Public park in Chicago, Illinois
William W. Powers State Recreation Area
is an
Illinois state park
administered by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
on 580 acres (230 ha) in the
Hegewisch
community area
of the City of
Chicago
in
Cook County
,
Illinois
,
United States
.
[1]
The area includes 419 acres (170 ha) of water in
Wolf Lake
that provides about 6 miles (10 km) of
shoreline
to
fishermen
.
[1]
The park hosts about half a million visitors annually.
[2]
The park contains numerous
species
, and is one of the most important biological sites in the Chicago region.
History
[
edit
]
Wolf Lake in Illinois has a storied history that somehow has lost track of the origins of the name that goes back over 150 years. Part of this history includes visits by
Abraham Lincoln
in which
Mary Todd Lincoln
nearly drowned.
[3]
In 1947, the state acquired a 160 acres (65 ha) parcel known as the Wolf Lake State Recreation Area. Later acquisitions were added to the property and have increased the area which was known as Wolf Lake Conservation Area. In 1965, the
Illinois General Assembly
named the area after
William W. Powers
.
[1]
Powers had been a Chicago
alderman
on the
Chicago City Council
and
Illinois General Assembly
legislator in the 1920s, and used the site for picnics to feed the needy during the
Great Depression
.
[3]
The park also has a military history. There is a defunct
Nike Ajax missile
honoring the missile site that occupied the area during the
Cold War
years.
Memorial Day
,
Independence Day
, and
Veterans Day
ceremonies attract veterans who place flags at markers near a former re-dedication ceremony site that featured the
Moving Vietnam Wall
.
[3]
Unlike the Lake Michigan shoreline which has been reshaped by sand and clay, Wolf Lake has been filled in large part with
slag
from
steel mills
.
[4]
Wildlife
[
edit
]
Wolf Lake contains
largemouth bass
,
northern pike
,
bluegill
,
redear sunfish
,
crappie
,
bullhead
,
carp
,
walleye
, hybrid
muskie
, and
yellow perch
.
[1]
There is also an occasional
salmon
and
rainbow trout
caught in the lake.
[3]
Salmon can access the lake via the Calumet River and its Indian Creek tributary.
Native
trumpeter
(
Cygnus buccinator
) and
tundra swans
(
Cygnus columbianus
) and non-native
mute swans
(
Cygnus olor
) may all be found on the lake in winter.
[5]
Tundra swans are absent in summer as they migrate to the arctic and subarctic to nest, however, the non-native, Eurasian mute swans compete for habitat with the non-migrating trumpeter swan population and is an impediment to restoration of the native trumpeters around the
Great Lakes
.
[6]
[7]
[8]
Additional native birds hosted by the lake include
cardinals
,
blue jays
,
finches
,
orioles
,
woodpeckers
,
teal
,
mallards
, resident and migratory
Canada geese
, and an occasional
bald eagle
.
[3]
Birdwatchers
enjoy the non-native
monk parakeet
, which is a
South American
parrot
, that nests in the park.
[2]
Hunters enjoy the seasonal
waterfowl
.
[1]
The South American monk parakeets arrived at the site in 1999 and have since established two nests with seven or eight birds each. They are presumed to have migrated from the
Hyde Park
community area
.
[3]
The park contains many
willow
and
cottonwood
trees.
[1]
The park also attracts city dwelling
mammals
such as
squirrels
,
rabbits
,
raccoons
,
muskrats
,
opossums
, and the occasional
coyote
and
white-tailed deer
.
[3]
Beaver sign indicates that there are beaver on the lake currently.
[9]
On August 23, 2002, Wolf Lake was one of three neighboring regions that hosted the Calumet
BioBlitz
. This bioblitz convened over 150 expert
scientists
to identify and record as many living organisms as possible within 24 hours. The purpose was to demonstrate the resilience of the extraordinary range of organisms in nature's battle against the South Side of Chicago's collage of
factories
,
warehouses
,
forest preserves
,
residences
, and
highways
as well as its battle of survival against killer pest species. Unofficially, the BioBlitz counted 1,815
species
.
[10]
The BioBlitz included teams of scientists from
Eastern Illinois University
,
Field Museum
,
Forest Preserve District of Cook County
,
Illinois Natural History Survey
,
Indiana Department of Natural Resources
,
University of Illinois - Champaign
,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
, and
U.S. Fish & Wildlife
.
[11]
Lake sturgeon
,
endangered
in both Indiana and Illinois, as well as
banded killifish
,
threatened
in Illinois, are both part of the Wolf Lake ecology.
[12]
The lake supports the nesting habitat for four species of endangered birds:
little blue heron
,
yellow-crowned night heron
,
black-crowned night heron
, and
yellow-headed blackbird
.
[12]
Conservation
[
edit
]
The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and the Illinois Water Survey are studying ways to halt degradation of the lake and the
USDA
Forest Service is helping with a study of public interests in recreation at Wolf Lake.
[12]
The Wolf Lake water level determines the drainage to
Lake Michigan
because the connecting Calumet River flows southward during elevated levels and northward during lowered levels.
[4]
The water in Wolf Lake was about 18 inches higher until 1998 when the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
removed several
beavers
and their dams that had been built across Indian Creek. The subsequent drop in water depth encouraged weed growth and changed fishing conditions.
