Red's Landing Wetlands Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project                                               

St. Louis District

Partners

• US Fish and Wildlife Service
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources 

Description

The proposed project includes Red's Landing and Gilead Slough.  The project area is located along the east bank of the Mississippi River Pool 25 between river miles 252 and 255.5 in Calhoun County, Illinois.  This property is General Plan lands owned by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources through a cooperative agreement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. 

The area consists of a patchwork of habitat types including sloughs, backwater lakes, bottomland forest, and former agricultural fields.  The Corps purchased this area to establish the Upper Mississippi River Navigation System.  Historically, portions were leased back to the private sector.  One such are was Gilead Slough, which was subsequently managed primarily as a hunting and fishing club.  The flood of 1993 destroyed most of the infrastructure used by the hunting club and led to the club terminating its long standing lease with the Corps. Red's Landing managed by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is adjacent to Gilead Slough and the old club levees and infrastructure provide the water level control to this area.   However the degraded condition of these systems allows water levels to get lower than what is needed for good fish and wildlife habitat.  On the northern end of the site, the silt load coming in during floods filled many of the old sloughs and backwaters. On the northern end of the site, flood silt loads have filled many of the sloughs and backwaters.  The HREP’s goals include improving water management to improve wetland quality and fish access and restoring forest acreage and diversity.

Quick Facts

• Approximate Acres: 1620
• Congressional District: Illinois - 13
• State(s) Covered: Illinois
• Land Ownership: Federal
• Management Agency: Illinois DNR
• Management Authority: Cooperative Agreement

Proposed Potential Features

• Gilead Slough:
  • Raise existing east end berm
  • Fish friendly water control structures
  •  Raise west end berm
  • Construct an overflow spillway
  • Tree planting
• Red's Landing Property:
  • Riverside berm
  • Water control structures
  • Discharge channel stilling basin and water control structures
  • Tree planting 

Milestones

• The Fact Sheet  Approved July 2010 
• This project is currently deferred.