Cache River (Illinois)

The Cache River is located in southernmost Illinois, in a region sometimes called Little Egypt. Located at the convergence of four major physiographic regions, the river is part of the largest complex of wetlands in Illinois. The Cache River wetlands are the northernmost cypress/tupelo swamp in the United States, and provide habitat for over 50 threatened and endangered species. In 1996, the Cache was designated a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention.

A significant portion of the Cache River wetlands are protected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1990, covers 14,000 acres (57 km²) of aquatic and riparian habitat, and is eventually planned to expand to 35,509 acres (144 km²). The Illinois Department of Natural Resources protects another 14,314 acres (57.9 km²) through the Cache State Natural Area. The Lower Cache River, a habitat that encompasses much of these landholdings, has been listed as a U.S. National Natural Landmark.

History

The Cache River area was used as a trading crossroads by Native Americans, and has several sites of archeological interest within its boundaries, including the Cypress Citadel

site just south of Cypress, Illinois.

 French Voyageurs gave the river its modern name, calling it “cache” which means secret or hidden place.  European settlers arrived in the region in 1803.  They found the soil too wet for farming, and the swamps full of mosquitoes and venomous snakes; many early settlers died of malaria.  However, the Cache provided excellent hunting and fishing, and abundant timber.  One settler wrote home that the Cache River Basin was “good country for men and dogs, but hard on women and oxen.”  Between 1810 and 1890 timber harvesting became a major industry in the Cache basin, cypress wood being sought after for its light, water-resistant properties.  The small towns on the edge of the swamp experienced a small boom during this period.  Several sawmills and small factories sprung up to process timber for lumber, railroad ties, charcoal, and packing crates and boxes.

Drainage and Diversion

After most of the accessible timber was cut, local industry shifted to agriculture and a program of diversion and draining began. The landscape changed dramatically, largely due to a diversion channel that was cut to connect the Cache and the nearby Ohio River. Constructed in 1912-1915, the Post Creek Cutoff divided the Cache into two rivers; the Upper Cache, which drains down the diversion channel to the Ohio; and the Lower Cache, which drains to the original outlet on the Mississippi River. An interesting effect of this diversion is that in times of high water direction of flow on the lower Cache reverses, flowing east to the diversion channel. When the water level in the lower Cache drops below the diversion channel level, flow resumes its westerly travel to the Mississippi.

In 2002 the levee dividing the Post Creek Cutoff and the Lower Cache suffered a catastrophic failure during the spring flood season. The failure of the levee has resulted in dropping water levels in the Lower Cache. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has proposed restoration work including installation of a dam and weir to protect the Cache from water loss, which would stabilize water levels and remedy some of the hydrologic disconnect between the upper and lower Cache. However, the Army Corps of Engineers intends merely to restore the levee to its original condition. No work on either solution has begun as of January 2007.

Conservation Efforts

Since the mid-1980s, efforts have been made to restore the Cache to something more like its historic state. The Citizens Committee to Save the Cache River, a grassroots organization of hunters, fishermen, and nature lovers, enlisted the help of state and federal agencies as well as non-profit groups such as The Nature Conservancy to form the Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture. Over the past fifteen years efforts have been made to control erosion, reduce siltation, stabilize water levels, restore game species habitat and provide recreational opportunities to the public. One long-term goal of the Joint Venture is to restore the hydrologic continuity of the Upper and Lower Cache.

Over the course of the restoration work, there have been tensions between the conservationists and some local landowners. Some of the region’s farmers feared that restoration of the wetlands would cause flooding and loss of agricultural land, and many resented what they perceived as ‘outside influences’ meddling in their communities. Some local sportsmen feared that their favorite hunting and fishing grounds would either be put off limits, or else overrun by visitors. State and Federal agencies have attempted at all times to reach compromise with local landowners and sportsmen, but tensions and resentment remain. The Cache offers ample recreation opportunities, such as canoeing, hiking, bird watching, fishing and hunting. The 45 mile long Tunnel Hill State Bicycle Trail provides an excellent look at the sloughs and bottomland forest as it follows the disused Norfolk Southern railroad grade (originally owned by the Cairo and Vincennes Railroad) from Karnak to Vienna, then continues north through the Shawnee National Forest to Harrisburg, Illinois.