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NUTRIENT FARMING

NUTRIENT FARMING PILOT PROJECT

HENNEPIN & HOPPER LAKES

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MIDEWIN NATIONAL TALLGRASS PRAIRIE
FLOOD DAMAGE
REDUCTION STUDY
COFFEE CREEK
SEDIMENT REDUCTION
BUBBLY CREEK
PROPOSED
RESTORATION
COLLATERAL CHANNEL
RESTORATION

Since spring 2001, two backwater lakes, wetlands, prairies, fens, and seeps have been flourishing on former corn and soybean fields along the Illinois River at the Hennepin & Hopper Lakes Project.

   
Hennepin and Hopper Lakes

Originally sculpted by glacial melt and retreat, the basins of Hennepin and Hopper lakes located just outside of Hennepin, Illinois, were once channels in the Illinois River. As the river meandered and crisscrossed in and around these basins, it created a diversity of bird and waterfowl habitat unique to this part of the country, including lakes, prairies, savannas, marshes, and wet meadows. In 1908, the 2,600-acre wetland was dramatically altered by farmers who leveed, ditched, tiled, and pumped dry the floodplain to sustain corn and soybean fields.

In 2001, the Wetlands Initiative reversed this destruction by turning off the pumps and beginning ecological restoration. Within months more than 1,000 acres of lakes reappeared, filled only by groundwater and precipitation. In the eight years since, wildlife populations have exploded at the site, with birds taking center stage. Only two hours from the Chicago region, the site is an educational and recreation resource to treasure.

News:

TWI and IDNR announce aquatic rehabilitation effort. (10/22/09)

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email us: twi@wetlands-initiative.org