Illinois Success Story

WRP Wetland Restoration in Tazewell County, Illinois

By: Jill Creamean, NRCS Public Affairs Specialist
November 2002

Photo Caption: The 411 acre Tazewell County wetland restoration site adjacent to the Illinois River (photo left) will provide wildlife habitat and water quality benefits to the Illinois River Valley.

Landowners Stuart Clark and Julia Clark Job see their wetland restoration as part of a big-picture effort to care for land, water, and wildlife resources in the Illinois River Valley. The 411-acre Wetland Reserve Program (WRP) wetland restoration adjacent to the Illinois River in Tazewell County has enabled the landowners to achieve their personal goals for the land while meeting state and federal conservation priorities along the Illinois River.

"Ducks filled the sky when my father bought this farm over 50 years ago. You could see flights of ducks coming down the river and working the wetlands. With WRP, we have a chance to restore the land to what it was, to clean the water in the Illinois River, and to bring the ducks back," said Clark.

Clark and Job worked with NRCS and Ducks Unlimited to develop the wetland restoration plan for the property, located between the Spring Lake Conservation Area and the Rice Lake State Fish & Wildlife Area. The wetland restoration will address the need for improved water quality, reduced erosion and sedimentation, and increased wildlife habitat in the Illinois River basin.

NRCS District Conservationist Tim Malone and NRCS technical specialists and engineers surveyed the site using GPS technology and inventoried the soils, plants and wildlife. Once the site was determined suitable for wetland restoration, the landowners enrolled their cropland into a permanent conservation easement. The landowners then sold the property to Ducks Unlimited, which now manages and maintains the property in accordance with the Wetlands Reserve Program. Clark chose to sell the property to a conservation organization after entering it into WRP to ensure proper management in future years. Ducks Unlimited will work with NRCS to restore the area with tree plantings, wetland restorations, and wildlife cover for a variety of wildlife species.

"WRP is designed to protect wetlands of all sizes," said NRCS District Conservationist Timothy Malone, "but a contiguous wetland of this size will support more biological diversity and increase the value of the resources in our area, especially adjacent to the Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area."

"This is definitely a ‘win-win’ situation," said Eric Schenck, Regional Biologist for Ducks Unlimited. "The project will reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and give a home to hundreds of wildlife species. Our goal is to provide high quality wetland habitat that will benefit people and wildlife in perpetuity," continued Schenck.