UIS's Therkildsen Field Station at Emiquon: A Center for River Floodplain Science and Restoration

University Of Illinois At Springfield, Springfield IL

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Illinois Springfield is awarded a grant to planning activities at the Therkildsen Field Station at Emiquon (TFSE) to develop a strategic plan with scientists, resource managers, and educators. TFSE has an active partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Dickson Mounds Museum (DMM), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). In 2000, TNC purchased over 7000 acres near Havana, IL, establishing the Emiquon Preserve. Nearby, the USFWS has 2,114 acres of lands in conservation. Together, the partnership is restoring land that was largely used for agriculture, back into a mosaic of wetlands, bottomland forest and tall grass prairie. DMM focuses on the archeology of the area, and interprets the restoration to the public. The scientific merit of this grant is linked to TFSE's research that helps plan and document the Emiquon floodplain restoration. TFSE provides insights into water quality, river floodplain ecology and microbial communities. As part of this grant, TFSE will help establish ways to manage and disseminate data. The broader impacts of TFSE are linked to its mission to facilitate research, education, and outreach. The science done at Emiquon has a significant societal impact because the high profile of the Emiquon restoration increases public interest in the science. The field station is also a regional, community resource for science education in central Illinois. Planning will help the station increase the impact of existing educational partnerships, encourage volunteerism, and to forge new educational alliances. Through annual events and public lectures, TFSE, DMM, TNC and USFSW are reaching out to the public regionally, nationally, and internationally.