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State park in Illinois, US
The
Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area
is a 1,448-acre (586 ha)
state park
in
Tazewell County, Illinois
. It is operated by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR).
[1]
The Area dates to 1970, when a conservation group based in
Bloomington
, the Parklands Foundation, donated its acreage to the state.
[2]
The Mackinaw River SFWA consists of more than two square miles of upslope on the south bank of the
Mackinaw River
, primarily wooded land with some upland meadows. There are also two sections of Mackinaw River bottomland that offer direct access to the river; each section is approximately
1
⁄
4
-mile (400 m) wide. The Mackinaw River SWFA is primarily managed for the hunting of
whitetail deer
, although
fishing
and
canoeing
are also welcomed.
The Mackinaw River is a free-running river throughout most of its length, and therefore offers potential for the preservation of
fish
and
shellfish
species (particularly
mussels
) historically associated with the tallgrass
prairie
. However, most of the river's
drainage
is heavily utilized for crop
farming
, with its potential for
erosion
and consequent
siltation
. Sixty-six percent of the river's drainage is cropland. The Mackinaw River State Fish and Wildlife Area is an island of natural drainage into the vulnerable river, although it takes up less than 1.2% of the river's total watershed.
The nearest town to the Mackinaw River SFWA is
Mackinaw, Illinois
.
External links
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References
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