Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership
Encyclopedia
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 60000 acres (242.8 km²) corridor along 50 miles (80.5 km) of the Cache River
.
Additionally, local landowners, through Wetland Reserve Program easements with NRCS, have protected an additional 13500 acres (54.6 km²) of restored wetlands.
Ducks Unlimited
Ducks Unlimited is an international non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of wetlands and associated upland habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife, and people. It currently has approximately 780,000 members, mostly in the United States and Canada.-Introduction:Ducks Unlimited was...
, Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is a cabinet-level department of the state government of Illinois. It is headquartered in the state capital of Springfield...
, Natural Resource Conservation Service, The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Its goal is to protect and restore a 60000 acres (242.8 km²) corridor along 50 miles (80.5 km) of the Cache River
Cache River (Illinois)
The Cache River is a waterway in southernmost Illinois, in a region sometimes called Little Egypt. The basin spans and six counties: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski and Union. Located at the convergence of four major physiographic regions, the river is part of the largest complex of...
.
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 175000 acres (708.2 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 35000 acres (141.6 km²), reforest 22000 acres (89 km²), restore 9000 acres (36.4 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 13500 acres (54.6 km²) of restored wetlands.