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Save of the Week: Emiquon Wetland Restoration Project, Illinois

On February 18, U.S. officials announced a nationwide partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

A highlight of the announcement was the acceptance of Emiquon, the Conservancy’s central Illinois wetland restoration project, in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP). About 6,400 acres of the Conservancy’s 7,100-acre Emiquon project will be enrolled in a NRCS WRP easement for 30 years. WRP is a popular Farm Bill program that offers landowners payment, based on the agricultural value of wetlands that were drained for farming.

“Emiquon was once the most productive floodplain ecosystem in Illinois,” said Conservancy President and CEO Steve McCormick. “When the area was leveed 80 years ago it became productive farmland. Now, through the partnership with NRCS we have an opportunity to make Emiquon more productive for fish, birds and all forms of wildlife, as well as hikers, fishers, bird watchers, hunters, photographers, historians, scientists and students,” McCormick said.

Freshwater is a critical global concern and is likely to be one of the most important issues of this century. Wetlands foster clean water by filtering and collecting sediment, keeping our nation’s rivers cleaner and clearer. Across Illinois, marginal agricultural land or farmland adjacent to rivers or water courses that lie within the floodplain, are now being converted back into native bottomland wetlands.

With federal technical and financial assistance, the NRCS assists local landowners in a voluntary conversion of these cropland acres through WRP, a nationwide program. Since 1994, NRCS has administered $116 million in WRP funds for the purchase of easements and wetland restoration costs in Illinois.

“A restoration plan will be developed for Emiquon by the Conservancy and NRCS. NRCS’ WRP funds and staff will support restoration and management of this wetland which will include the return of lakes, a new wetland habitat for fish, birds, plants and other species, and acres of native trees and grasses,” said Bill Gradle, state conservationist for NRCS. “Emiquon will help store floodwaters, offer tremendous recreational opportunities for local communities, and will demonstrate the benefits that wetland restoration provides. It will be a destination point, a living science and education center for people of all ages. Wetland restoration provides important wildlife habitat, restores native wooded corridors, cleanse the water, and adds diversity to landscapes,” Gradle said.

The Memorandum of Understanding signed on February 18 formalized the collaboration between the Conservancy and NRCS. The partnership will generate many natural resource-based projects across the country, similar to the Emiquon project.

“Together, the Conservancy and NRCS have set a new standard, one that will influence conservation nationwide. The Memorandum of Understanding that was signed promotes the sharing of conservation practices, strategies and scientific expertise,” said USDA's Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey. “The agreement supports our mutual goals and will help more private landowners be aware of NRCS conservation programs that are available. This new partnership is what the President refers to as cooperative conservation. We need cooperative conservation like this to achieve our collective national conservation goals.”

Both organizations work with local communities through community-based projects and field offices. NRCS will utilize the Conservancy as a resource to facilitate new conservation strategies, support technology transfer, conservation learning and provide scientific expertise.

For more information:

• Where We Work: The Nature Conservancy in Illinois
  Together with our members and conservation partners, the Illinois Chapter of The Nature Conservancy has protected over 76,000 acres of critical natural lands in Illinois.
• Places We Protect: Emiquon Project
  Emiquon, an hour south of Peoria on the Illinois River, is one of the largest floodplain restoration projects in the country outside the Florida Everglades.
• Press Release: The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service Formalize Partnership
  Washington officials have announced a nationwide partnership between The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a division of U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
• Feature: Story of the Illinois River
  Travel back in time and explore the history of the Illinois River from its birth during the last Ice Age to today's efforts to restore its health.
• Online Field Guide: Illinois River
  Imitating natural processes from more than a century ago is the remedy to restoring a river too long regulated by man-made structures.
• How We Work: Sustainable Waters Initiative
  The Nature Conservancy's Sustainable Waters Initiative is working to counter two of the most insidious threats to freshwater ecosystems: ecologically incompatible water management and unsustainable agricultural practices.
• Our Partner: Illinois Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
  The Natural Resources Conservation Service provides leadership in a partnership effort to help people conserve, maintain, and improve our natural resources and environment.
• Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about our work to save the last great places on Earth.