. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. Big Muddy, Saline and Caclic Rivers Watershed 101 Plant and animal life Diversity in habitat leads to a diverse flora and fauna. For example, the C^ache River bottomlands support the greatest diversity of tree species of any bottomland stream system in , the area is home to 128 native bird species while another 129 migrate to the area. Basin acreage - 534, State land* - 24,773 acres Feder
. Critical trends in Illinois ecosystems. Ecological assessment (Biology); Environmental impact analysis; Nature; Pollution; Conservation of natural resources; Environmental quality. Big Muddy, Saline and Caclic Rivers Watershed 101 Plant and animal life Diversity in habitat leads to a diverse flora and fauna. For example, the C^ache River bottomlands support the greatest diversity of tree species of any bottomland stream system in , the area is home to 128 native bird species while another 129 migrate to the area. Basin acreage - 534, State land* - 24,773 acres Federal land - 34,775 acres Total natural areas - 19,074 acres High quality natural areas - 3,200 acres Nature preserves - 3, acres * Does not iiiciiule natural areas or nature preserves that may be state owned. With so much rare habitat, it is no surprise that the area also shelters man)' rare creatures — 104 species whose sur\'ival in Illinois is considered endangered or threatened, and seven species rec- ognized by federal authorities as endangered or threatened throughout the Among the man)' unique species that live in the area: • river otters — they persisted in the Cache River basin when they were disappearing from the rest of the state (they have since been rein- troduced in several areas ); • bald eagles — 20 to 50 winter in the cypresses lining Horseshoe Lake; • bobcats — with a home range as much as square miles, the Shawnee Hills is one of three places in Illinois that offers this animal enough space to roam; • the green treefrog, bird-voiced tree frog, cot- tonmouth and mole salamander — they all reach the northern limits of their distribution here and are restricted to the cypress-bulton- bush s"wamps and adjacent watersheds. Local economy and outdoor recreation The area is uniquely rural. Toda)' the population is about the same as it was in 1870 and |'>opulati()n density is only one-fifth iIku oI the statewide average. The slow-
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Keywords: ., bookauthorillinoisnaturalhistorysurveydivisi, booksubjectnature
