 — Patience and persistence has paid off: after many years of planning, restoration at Emiquon has begun! We turned the water pumps off in March, and in just a few months, water has returned to the historic bed of Lake Thompson—some 650 acres of it.

Even more remarkably, we’re starting to see native wetlands plants return on their own. We’ve spotted at least eight different plants pushing up through the soil, probably from the soil seed bank, where these seeds have lain dormant for years. It’s incredible that just over a year ago, this was 7,000 acres of soybeans and cornfields. And now—we’ve got a preserve.

Entries:

• More on Jason Beverlin

• Emiquon Field Station Open House (April 2008)

• Bald Eagles Celebrate the New Year in Illinois (January 2008)

• Emiquon Has Gone to the Birds (November 2007)

• Monitoring Life on the Illinois River (August 2007)

• A Preserve for People (July 2007)

• The Rebirth of Emiquon (May 2007)