. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. 98 Critical Trends in Illinois Ecosystems The Cretaceous Hills RRA, encompassing 137 square miles, is characterized by rolling hills of sand, gravel and clay and bottomlands along the Ohio River. Acidic seeps, which support some of the most interesting natural communi- ties in the state, are found in this area. richness was lower than was proba- bl)' due to the site being sampled later than usual for
. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. 98 Critical Trends in Illinois Ecosystems The Cretaceous Hills RRA, encompassing 137 square miles, is characterized by rolling hills of sand, gravel and clay and bottomlands along the Ohio River. Acidic seeps, which support some of the most interesting natural communi- ties in the state, are found in this area. richness was lower than was proba- bl)' due to the site being sampled later than usual for the region, with many species entering the egg stage of their life C) cle. The worst site was Mud Creek near Unionville, which had low EPT and habitat quality. ECOSYSTEM MONITOREVG The Cache River basin contains some of the most pristine streams in Illinois, but many streams in the Big Muddy and Saline river basins are heavily degraded because the natural riparian corridor has been denuded, and streams have been channelized and polluted with nutrients from row crop agriculture. From 1997 through 1999 CTAP biolo- gists sampled eight randomly chosen streams. They found that, overall, the watershed scored below average for EPT richness and HBI score. It scored slightly above average for total native fish and for habitat quality. The site with the best habitat condition was an unnamed tributary of Lusk Creek near Golconda. Although it had a very good HBI score, EPT taxa Table 49- Watershed Indicator Scorecard. H CTAP-INHS Rivet Sites RlverWatch Sites A ForesiWalch Sites Indicator Watershed Value Statewide Value Watershed Ranking Macfoim 'ertebrates HBI 9 MBI ; 1 EPT richness "1 - EPT taxa (RVtO 3 Taxa richness 3 Taxa dominance I Fish Native fish 3 Darter richness 5 Exotic species 6 Habitat Habitat score 5 Figure 59. Monitoring sites Between 1995 and 1999 RiverWatch volunteers collect
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