Dixon Waterfowl Refuge at Hennepin & Hopper Lakes

For most of the 20th century, Hennepin and Hopper Lakes in Putnam County, Illinois, were drained to make way for corn and soybean fields. But these backwater lakes in the floodplain of the Illinois River 40 miles north of Peoria roared back to life in 2001 when the Wetlands Initiative turned off the drainage pumps and began restoration.

A decade later, the 2,700-acre project is one of the premier natural areas in the state and is open to the public 365 days a year. Today a mosaic of lakes, marshes, seeps, savannas, and prairies support native flora and fauna. The project was named an Audubon Important Bird Area in 2004. In 2005, the project was dedicated as the Sue and Wes Dixon Waterfowl Refuge in recognition of the high-quality habitat present at the site.

In 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service declared the refuge a Wetland of International Importance in accordance with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. This designation recognizes the refuge's value for the rare wetlands, endangered species, native fish populations, and large numbers of migratory waterfowl it supports. Only 33 other sites in the U.S. have received this recognition over the past 40 years.

More than 260 bird species have been observed nesting, foraging, or resting at the refuge, and more than 670 native plants also thrive at the site. The refuge is protected in perpetuity as a natural area. Only two hours from the Chicago region, it is an educational and recreational resource to treasure.

The Initiative’s overall goal is to restore the complex mosaic of prairie, wetland, and savanna habitat that once characterized this region, with special emphasis on restoring the levels of biodiversity once typical of the Illinois landscape prior to European settlement.

Read more about the refuge's history here.

Support for the Initiative's 2011 work at the Dixon Waterfowl Refuge has been generously provided by Grand Victoria Foundation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's NAWCA Small Grants Program, Buchanan Family Foundation, Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Foundation, Brunswick Public Foundation, and Dr. Scholl Foundation.