Ice Grain

Illinois' Hidden Treasure

Located at the southern tip of Illinois, where the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers meet, the Cache River watershed boasts rare wetlands habitat containing lush cypress-tupelo swamp and giant cypress trees nearly 1,000 years old. In 1994, the Ramsar Convention of the United Nations designated the region a “Wetland of International Importance,” now one of only 22 such sites in the United States.

In the past, efforts to control flooding and drain wetlands have eliminated vast tracts of fish and wildlife habitat – today only 9 percent of pre-settlement wetlands remain in Southern Illinois. Now, the Cache River watershed is the focus of a multi-agency collaborative restoration effort aiming to conserve 60,000 acres (some 36,000 acres have already been acquired).

In support of this effort, ALC acquired the 251-acre “Ice Grain” property for the Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge in December 2006. The property extends a 30-mile publicly owned forested corridor along the Cache River to its confluence with the Mississippi River thereby enhancing the greater wetlands ecosystem. This project was made possible through partnership with Shawnee RC&D and funding from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation.

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