Today you’ll find flocks of more than 235 species of birds, including coots, egrets, heron, geese, and ducks. You may see thousands of white pelicans migrating across the lakes on a single fall day—an unusual sight in central Illinois. Or you may spot bald eagles congregating on a wooded savanna or watch the many frogs, beaver, muskrats or foxes that make the site home.

This abundance of nature should not be surprising, considering that for centuries—prior to the arrival of European settlers—this slice of floodplain along the Illinois held a pair of backwater finger lakes between the high bluffs to the east and the wide river to the west. The lakes hosted thousands of waterfowl each year, earning the nearby town of Hennepin the moniker the “Duck Capital of the World.”

The fortunes of the birds began to turn, however, when Illinois passed the “Swamp Land Act” in 1852, authorizing the sale of “Swamp Land” to settlers for 80 cents per acre—and some severely floodprone lands at only 10 cents per acre. The intention of the early purchasers was to “improve” the land by draining it.

And drain it they did. By 1908, landowners in the floodplain banded together to create the Hennepin Drainage Levee District. The new district built a levee to wall off the river and installed a pump to drain the lakes. By fighting off the water, farmers were able to grow corn and soybeans on the fertile floodplain for most of the 20th century.

In the 21st century, however, the site is returning to its 19th century landscape. In 2001, TWI acquired control of the land from nine landowners. Immediately, TWI turned off the pumps. Within weeks, the water—and the birds—were back. By fall, water from the natural seeps, springs, and precipitation flowed over nearly 1,000 acres, even though the levee was still intact.

That first fall, noted Illinois naturalist and author Frank Bellrose wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times about the “amazing” transformation at Hennepin & Hopper: “I have never witnessed such a rapid turnaround. Less than a year ago, the area was agricultural fields. Today, there is a magically alive wetland preserve including two backwater lakes whose water is so clear that you can see the bottom of their 9-foot-depth.”

On September 17, 2005, TWI dedicated the Sue & Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes in recognition of the abundant habitat now present at the site. The Dixons have been long-standing supporters of the project since its inception.

Ironically, TWI continues to maintain a piece of the site’s agricultural past: its drainage pump.

“We use the pump to draw down the water to simulate summer conditions—similar to natural backwater lakes,” said Gary Sullivan , TWI’s ecologist. “Many flora and fauna thrive in the natural cycle of seasonal draw-downs. The result is greater biodiversity across a wider variety of habitats—one of the primary goals of the restoration.”

The drainage district levee and pumps remain intact throughout the restoration work because damming, dredging, and agricultural runoff have drastically altered water levels in the river, preventing a complete return to a natural hydrologic regime, said Sullivan.

Since restoration began, diverse natural communities have been flourishing. Remnant species native to sedge meadows, fens, and marshes have appeared on the site, including a carpet of the state-endangered yellow monkey-flower not seen in the area for at least two decades.

Even before any aquatic vegetation had been planted, birds began to visit the newly ponded area. Ornithologist Doug Stotz, conservation ecologist at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History and a TWI board member, observed at least 139 species that first spring, including the state-threatened pied-billed grebe, bald eagle, and black tern. Each year, the area attracts more breeders, in addition to the migrants.

“Northern pintails have been observed with chicks on the site,” said Sullivan. “Birders say that they’ve never seen pintail chicks raised in Illinois.” In 2004 the site was named as one of the first Important Bird Areas in Illinois.

Staff and researchers from several Midwestern universities are establishing study plots within differing ecosystems on the site. Studies will look at the development of plant community productivity, animal habitat quality, wetland and prairie soil characteristics, nitrogen storage capacity, and resistance to exotic invasions. Information will aid other large scale restoration projects in the river.

The idea of acquiring and restoring large tracts of land in the floodplain is not a new one. Fifty years ago, the Illinois Department of Conservation identified eight drainage and levee districts suitable for immediate and acquisition and development as state conservation areas. Yet, in the intervening period, only one has been purchased and converted. The others—comprising 53,000 acres—remain in agricultural production or urban use.

Today there are unprecedented opportunities for restoration on a large scale. In the past decade, both federal and state governments have initiated programs that encourage the conversion of marginal agricultural lands to wetlands or other natural areas. These programs create for the first time an economic incentive for landowners to return their property to wetlands. For example, the Hennepin & Hopper Lakes Project made extensive use of USDA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program funds and a $500,000 grant from the North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) to assist with land acquisition. Individuals, foundations, and corporation also have contributed generously to the $15-million project.

TWI expects this project to become just one of many large-scale restoration efforts that could occur in the Upper Mississippi River Basin. These projects will improve water quality, increase habitat and biodiversity, reduce flood peaks and flood damages, and create opportunities for recreation and economic development.

REI proudly supports the Hennepin & Hopper Lakes Project