Panther Den Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Panther Den Wilderness is a 1195 acres (4.8 km²) parcel of land listed as a Wilderness Area of the United States. It is located within the Shawnee National Forest
in Union County in the U.S. state of Illinois
.
land. The United States Forest Service
manages much of the wilderness; the agency describes it as a land of "homestead[s], fruit
trees, cemeteries, and abandoned roads."
Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939, and in 1990, the Illinois Wilderness Act set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Panther Den Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest. It forms part of the southern shore of Devils Kitchen Lake
.
Panther Den Wilderness is served by the River to River Trail
.
Shawnee National Forest
The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 280,000 acres of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac...
in Union County in the U.S. state of 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,...
.
Second-growth wilderness
As with other wilderness areas within Shawnee National Forest, the Panther Den Wilderness is made of second-growth forested areas that were used, until the land condemnations of the 1930s, as agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
land. The United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
manages much of the wilderness; the agency describes it as a land of "homestead[s], fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
trees, cemeteries, and abandoned roads."
Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939, and in 1990, the Illinois Wilderness Act set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Panther Den Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest. It forms part of the southern shore of Devils Kitchen Lake
Devils Kitchen Lake
Devil's Kitchen Lake is an 810-acre reservoir in southern Illinois, created by the damming of Grassy Creek, a tributary of Crab Orchard Lake and the Big Muddy River. Most of the lake is located in Williamson County, southwest of Marion, Illinois. The lake is accessible from Interstate 57. Two...
.
Panther Den Wilderness is served by the River to River Trail
River to River Trail
The River to River Trail is a 160 mile -long hiking trail that serves Shawnee National Forest in far southern Illinois. Its eastern end is on Battery Rock, overlooking the Ohio River, and its western end is at Grand Tower, Illinois, at the Mississippi River...
.