List of protected areas of Illinois


List of protected areas of Illinois


Illinois has a variety of protected areas, including over 123 state-protected areas, dozens of federally protected areas, hundreds of county-level and municipal park areas. Illinois also contains sites designated as internationally important protected areas. These multiple levels of protection contribute to a statewide network of numerous recreation opportunities and conservation schemes, sometimes in a small area. For example, DeKalb County contains a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) forest preserve system and a 1,500-acre (6.1 km2) state park (Shabbona Lake State Park); within DeKalb County, the DeKalb Park District in the City of DeKalb has a 700-acre (2.8 km2) park system.

State protected areas

Illinois state-owned protected areas include state parks, state forests, state recreation areas, state fish and wildlife areas, state natural areas, and one state trail. These areas are all administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. In addition, dozens of state historic sites are administered by the Illinois Historic Preservation Division.

State historic sites

State historic sites are typically protected for their historic and cultural importance but may include a nature preservation component, such as at Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site and Lincoln's New Salem. For a list, see Illinois Historic Preservation Division.

State parks

State parks are owned by the state and generally administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Specifically, “State Park” refers to sites “exhibiting exceptional scenic and natural features and terrain” and that “offer a wide range of recreational opportunities for the public to enjoy”.

State fish and wildlife areas

Areas whose primary purpose is to “reserve land and water areas for production and conservation of fish or wildlife and to provide hunting, fishing, trapping, observation, and other forms of compatible recreational use.”

State recreation areas

State natural areas

Areas of land which “either retains or has recovered to a substantial degree its original natural or primeval character, though it need not be completely undisturbed, or has floral, faunal, ecological, geological or archaeological features of scientific, educational, scenic or esthetic interest.”

Other state protected areas


Federally protected areas

Illinois contains one national forest, the Shawnee National Forest, one national grassland, Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie, and several other sites administered by the National Park Service, including portions of National Trails. There are also National Wildlife Refuges.

National Forest Service Areas

  • Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie - 25,000 acres (100 km2)
  • Shawnee National Forest - 500,000 acres (2,000 km2)

U.S. Wilderness Areas

The following U.S. Wilderness areas are located within the Shawnee National Forest and are administered by the U.S. Forest Service:

  • Bald Knob Wilderness
  • Bay Creek Wilderness
  • Burden Falls Wilderness
  • Clear Springs Wilderness
  • Garden of the Gods Wilderness
  • Lusk Creek Wilderness
  • Panther Den Wilderness

Crab Orchard Wilderness is located within Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Areas

  • Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge
  • Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge - 43,500 acres (176 km2) including the 4,050-acre (16.4 km2) Crab Orchard Wilderness
  • Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge
  • Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge
  • Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge
  • Kankakee National Wildlife Refuge and Conservation Area
  • Mark Twain National Wildlife Refuge Complex
    • Great River National Wildlife Refuge, portions in Pike and Adams Counties, Illinois
    • Port Louisa National Wildlife Refuge, portion in Mercer County, Illinois
  • Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge
  • Middle Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge
  • Two Rivers National Wildlife Refuge
  • Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, portions in Jo Daviess, Carroll, Whiteside, and Rock Island Counties, Illinois

National Park Service

The National Park Service operates the federally owned Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, the Pullman National Historical Park in Chicago, and the New Philadelphia National Historic Site in Pike County in rural western Illinois. The Chicago Portage National Historic Site is a National Park Service-affiliated site which is located in the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. In addition, the National Park Service partners with the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

  • Carlyle Lake - 26,000 acres (110 km2) of water and 11,000 acres (45 km2) of public land
  • Illinois Waterway
  • Lake Shelbyville - 11,100-acre (45 km2) lake and 23,000 acres (93 km2) of land
  • Rend Lake - 18,900 acres (76 km2) of water and 20,000 acres (81 km2) of land

Internationally recognized protected areas

One UNESCO World Heritage Site in Illinois, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, is protected and listed as a state-owned historic site. Two of the eight World Heritage Site structures exemplifying the 20th-Century architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright are also located in Illinois: Unity Temple and the Robie House, and are protected by local and federal schemes.

In addition to cultural sites, Illinois contains five wetland areas designated as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention:

  • Cache River-Cypress Creek Wetlands (including Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge)
  • Chiwaukee Prairie Illinois Beach Lake Plain (shared with Wisconsin)
  • The Emiquon Complex (including Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge)
  • Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge
  • The Upper Mississippi River Floodplain Wetlands (shared with Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin)

Local level parks

A variety of county and town protected areas exist in Illinois, including city park districts and county-wide Forest Preserve or Conservation Districts, as well as land owned by private conservation organizations. One of the largest systems is the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, which includes Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden as well as 70,000 acres (280 km2) of open land, or 11.6 percent of Cook County's land area. Under Illinois law, counties may set up a conservation land holding district, after approval by county voters. Although most of the 102 counties have not established such a public landholding agency, below are the approved county districts:

  • Boone County Conservation District - 4,000 acres (16 km2)
  • Byron Forest Preserve District - 1,708 acres (6.91 km2)
  • Champaign County Forest Preserve District - 4,000 acres (16 km2)
  • Forest Preserve District of Cook County - 70,000 acres (280 km2)
  • DeKalb County Forest Preserve - 4,000 acres (16 km2)
  • Forest Preserve District of DuPage County - 26,000 acres (110 km2)
  • Forest Preserve District of Kane County - 20,000 acres (81 km2)
  • Forest Preserves of the Kankakee River Valley - 465 acres (1.88 km2)
  • Kendall County Forest Preserve District - 2,663 acres (10.78 km2)
  • Lake County Forest Preserve - 31,000 acres (130 km2)
  • Macon County Conservation District - 3,490 acres (14.1 km2)
  • McHenry County Conservation District - 24,000 acres (97 km2)
  • Putnam Country Conservation District - 1,100-acre (4.5 km2)
  • Rock Island Forest Preserve District - 2,529 acres (10.23 km2)
  • Vermilion County Conservation District - 6,600 acres (27 km2)
  • Forest Preserve District of Will County - 21,966 acres (88.89 km2)
  • Winnebago County Forest Preserve District - 11,500 acres (47 km2)

References

Collection James Bond 007

External links

  • Illinois Department of Natural Resources
  • Recreation.gov
  • I-View interactive map

Text submitted to CC-BY-SA license. Source: List of protected areas of Illinois by Wikipedia (Historical)



 

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