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The Nature Conservancy Launches Landmark Floodplain Restoration at the Emiquon Preserve

The largest project of its kind in the Midwest is expected to become a model restoration effort across the globe

Peoria, Ill. — May 1, 2007 — Native vegetation and wildlife are setting down roots along the Illinois River this spring, as work begins on a floodplain restoration effort at The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve. Emiquon is the premiere demonstration area for The Conservancy's work on the Illinois River and within the Mississippi River system. The site, situated southwest of Peoria near Lewistown, may ultimately help guide large floodplain river restoration efforts around the world.

Spring planting at Emiquon signals the commencement of a sophisticated conservation plan by The Nature Conservancy in Illinois and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The plan for the first phase of work was developed with guidance from The Emiquon Science Advisory Council, a group of scientists of regional and national acclaim. “This is a cornerstone project for science and learning that will allow us to see how floodplain restoration can benefit rivers,” said Jason Beverlin, project director for The Nature Conservancy.  The 7,000 acre preserve is considered the linchpin for recovery of the ecosystem that was degraded over hundreds of years by civilization. Measured steps will be taken during the next three years to complete a restoration that will reestablish habitat for native fish, migratory birds, and several indigenous species of mammals, reptiles, and insects.

This year, planting will cover 1,400 acres of bottomland forest, tallgrass prairie, wet prairie, upland forest and wetland. “We are moving forward in increasing the biodiversity with the number of plants we are putting on the ground,” said Beverlin. “We think that it is important to restore functional floodplain habitat, and we are giving this a solid first step.”  That first step includes 180,000 trees including pecan, burr oak, swamp white oak and sycamore, in addition to 8,000 pounds of seed with six types of grass and 59 forbs. By fall, an additional 90,000 upland shrubs and trees will be planted and established trees will be fortified in a timber stand improvement project.

This spring, water is returning to the site in the former Thompson and Flag lakes. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources prepared the waterways at Emiquon for the return of native fish by eradicating invasive aquatic species earlier this year. Now it is a homecoming site for native species including white and black crappie, large-mouth bass, channel catfish, and brown bullhead. Local hatcheries supplied several species of the fish that will soon be joined by rare species of minnows.

Once established, the wet prairie will provide cover and foraging areas for grassland dependent bird species such as sparrows, wrens, orioles, and migrating warblers. Mammals including river otter, beaver and mink, as well as reptiles such as the prairie king snake and green frogs are expected to thrive.

The Conservancy has been committed to the preservation of the Illinois River for more than a decade. An earlier restoration project at the Merwin Preserve at Spunky Bottoms helped scientists plot a clear direction for the once murky waters at Emiquon. Previously drained and used for farmland, the landscape of Spunky Bottoms is now a thriving 2,026 acre wetland managed by The Nature Conservancy and the IDNR.

“At Emiquon and Spunky Bottoms preserves where vast floodplain areas are being restored, there are glimpses of a new future for the Illinois River Valley and ultimately the Upper Mississippi River,” said Michael Reuter, interim state director in Illinois and director of The Great Rivers Partnership. “We are looking forward to a future of renewed abundance, a future of sustainable health - and it will not be an isolated accomplishment. The effects of the restoration on native floodplain communities will be measured and monitored carefully so the models can be used for the restoration of large floodplain rivers everywhere, from the United States to Africa to Brazil to China.”

Before it was converted to cropland in the early 20th century, Emiquon was a significant part of a complex system of backwater wetlands and lakes located along the Illinois River that supported diverse and abundant communities of native plants and animals. The land bears witness to the passing of 500 generations of human life, from native cultures to acres of modern fields of corn and soybeans. What survived had been degraded by pollution, excessive sediment, unnatural fluctuations of river levels and invasive species. In 2006, Emiquon was enrolled in the Wetland Restoration Project. WRP is a program administered by the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service through the federal Farm Bill that offers landowners payment for converting farmland back into natural habitat. The NRCS owns a 30-year conservation easement on 6,285 acres of the preserve.

Plans are in development to welcome visitors to Emiquon. Local communities are being encouraged to pursue the potential economic development the land will offer through the tourism trade.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.