Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
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...
watershed in southernmost Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, largely in Pulaski County, but with extensions into Union, Alexander
Alexander County, Illinois
Alexander County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 8,238, which is a decrease of 14.1% from 9,590 in 2000. Its county seat is Cairo. Alexander County is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical...
, and Johnson counties. The refuge was established in 1990 under the authority of the Emergency Wetlands Resource Act of 1986. The refuge protects over 15000 acres (61 km²) of the Cache River wetlands, and has a purchase boundary (ultimate goal for area protection) of 36,000 acres (146 km²) contiguous.
The Refuge's area covers a variety of habitats, including cypress
Cypress
Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the cypress family Cupressaceae, which is a conifer of northern temperate regions. Most cypress species are trees, while a few are shrubs...
-tupelo
Tupelo
The tupelo , black gum, or pepperidge tree, genus Nyssa , is a small genus of about 9 to 11 species of trees with alternate, simple leaves...
swamp, bottomland forest, upland hardwood forests, oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
barrens, and prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
grassland. Over 50 threatened
Threatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
and endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
are found within the refuge's boundaries. In addition, several pre-Mississippian archaeological sites can be found in the refuge. Cypress Creek is a popular area for both waterfowl and upland game hunters. Hunting of geese, ducks, whitetail deer, rabbits, squirrels, quail and doves is permitted on most parts of the refuge. Fishing on the Cache is generally mediocre; game fish habitat has been significantly degraded by siltation, invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
(most notably Asian carp), and changes to the natural hydrograph
Hydrograph
A hydrograph is a graph showing the rate of flow versus time past a specific point in a river, or other channel or conduit carrying flow...
.
Although administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
, the Refuge is part of the Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture Partnership
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...
, a confederation of state and federal agencies, non-profit groups, and private landowners with the common goal of preservation and restoration of the Cache River.