Emiquon

Emiquon was once the jewel of the Illinois River, nurturing diverse and abundant communities of native plants and animals in the complex system of backwater wetlands and lakes. In the early 1900s, the Illinois River was one of North America's most ecologically and economically significant river systems, supporting the most productive inland commercial fishery and highest mussel abundance per mile of any stream on the continent.

Even though it has undergone significant land conversion during the past century, the Illinois River was identified by the National Research Council as one of only three large-floodplain river ecosystems in the U.S. that can be restored to some semblance of its outstanding biological past.

The primary objective for the restoration and management of the Emiquon preserve is to restore natural ecological processes and habitats that promote and sustain native species communities once found in this region.

Emiquon Links

• Background Information
• Fly-over Animations
• Hydrologic & Hydraulic Modeling
• Publications