,. , "",, !! v_o_l_u_rn_e_l_ • Part II Living Resources CACHE RIvER AREA ASSESSMENT NATURAL RESOURCES CACHE RIvER AREA ASSESSMENT VOLUMEl PART II LIVING RESOURCES Illinois Department ofNatural Resources Office of Scientific Research and Analysis Natural History Survey Division 607 East Peabody Drive Champaign, Illinois 61820 March 1997 800/1997 Printed by the authority ofthe State ofIllinois other CTAP Publications The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends • Summary Report • Volume I: Air Resources • Volume 2: Water Resources • Volume 3: Ecological Resources • Volume 4: Earth Resources • Volume 5: Waste Generation andManagement • Volume 6: Sources ofEnvironmental Stress • Volume 7: Bibliography The Rock River Country: An Inventory ofthe Region's Resources Rock River Area Assessment Annual Report I 995, Illinois RiverWatch Network Stream Monitoring Manual, Illinois RiverWatch Network PLAN-IT EARTH, Flowing Waters Module PLAN-IT EARTH, Forest Module Forest Monitoring Manual, Illinois ForestWatch Illinois Land Cover, An Atlas, plus CD-ROM Inventory ofEcologically Resource-Rich Areas in Illinois Illinois Geographic Information System, CD-ROM of digital geospatial data All CTAP and Ecosystems Program documents are available from the DNR Clearinghouse at (217) 782-7498 or TDD (217) 782-9175. They are also available on the World Wide Web at http://dnr.state.il.us/ctap/ctaphome.htm, or http://dnr.state.il.us/c2000/manage/partner.htm, as well as on the EcoForum Bulletin Board at I (800) 528-5486 or (217) 782-8447. For more information about CTAP, call (217) 524-0500 or e-mail atctap2@dnrmai\.state.i\.us; for information on the Ecosystems Program call (217) 782-7940 or e-mail at [email protected]. The lllinois Department ofNatural Resources receives federal financial assistance and therefore must comply with federalanli­ discrimination laws. In compliance with the lUinois Human Rights Act, the lUinois Constitution. Title VI ofthe 1964 Civil Rights Act, Section 504 ofthe Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended, and the U.S. Constitution., the Illinois Department ofNatural Resources does not discriminate on the basis ofrace, color, sex, national origin, age or disability. Ifyou believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity or facility please contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, Department ofNatural Resources, 524 S. Second St.. Springfield, IL 62701-1787. (217) 782-7616, or the Office of Human Rights, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 20240. All public meetings conducted by the Department ofNatural Resources will be accessible to handicapped individuals in compliance with Executive Order No.5 and pertinent state and federal la",.{s, upon notification ofthe anticipated attendance. Handicapped persons planning to attend and needing special acconunodations should infonn the Department ofNatural Resources at least five days prior to the meeting by telephoning or writing the Equal Employment Opportunity Officer. Department ofNatural Resources, 524 S. Second St.. Springfield, IL 62701-1787, phone (217) 782-7616. Department ofNatural Resources information is available to the hearing impaired by calling DNR's Teleconununications Device for the Deaf (217) 782-9175. The Arneritech Relay Number is (800) 526-0844. ii About This Report The Cache River Area Assessment examines an area that includes the majority of the Cache River watershed in extreme southern Illinois. Because significant natural community and species diversity is found in the area, it has been designated a state Resource Rich Area. This report is part ofa series ofreports on Illinois Resource Rich Areas where a public­ private partnership has been formed. These assessments provide information on the natural and human resources ofthe areas as a basis for managing and improving their ecosystems. The determination ofresource rich areas and development ofecosystem-based information and management programs in TIlinois are the result ofthree processes -- the Critical Trends Assessment Program, the Conservation Congress, and the Water Resources and Land Use Priorities Task Force. Background The Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) documents changes in ecological conditions. In 1994, using existing information, the program provided a baseline of ecological conditions. 