Iroquois County State Wildlife Area facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Iroquois County State Wildlife Area |
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IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area)
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 Iroquois County State Wildlife Area
Location in Illinois
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| Location | Iroquois County, Illinois, USA |
| Nearest city | Beaverville, Illinois |
| Area | 2,480 acres (1,004 ha) |
| Established | 1944 |
| Governing body | Illinois Department of Natural Resources |
The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area is a special state park in Illinois. It covers about 2,480 acres (1,000 hectares) in the northeastern part of Iroquois County. This area is very close to the border with Indiana. The closest town is Beaverville, Illinois.
What Makes This Area Special?
The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area is a small part of what was once a huge wetland called the Great Kankakee Swamp. This swamp was enormous, covering about 5,300 square miles (14,000 square kilometers)! It helped drain the slow-moving Kankakee River valley.
Long ago, when the last Ice Age ended, melting glaciers washed a lot of sand and dirt from Northwest Indiana into Northeastern Illinois. This created a flat, sandy area called an outwash plain. Because this land stayed wet all year, it became home to many unique wetland plants and insects.
A Glimpse into the Past
The Kankakee Swamp wetlands were full of beavers and other animals with valuable fur. This is why the nearby town was named Beaverville. Other towns like Chebanse and St. Anne show the area's French-Canadian fur-trading history.
Starting in the late 1800s, people began to drain the Kankakee Swamp. They dug many ditches across eastern Iroquois County. Most of this drained land became good for farming. However, the sandy soil in far-northeastern Iroquois County was not good for growing crops.
In 1944, a group that later became the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) started buying this land. They hoped to help the greater prairie chicken population, which had dropped a lot in Illinois. They wanted to create a safe place for these birds to live and have babies.
What You Can Find There Today
Sadly, attempts to bring the greater prairie chicken back to this area in the 1900s did not work. State naturalists believe the wildlife area is too wet for these birds. So, the IDNR found new uses for the land.
Today, the area is a popular spot for hunting during certain seasons. People can hunt whitetail deer, doves, pheasants, quail, rabbits, and squirrels.
The Iroquois County State Wildlife Area has a mix of sand dunes and wet prairie habitats. The way the sand and wet areas meet creates a rolling landscape with trees and grass. This type of land is called an oak barren. The main tree you'll see is the black oak. These trees often grow well in sandy, less fertile soil. This black-oak savanna is one of the largest natural grassland areas left in Illinois. You can also find beautiful prairie flowers like the blazing star and hairy puccoon.
