Nature Returns to Emiquon

Mother Nature has converted what was once thousands of acres of row crops into a mosaic of natural habitats that is home to birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles. Seeds that were dormant for 80 years have sprung to life by just adding water. Life as it was for millennia has returned to Emiquon Preserve in Fulton County.

WTVP presents a cinematic 1/2 hour production of the beautiful journey of, Nature Returns to Emiquon. Join us as we show how beauty has returned to this parcel of land along the Illinois River in Fulton County. What were once thousands of acres of row crops and cattle are now restored to natural habitats.

Before 1900, the land was a backwater environment of lakes, prairies, wetlands and forests. But the rich soils adjacent to the river attracted farmers in the 20th century. They erected levees to keep the river water out and pumps to remove water from the fields. The natural flow of the Illinois River was altered, causing issues with more frequent flooding, overflow that the backwaters once absorbed.
With help from The Nature Conservancy, Emiquon is experiencing a rebirth on the nearly seven-thousand acre plot of land. Mother Nature, through its resurgence at Emiquon Preserve, has become a model of what may be replicated along other parts of the river and elsewhere.