Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve

Last updated May 01, 2019

The Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve is a 1,048-acre (4.24 km²) park located on the Pecatonica River in western Winnebago County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The nearest municipality is the village of Pecatonica.^[1]

The Pecatonica River is a tributary of the Rock River, 194 miles (312 km) long, in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois in the United States.

Winnebago County, Illinois County in the United States

Winnebago County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 295,266, making it the seventh most populous county in Illinois behind Cook County and its five surrounding collar counties. Its county seat is Rockford.

Illinois is a state in the Midwestern and Great Lakes region of the United States. It has the fifth largest gross domestic product (GDP), the sixth largest population, and the 25th largest land area of all U.S. states. Illinois is often noted as a microcosm of the entire United States. With Chicago in northeastern Illinois, small industrial cities and immense agricultural productivity in the north and center of the state, and natural resources such as coal, timber, and petroleum in the south, Illinois has a diverse economic base, and is a major transportation hub. Chicagoland, Chicago's metropolitan area, encompasses over 65% of the state's population. The Port of Chicago connects the state to international ports via two main routes: from the Great Lakes, via the Saint Lawrence Seaway, to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River, via the Illinois Waterway to the Illinois River. The Mississippi River, the Ohio River, and the Wabash River form parts of the boundaries of Illinois. For decades, Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world's busiest airports. Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and, through the 1980s, in politics.

Description

The Winnebago County Forest Preserve District describes Pecatonica Wetlands as a riverine land parcel of "flood-plain forest, oxbow pond marshes and upland forest." The Forest Preserve District has enhanced the land parcel with fishing access points, 8.0 miles (12.9 km) of hiking trails, picnic areas with 22 picnic tables, and a 200-seat shelterhouse for reserved meetings and family gatherings.^[1] A Forest Preserve District map shows that, in addition, the park has been enriched by tallgrass prairie restoration areas, a snowmobile trail for winter use, and public outhouses.^[2]

The Tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals, were historically agents of periodic disturbance, which regulates tree encroachment, recycles nutrients to the soil, and catalyzes some seed dispersal and germination processes. Prior to widespread use of the steel plow, which enabled conversion to agricultural land use, tallgrass prairies expanded throughout the American Midwest and smaller portions of southern central Canada, from the transitional ecotones out of eastern North American forests, west to a climatic threshold based on precipitation and soils, to the southern reaches of the Flint Hills in Oklahoma, to a transition into forest in Manitoba.

Snowmobile land vehicle designed for winter travel on snow

A snowmobile, also known as a motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, snowscooter, or snowmachine, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not require a road or trail, but most are driven on open terrain or trails. Snowmobiling is a sport that many people have taken on as a serious hobby.

An outhouse, also known by many other names, is a small structure, separate from a main building, which covers a toilet. This is typically either a pit latrine or a bucket toilet, but other forms of dry (non-flushing) toilets may be encountered. The term may also be used to denote the toilet itself, not just the structure itself.

The Wetlands Forest Preserve does not offer overnight campsites, and officially closes 1/2 hour after sunset. The nearest limited-access public way is U.S. Highway 20.^[2] The address of the Forest Preserve, for geolocation purposes, is 5750 Best Road, Pecatonica IL 61063.^[1]

U.S. Route 20 in the U.S. state of Illinois is a major arterial highway that runs from the Iowa state line at East Dubuque at the northwestern tip of Illinois, to the Indiana state line at Chicago south of the Chicago Skyway, a distance of 233.93 miles (376.47 km). For its entire length, US 20 is designated as the General Ulysses S. Grant Highway, often abbreviated the U.S. Grant Memorial Highway. However, this name is only commonly used west of Elgin. From Elgin to Melrose Park, US 20 follows Lake Street. It then follows Mannheim Road, and further south La Grange Road. US 20 also follows 95th Street as it turns east through Chicago's southwestern suburbs. It ultimately leaves Illinois on Indianapolis Boulevard.

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References

1 2 3 "Pecatonica Wetlands". winnebagoforest.org. Winnebago County Forest Preserve District. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
1 2 "Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve" (PDF). winnebagoforest.org. Winnebago County Forest Preserve District. December 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2018.

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[WCFPD-1] 1 2 3 "Pecatonica Wetlands". winnebagoforest.org. Winnebago County Forest Preserve District. Retrieved April 24, 2018.

[District_map-2] 1 2 "Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve" (PDF). winnebagoforest.org. Winnebago County Forest Preserve District. December 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2018.