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NRCS This Week

NRCS, Ducks Unlimited Break Ground on Illinois Wetland Project

Spring Lake Bottoms groundbreaking. Image courtesy of the State of Illinois.Ground was broken June 4 on the 411-acre Spring Lake Bottoms wetland restoration project near Manito. The project is the culmination of two years of planning and preparation by Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other conservation partners.

Spring Lake Bottoms is in Tazewell County between Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area, and the Illinois River. Ducks Unlimited purchased Spring Lake Bottoms in 2002 immediately after its former owners, Stuart Clark and Julia Clark Job, enrolled it in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). WRP is a conservation program administered by NRCS that encourages landowners to restore cropland to wetlands.

http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/





Learn about the Wetlands Reserve Program and other Farm Bill programs.

"This is an example of where we have been able to restore a wetland smack dab at the bottom end of a drainage and levee district," said Ducks Unlimited regional biologist Eric Schenk. "It is an example of how we can restore high quality wetland habitats without impacting agricultural uses. Even though it is only 411 acres in size, we are going to be able to restore just about every type of wetland habitat that occurred in the Illinois River Valley."

Restoration of the site will feature the establishment of four independently managed wetland units that use excess water from Spring Lake to flood approximately 267 acres of new wetland habitat. More than 100 acres of hardwood trees and native grass will be planted on higher ground surrounding the restored wetlands.

NRCS District Conservationist Jon Hubbert works with Peoria County, Illinois conservation farmers to check on the species thriving in a buffer strip one year after installation. NRCS image.

Visit the NRCS Illinois Web site.

According to Ducks Unlimited, the total cost of the project, including initial acquisition of the property, will be about $1.5 million.

Ducks Unlimited plans to donate a portion of the property to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. IDNR plans to purchase the remaining interest in the property using a grant from the Illinois Conservation Foundation. Proceeds for the ICF grant were generated by an environmental settlement negotiated by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

Story by Chris Young, Springfield Journal-Register.