Carlyle Lake Water-oriented outdoor recreation opportunities including camping, picnicking, swimming, boating, fishing, and hunting. Expecially attractive to sailboaters.
Chautauqua NWR Chautauqua NWR was established by Executive Order which authorized the purchase of lands owned by defunct Chautauqua Drainage and Levee District. It extends from Illinois River mile 124.0 to 129.5. Originally this segment of the Illinois River floodplain was composed of a series of backwater lakes. In the early 1900's, like many floodplain wetlands, the area was diked, drained, and converted for agricultural production. During the 1930's, a series of navigation locks and dams were built on the Illinois River for barge traffic. Commercial navigation and the diversion of Lake Michigan water down the Illinois River exacerbated the impacts of agricultural uses by raising the low mean water levels by about four feet. The Refuge is an important link in the chain of resting, feeding and wintering areas for waterfowl and other migratory birds in the Mississippi Flyway.
Crab Orchard NWR Major habitat types on the refuge include hardwood forest, agricultural land, wildlife/livestock grazing units, open brushland, wetlands and lakes. A large portion of the refuge is designated a wildlife sanctuary and remains closed to general public use. There is also a 4,050 acre wilderness area. Cooperative farming and permittee grazing are the primary management tools used to provide feeding and loafing areas for migrating and wintering waterfowl, one of the main wildlife management objectives.
Cypress Creek NWR Cypress Creek NWR is located in the very southernmost portion of Illinois; at the junction of four physiographic regions. The Cache River Watershed has been designated a Bio-reserve by The Nature Conservancy and in 1994 was honored with becoming an official RAMSAR designated site. Within the boundaries of the Refuge, sites include 1000 year old cypress/tupelo trees. Over 182 species of birds, 47 species of mammals, and 54 species of amphibians and reptiles are know to occur on the project area. Wildlife observation, hiking, canoe trails, and hunting and fishing are just a few of the activities offered at this new Refuge.
Emiquon NWR Emiquon NWR is being acquired to protect, restore, and manage migratory bird, fish and resident wildlife habitat in the Illinois River Valley, while providing for increased public recreation and educational opportunities. Historically, two backwater lakes, Thompson (1,800 acres) and Flag (1,000 acres) provided excellent habitat for migratory birds, fish and resident wildlife. The Fulton and Mason County area's ability to support an abundance of fish and wildlife and the pursuit of traditional outdoor activities once made the area the tourism capital of Illinois. When restored, it will provide quality backwater lake, bottomland forest, upland forest, prairie, seasonal wetland, and marsh habitat for migratory birds, fish and resident wildlife. An additional 1,100 acres would be retained for agricultural production.
Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor The Illinois & Michigan Canal, completed in 1848, connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River watershed along a longstanding Indian portage route. The 97-mile canal extended from the Chicago River near Lake Michigan to the Illinois River at Peru, Illinois. It rapidly transformed Chicago from a small settlement to a critical transportation hub between the East and the developing Midwest. The towpath trail along the canal is a State park that runs through a rural and wooded landscape linking a number of towns laid out by the original canal commission.
