- PROGRAM:
- Mississippi River
- PROJECT:
- Inahgeh Wetlands Project
- LOCATION:
- Alexander, Jackson and Union Counties, Illinois
- ACREAGE:
- 5,105 acres
- STATUS:
- Completed 2004
Inahgeh Wetlands Project
Returning Farmland to Wetland Wilderness
Inahgeh is the Cherokee word for wilderness, an apt name for ALC’s program to restore the natural floodplain of America’s greatest river. In 1993, widespread flooding devastated thousands of farms in the Middle Mississippi River floodplain. Many farmers were eager to sell their flood-prone acreage to acquire land on higher ground.
The USDA’s Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service asked ALC to acquire farmland along a 40-mile corridor of the Mississippi River floodplain and along the west side of the Shawnee National Forest. ALC acquired 20 separate properties to restore wetlands habitat. Some of these properties remain privately owned, subject to conservation easements that restrict farming in the floodplain. Others have been acquired by public agencies for fish and wildlife habitat management and public outdoor recreation.
With your help, American Land Conservancy can continue to conserve the very best of our ecological, scenic, recreational, cultural and agricultural resources.