[13]
The
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
and the City of
Hammond, IN
initiated the Reconnaissance Report in December 1998. It was approved in September 2000. An environmental assessment was held in 2002. The Project Cooperation Agreement commenced in 2005.
[14]
The Wolf Lake ecosystem degradation problem is multifaceted. It includes exotic plant species proliferation, low diversity of plant and fish species, water depth inadequacy, poor aquatic habitat, contaminant impact, and shoreline erosion. Proposed project features include new aquatic and wetland habitat plantings; shoreline restoration; creating deep holes to locally diversify the lake bottom; herbicidal and biological controls; channels clearing, and dikes and causeways construction to restore natural water levels.
[14]
The park offers stoves and has shelters available by reservation for
picnicking
. Two of the shelters each have capacity for 50 people, and two others each have capacity for 100 people.
Fishing
and
hunting
is permitted in accordance with regulations, but camping is not allowed.
[3]
Ice fishing
is permitted in the winter and 10 horsepower (7.5 kW)
motorboats
are permitted during the summer.
[1]
The lake has several
dikes
that temper the wave height.
[15]
There are 25
hunting blinds
to hunt waterfowl. These sites are awarded in yearly lotteries held in late July. During the season, daily drawings are held to allocate blinds of absentee blind holders.
[3]
The use of the park is protected by several types of volunteers. For example, at the 14th Annual
Earth Day
Wolf Lake Cleanup on April 21, 2001, more than 350 volunteers, including
Hammond, IN
Mayor
Duane Dedelow Jr.
, helped clean up and remove an estimated 36,000 pounds (16 t) of waste.
[12]
A week later, Friends of Wolf Lake and associates collected more than 3,000 discarded tires from the lake and its shoreline.
[12]
Semi-annual cleanups are organized by the Southeast Sportsmen's Club and the Wolf Lake Rod and Gun Club who work with the scouts, community organizations and the Hegewisch
Chamber of Commerce
.
[3]
Geography
[
edit
]
Wolf Lake extends across the Illinois and Indiana State line between 120th and 134th streets.
[1]
It is an 804 acres (325 ha) lake that has 419 acres (170 ha) within the city of Chicago and the remainder in the city of Hammond.
[12]
Its maximum depth is 20 feet (6.1 m).
[1]
Wetlands adjacent to the lake include the 250 acres (100 ha) Eggers Woods Forest Preserve, 175 acres (71 ha) Powderhorn Lake Prairie, and 40 acres (16 ha) Hyde Lake Wetland.
[12]
William W. Powers State Recreation Area is on Chicago's far southeast side, off highways
94
,
90
, and
41
. The main park entrance is at 12949 South Avenue O.
[1]
At one time, the Wolf lake was connected to Lake Michigan by a creek running through Hammond on the Indiana side, but the creek has long since been blocked by development. On the Illinois side, Wolf Lake empties into Indian Creek, which feeds into the
Calumet River
. The Illinois and Indiana are separated by State Line Road, which is a road elsewhere along the border, but it is only represented by a rock-and-gravel dike that passes through the lake. State Line Road ends in foot bridges where water enters from the Indiana side.
[3]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"William W. Powers - State Recreation Area"
. Department of Natural Resources. 2018
. Retrieved
July 20,
2018
.
- ^
a
b
"William W. Powers State Recreation Area"
. QuincyNet.com. 2004
. Retrieved
July 11,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
"A Lone Wolf No More"
.
Illinois Periodicals Online
. Northern Illinois University Libraries. March 11, 2002
. Retrieved
July 7,
2009
.
- ^
a
b
"Chapter 2: Physical Characteristics of the Illinois Coast"
. Illinois Department of Natural Resources. May 24, 2007
. Retrieved
May 15,
2010
.
- ^
"Mute, Trumpeter, & Tundra Swans, Wolf Lake (Powers F&W Area), Chicago, IL (2-11-10)"
. Retrieved
May 15,
2010
.
- ^
Mute Swan Issues in Wisconsin
(PDF)
(Report). Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
. Retrieved
May 15,
2010
.
- ^
"Mute Swan"
. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology - All About Birds
. Retrieved
May 15,
2010
.
- ^
Sublett, P. (July?August 1981). "Wild Swans in Trouble".
Minnesota Sportsman
: 30?32.
- ^
"Beavers at Wolf Lake"
. Retrieved
May 15,
2010
.
- ^
Parker, Don (2002).
"Calumet BioBlitz"
. Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Inc
. Retrieved
July 13,
2007
.
- ^
"The BioBlitz Team"
. The Field Museum. 2007
. Retrieved
July 13,
2007
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
Brown, Alison Carney (Summer 2001).
"New Vision for Wolf Lake Shared by Illinois and Indiana Conservationists"
. Chicago Wilderness Magazine, Inc
. Retrieved
July 15,
2007
.
- ^
"A Guide to Fishing Wolf Lake, Illinois Side"
(PDF)
. Midwest Musky Club
. Retrieved
May 15,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
"Wolf Lake"
. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. June 8, 2006. Archived from
the original
on June 13, 2007
. Retrieved
July 7,
2009
.
- ^
"Wolf Lake"
. Retrieved
July 15,
2007
.
External links
[
edit
]