Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge

Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Map of the United States
Location	Cass County, Morgan County, Illinois, United States
Nearest city	Meredosia, Illinois
Coordinates	39°51′45″N 90°33′45″W / 39.86250°N 90.56250°W / 39.86250; -90.56250
Area	5,255 acres (21.27 km)
Established	1973
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge

The Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge is a 5,255-acre (21.27 km) national wildlife refuge located along the Illinois River in Cass County and Morgan County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The refuge is adjacent to Meredosia, Illinois, but is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from a headquarters located in Havana, Illinois.

Ecology and history

The Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge is located on a riverine zone, historically wetland, that borders the Illinois River and its flyway for waterfowl. Much of the Refuge is located on a patch of wetland that is still called Meredosia Island although it is now permanently connected to the mainland by drained parcels of former riverbed. To the east of the Refuge is a large shallow lake, Meredosia Lake.

While attempts were made in the early 1900s to drain and reclaim much of the Illinois Riverbed for farming, this was not done with Meredosia Island. The sodden land, which resisted reclamation, was acquired in the early 1920s by the Chicago Meredosia Gun Club, a group of men of means who appreciated the opportunity to shoot ducks and geese.

The gun club's caretakers began the active management of ponds on Meredosia Island for waterfowl. After the federal Fish and Wildlife Service took over much of the Island in 1973 to form the current Refuge, these efforts continued.

Fish and Wildlife Service land acquisition efforts continue. As of 2009, the USFWS had acquired a 3,582-acre (14.50 km) parcel, slightly less than 70 percent of the total authorized "footprint" that the Refuge will cover when the acquisition process is complete. The lands currently under active federal ownership or management are now managed not only for waterfowl, but also for shorebirds, wading birds and other wildlife that are native to the Illinois River valley.

The Fish and Wildlife Service's long-range plans for the Refuge call for it to contain a mixture of backwater lake, bottomland forest, upland forest, prairie, seasonal wetland, and permanent marsh habitats.

References

^ "Meredosia National Wildlife Refuge". United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2009-03-08.
^ "Harvesting the River: Meredosia". Illinois State Museum. Retrieved 2009-03-08.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Protected areas of Illinois

Federal

National Historic Sites and Parks and national monument	Chicago Portage Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley Lincoln Home New Philadelphia Pullman
National Forest	Shawnee
National Wildlife Refuges	Chautauqua Crab Orchard Cypress Creek Driftless Area Emiquon Great River Hackmatack Kankakee Mark Twain Meredosia Middle Mississippi River Port Louisa Two Rivers Upper Mississippi River
National Grassland	Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie
National Trails/National Heritage Area	Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area Illinois and Michigan Canal Lewis and Clark Mormon Pioneer Trail of Tears
National Natural Landmarks	List of National Natural Landmarks in Illinois
National Wild and Scenic Rivers	Middle Fork Vermilion River
Wetlands of international importance	Cache River-Cypress Creek The Emiquon Complex Dixon Waterfowl Refuge Chiwaukee Illinois Beach Lake Plain (shared with Wisconsin) Upper Mississippi (shared)

State

State Parks	Apple River Argyle Lake Beall Woods Beaver Dam Buffalo Rock Castle Rock Cave-in-Rock Chain O'Lakes Channahon Delabar Dixon Springs Donnelley/Depue Ferne Clyffe Fort Massac Fox Ridge Gebhard Woods Giant City Hennepin Canal Parkway Horseshoe Lake Illini Illinois Beach James "Pate" Philip Jubilee College Kankakee River Lake Murphysboro Lincoln Trail Lowden Matthiessen Mississippi Palisades Moraine Hills Morrison-Rockwood Nauvoo Pere Marquette Red Hills Rock Cut Rock Island Trail Shabbona Lake Siloam Springs South Shore Starved Rock Walnut Point Weinberg-King White Pines Forest Wildlife Prairie William G. Stratton Wolf Creek
State Historic Sites	List of Illinois State Historic Sites (including, Cahokia World Heritage Site)
State Forests	Big River Hidden Springs Lowden-Miller Sand Ridge Trail of Tears
State Recreation Areas	Clinton Lake Eagle Creek Eldon Hazlet Frank Holten Golconda Marina Johnson-Sauk Trail Kickapoo Lake Le-Aqua-Na Moraine View North Point Marina Prophetstown Pyramid Ramsey Lake Randolph County Sangchris Lake Stephen A. Forbes Washington County Wayne Fitzgerrell Weldon Springs William W. Powers
State Fish and Wildlife Areas	Anderson Lake Baldwin Lake Banner Marsh Carlyle Lake Coffeen Lake Crawford County Des Plaines Double T Edward R. Madigan Green River Hamilton County Heidecke Lake Horseshoe Lake (Alexander County) Iroquois County Kaskaskia River Kinkaid Lake Kishwaukee River LaSalle Lake Mackinaw River Marshall Mautino Mazonia/Braidwood Mermet Lake Middle Fork Mississippi River Newton Lake Jim Edgar Panther Creek Peabody River Pekin Lake Powerton Lake Ray Norbut Rend Lake Rice Lake Sahara Woods Saline County Sam Dale Lake Sam Parr Sanganois Shelbyville Silver Springs Snakeden Hollow Spring Lake Ten Mile Creek Turkey Bluffs Union County Woodford
State Natural Areas	Cache River Franklin Creek Fults Hill Prairie Goose Lake Prairie Harry "Babe" Woodyard Illinois Caverns Kidd Lake Piney Creek Ravine Prairie Ridge Revis Hill Prairie Sand Prairie-Scrub Oak Sielbeck Forest Spitler Woods Volo Bog
State Trails	Mormon Trail Trail of Tears Tunnel Hill

Local

County Districts	Local forest and conservation districts

Category
Chicago
East St. Louis
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Commons

v t e National Wildlife Refuges of the United States
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National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

This article related to a protected area in Illinois is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

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