History

Originally sculpted by glacial melt and retreat, the basins of the twin Hennepin and Hopper lakes, were once channels in the Illinois River. As the river meandered and crisscrossed in and around these basins, it created rich waterfowl habitat. The region was called the "Duck Capital of the World."  

In the 17th century when the first Europeans came across these basins, they were in awe of the rich and ample game in the area.

The abundance of game— waterfowl, swans, ducks, and bustards —fostered a rich hunting and fishing tradition along the Illinois River in the late 1800s.

By 1908, local landowners wanted to "improve" the land by draining it. The landowners in the floodplain formed the Hennein Drainage and Levee District so they could collectively install levees, ditches, tile lines, and a drainage pump. The result was an oasis of corn and soybeans for most of the 20th century.

In 2001, the Wetlands Initiative began restoration, first by turning off the electric pumps and disabling the drain tiles. Fed by springs, seeps, and rainfall, the water level dramatically increased, and many native species of plants and animals returned to recolonize the site. The river levee is still in tact to prevent invasive species and the river's irregular flood pulse from overwhelming the site.

The resurgence of wet prairies, marshes, and backwater lakes along with aquatic plants, frogs, and a multitude of birds revitalized the biodiversity of this habitat. Bonaparte’s gulls, Franklin’s gulls, egrets, blue herons, and even the threatened pied-billed grebe and black tern were spotted along the basins by that first fall.

Through 2002, restoration work focused on reinstating plant communities at the site and stocking the lakes with fish. A portion of the seep community is officially designated as an Illinois Nature Preserve. The Thomas W. and Elizabeth Moews Dore Seep along the eastern bluff of the project is one of the rarest habitats in the state.

In 2004, Audubon designated the site one of Illinois' first "Important Bird Areas." The rare Henry Elfin’s butterfly and state-endangered king rail, least bittern, common moorhen, and yellow-headed blackbird were soon observed. The pied-billed grebe population exploded, leading to the state's Endangered Species Board to "delist" the species from its threatened status.

The project was dedicated as the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge in 2005, in recognition of the high-quality habitat present at the site and the huge numbers of waterfowl it supports. The refuge is a critical northern stop on the Illinois segment of the Mississippi River Flyway. Thousands of migratory waterfowl course through this natural corridor each spring and fall, and find ample food and shelter at the refuge.

Through 2006, restoration efforts focused on removing aggressive woody vegetation in the seep community.

In 2009, the Initiative faced the challenge of removing invasive carp that had degraded the lakes and was threatening the native vegetation, game fish population, and waterfowl population. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Initiative worked to remove the carp in winter 2009-2010, and IDNR restocked the lakes with more than 800 pounds of breeding, native game fish in 2010.

Video: Co-founder Al Pyott tells the story of  how the project began