Cache River (Illinois)

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Cache River
A swamp along the river
Cache River Watershed Map
Location
Country	United States
State	Illinois
Physical characteristics
Source
• location	Anna, Union County, Illinois
• coordinates	37°27′00″N 89°14′44″W / 37.45000°N 89.24556°W / 37.45000; -89.24556
Mouth	Ohio River
• location	South of Mound City, Alexander County, Illinois
• coordinates	37°04′01″N 89°10′22″W / 37.06694°N 89.17278°W / 37.06694; -89.17278
Length	92 mi (148 km)
Discharge
• location	https://waterdata.usgs.gov/il/nwis/uv/?site_no=03612000&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060 Forman, IL
• average	312 cu/ft. per sec.
Basin features
Protection status
Ramsar Wetland
Official name	Cache River and Cypress Creek Wetlands
Designated	1 November 1994
Reference no.	711[1]
U.S. National Natural Landmark
Designated	1972 (Heron Pond); 1980 (Lower Cache)

The Cache River is a 92-mile-long (148 km)^[2] waterway in southernmost Illinois, in a region sometimes called Little Egypt. The basin spans 737 square miles (1,910 km²) and six counties: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union.^[3] 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 is America's northernmost cypress/tupelo swamp and harbors 91 percent of the state's high quality swamp and wetland communities. It provides habitat for more than 100 threatened and endangered species in Illinois. In 1996, the Cache was designated a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention.^[4]

A significant portion of the Cache River Wetlands are protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1990, covers 15,000 acres (61 km²) of aquatic and riparian habitat, and is eventually planned to expand to 35,500 acres (144 km²). The Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Cache River State Natural Area protects another 14,489 acres (58.63 km²). Local landowners, through Wetlands Reserve Program easements with Natural Resources Conservation Service, protect an additional 13,500 acres (55 km²) of restored wetlands. Also through NRCS, landowners are using a variety of conservation practices, such as conservation tillage, grassed waterways, and reforestation; many of these practices are through NRCS’ Environmental Quality Incentives and Wildlife Habitat Programs. In all, more than 45,000 acres (180 km²) of private lands are using some sort of NRCS conservation program in the Cache River Watershed.

The Lower Cache River, a habitat that encompasses much of these landholdings, has been listed as a U.S. National Natural Landmark. The Heron Pond – Little Black Slough Nature Preserve, another National Natural Landmark, is located within the upper stretch of the Cache, upstream from the Post Creek Cutoff.