Byway Story - Ecology
The Illinois River Valley's natural wealth has attracted people for thousands of years.
For at least twelve thousand years, people have lived in the Illinois River Valley, drawn in by its natural abundance, navigable river, and the fertile soils along the river's floodplain. Many Native American peoples lived here, hunting, gathering, growing crops, and traveling the Illinois River in dugout canoes. The remains of ancient communities along the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway, including Dickson Mounds and Rockwell Mound, offer a window into the native peoples' long tenure in this valley.
In the 1600s, European explorers, fur traders, and missionaries came to the Illinois River Valley. They built homes, forts, trading posts and missions, and lived among the Native Americans. By the early 1800s, Euro-American settlers were flocking to the region. Conflict and disease decimated native communities. Treaties between the United States government and tribal leaders transferred land ownership to the federal government and moved native peoples away from their historic valley homeland.
As settlers came to the region, communities sprang up, built from the land's abundance. The Illinois River yielded astonishing catches of fish and mussels, sustaining what were once the nation's second largest inland fishery. Hunters sought out the river's multitudes of waterfowl. Settlers grew crops in the fertile soil and grazed livestock on prairie grasses. Immigrants came to the valley to extract the land's abundant minerals, predominantly coal, but also sandstone, limestone and clay, which were used for construction, brick-making, and pottery.
A series of channels, dams, and locks on the Illinois River links the Great Lakes with the Mississippi River, creating a cross-continental commercial transportation route from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Levees and dams harness the river's flow, shaping the land and river.
For thousands of years, the Illinois River Valley has sustained abundant and diverse plant and wildlife species. Exploring the sites below will give you a glimpse into the efforts by dedicated citizens and organizations working together to restore the valley's land and water resources, despite industrialization that has threatened the Illinois River Valley's remarkable natural abundance.
The Nature Conservancy’s Emiquon Preserve
Designated as a “Wetland of International Importance” under the Ramsar Convention, The Nature Conservancy’s 6700-acre Emiquon Preserve supports floodplain, upland forest, and tall grass prairie habitat Read more [...]
Anderson Lake State Conservation Area
Once a private duck-hunting club, the 2,247-acre Anderson Lake and adjacent 230-acre Carlson Lake were purchased by the state in 1947 and put under the auspices of the Illinois Department of Natural Re Read more [...]
Big Creek Park
Big Creek Park was the first property purchased by the Canton Park District for park development. A scenic drive winds through the park’s gently rolling, oak-hickory-maple forest, an island amid Read more [...]
Buffalo Rock State Park
So named because (legend has it) the area once served as a “blind canyon” where Indians ran buffalo for capture, this 298-acre park has long been a natural favorite. Much of Buffalo Rock S Read more [...]
Camp Wokanda
Camp Wokanda, acquired from W.D. Boyce Council of the Boy Scouts of America, offers a beautiful 316-acre woodland setting, including a lake for fishing. The camp, with dining hall, sleeping cabins, pro Read more [...]
Catlin County Park
Acquired in 1970 by the LaSalle County Conservation District, the 333-acre Catlin Park (open May-October) is a mix of bluff land oak-hickory forest, chinquapin oak savanna, maple-basswood dominated ste Read more [...]
Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
Owned and operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, this 4,480-acre site contains elements of several habitats: Oak-hickory forest, riparian forest, floodplain shrub, marsh, and open lake. Note Read more [...]
Detweiller Park
Peoria Park District’s 740-acre Detweiller Park is a popular multi-use destination for folks who enjoy golfing, soccer, volleyball, hiking, birding, fishing, and boating. Detweiller Drive, which Read more [...]
Dickson Mounds Museum
One of the major on-site archeological museums in the country, Dickson Mounds Museum also interprets the ecology of the Illinois River’s Emiquon region. The site itself lies where two major ecosy Read more [...]
Dirksen Park
This 459-acre site is comprised of oak-hickory forest and open shrubland. Running Deer Trail, an extensive hiking/mountain biking/cross country trail, runs through the park, crossing several cobble-bot Read more [...]