1 Three conclusions were drawn from the baseline investigation: 1. the emission and discharge of regulated pollutants over the past 20 years has declined, in some cases dramatically, 2. existing data suggest that the condition of natural ecosystems in Illinois is rapidly declining as a result offragmentation and continued stress, and 3. data designed to monitor compliance with environmental regulations or the status of individual species are notsufficient to assess ecosystem health statewide. Based on these findings, CTAP has begun to develop methods to systematically monitor ecological conditions and provide information for ecosystem-based management. Five components make up this effort: 1. identify resource rich areas, 2. conduct regional assessments, 3. publish an atlas and inventory ofIllinois landcover, 4. train volunteers to collect ecological indicator data, and 5. develop an educational science curriculum which incorporates data collection I See The Changing Illinois Environment: Critical Trends, summary report and volumes 1-7. iii --------- At the same time that CTAP was publishing its baseline findings, the Illinois Conservation Congress and the Water Resources and Land Use Priorities Task Force were presenting their respective findings. These groups agreed with the CTAP conclusion that the state's ecosystems were declining. Better stewardship was needed, and they determined that a voluntary, incentive-based, grassroots approach would be the most appropriate, one that recognized the inter-relatedness ofeconomic development and natural resource protection and enhancement. From the three initiatives was born Conservation 2000, a six-year program to begin reversing ecosystem degradation, primarily through the Ecosystems Program, a cooperative process of public-private partnerships that are intended to merge natural resource stewardship with economic and recreational development. To achieve this goal, the program will provide financial incentives and technical assistance to private landowners. The Rock River and Cache River were designated as the first Ecosystem Partnership areas. At the same time, CTAP identified 30 Resource Rich Areas (RRAs) throughout the state. In RRAs where Ecosystem Partnerships have been formed, CTAP is providing an assessment of the area, drawing from ecological and socio-economic databases to give an overview ofthe region's resources -- geologic, edaphic, hydrologic, biotic, and socio-economic. Although several ofthe analyses are somewhat restricted by spatial andlor temporallirnitations ofthe data, they help to identifY information gaps and additional opportunities and constraints to establishing long-term monitoring programs in the partnership areas. The Cache River Assessment The Cache River originates near Cobden in Union County and has a total length of 176 kilometers (110 miles). The Cache River Basin covers nearly the entire tip of southern 2 2 Illinois and drains 1,537 km (959 rni , 614,100 acres) in parts ofAlexander, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union counties (Figure 1). The assessment area runs the entire length ofthe Cache River and includes most ofthe Upper and Lower Cache watersheds. The Cache River Assessment Watersheds (CRAW) encompass 19 ofthe 21 (IEPA) 305b watershedsl identified in the basin -- all ofthose that include portions ofor drain into the Cache River. (Figure 2) The 19 watersheds cover approximately 835 mi2 (534,786 acres).The existence and maintenance of many significant natural community features in the Cache River Basin are directly related to its natural and managed hydrology, which is described in detail in Volume 1. I Illinois Environmental Protection Agency 305b reporting watersheds were the unit of analysis used in the statewide screening for Resource Rich Areas. This same physical context has been adopted for the assessment of ecological resources within recognized RRAs. iv LUMET DIS N I"VABA, HI ,, Location ofthe Cache River Assessment Watersheds. Cache River Basin and Assessment Watersheds. There are several hundred landowners within the area, with the majority of land (89%) being held in private ownership. Public land in the area totals more than 59,500 acres. The assessment is comprised of four major parts in two volumes. Volume 1 contains Water Resources which summarizes air quality, climate and surface and ground water quality; and Living Resources which describes terrestrial and aquatic flora and fauna of the area. In Volume 2, the Socio-Economic Profile discusses the demographics, infrastructure, and economy of the area, focusing on the five counties with the greatest amount ofland in the watershed area -- Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pulaski and Union counties. Also in this volume, Early Accounts ofthe Ecology ofthe Cache River Area describes the ecology ofthe area as recorded by historical writings of explorers, pioneers, eady visitors and early historians. vii PART II LIVING RESOURCES Contributors Project Coordinator Anne Mankowski Assessment Summay Anne Mankowski Authors Anne Mankowski, Illinois Natural History Survey David Baker, Office of Realty and Environmental Planning Karen Miller, Office of Realty and Environmental Planning GENERAL SITE DESCRIPTION Author