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State park in Illinois, United States
The
Sahara Woods State Fish and Wildlife Area
is a 4,100-acre (1,700 ha) state park owned and operated by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
(IDNR). It is located in
Saline County
, five miles west of the small city of
Harrisburg
.
[1]
The fish and wildlife area is made up of former
bituminous coal
properties strip-mined by the Sahara Coal Company. The park currently consists of approximately 2,300 acres of open space, 1,500 acres of timber and brush, and 275 acres of lakes, ponds, and wetlands. The IDNR describes the topography of the parcel as "a former surface mine which consists of spoil ridges interspersed with timber, grasslands, small ponds and a large lake."
[1]
After shutting down the mine in 1993, Sahara Coal donated the land making up the mine to the state of Illinois in 1999. Remediation work continues. The park was partly opened to deer hunters in 2003.
[2]
As of 2022, the park continues to be managed for hunting purposes, with archery deer, dove, quail, rabbit, squirrel, turkey, and various fur-bearing small game availabilities. Permits and licenses are required.
[1]
Efforts are being made to redevelop portions of the state tract for
off-road vehicle
(ORV) recreational use. In November 2017, IDNR announced the successful conclusion of a $1.2 million grant application to assist in the construction of a 26-mile (42 km) ORV trail network. The spoil ridges left behind by the former coal-mining shovels were judged by the
United States Department of Transportation
to be highly suitable for ORV-oriented redevelopment as part of the nationwide
Recreational Trails Program
.
[3]
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