Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership

The Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership is a collaboration among governmental entities and non-profit organizations. It is composed of Ducks Unlimited, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its goal is to protect and restore a 60,000-acre (240 km²) corridor along 50 miles (80 km) of the Cache River.

Conservation focus

Currently, the partnership is working on three areas: restoring forest and wetland habitats, reducing sediment and eroding streams, and exploring ways to restore low water flow to the lower segment of the Cache River, which was disconnected from the upper stretch of the river in the early 1900s.

• Restoring Habitat—Forest and wetland restoration restores function to a river’s floodplain, increases habitat for wildlife and reduces sediment entering the river.
• Reducing Sediment—Sediment enters the Cache many ways, which is why efforts to reduce it have taken many different forms. Efforts include working with landowners to use conservation tillage and constructing strategically located flow retention ponds. From 1987 to 1995, for example, erosion on more than 175,000 acres (710 km²) in the Cache River Watershed was reduced by more than 1 million tons annually.
• Restoring Low Water Flow—The Cache, like other rivers, needs free-flowing water to be healthy. A gentle current brings oxygen and dissolved nutrients, while also moving pollutants out of the system. Research currently underway is trying to determine ways this might be accomplished.

Conservation achievements

As of August 2010, the partnership has helped protect 35,000 acres (140 km²), reforest 22,000 acres (89 km²), restore 9,000 acres (36 km²) into wetlands and has undertaken other measures, including the installation of upland water retention structures, rip-rap riffle weirs and lateral gully plugs.

Additionally, local landowners, through Wetland Reserve Program easements with NRCS, have protected an additional 13,500 acres (55 km²) of restored wetlands.

See also

• Cache River (Illinois)
• List of Illinois rivers
• Watersheds of Illinois

External links

• The Nature Conservancy
• Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources
• Ducks Unlimited
• Natural Resource Conservation Service
• Cache River Nature Fest
• Surf the Cache River with USEPA
• Illinois State Water Survey
• Geophysics in Illinois Archaeology