Barge Transport of Illinois River Sediment from Peoria to Chicago

A barge load of sediment excavated by clamshell from Lower Peoria Lake was shipped to Chicago, Ill. It was loaded onto trucks with a large excavator and placed at a conservation area and the Paxton I landfill reclamation site (Figures 1 and 2). The material handled well and maintained its consistency in the barge and after placing. It readily dumped from the trucks and formed piles about 2.5 feet high. The demonstration showed that this material can be transported and handled with conventional equipment and placed on fields without the necessity of using engineered containment structures

Are Wild Bee Pollinator Populations Declining?

How climate change may affect insect pollinator populations in the Midwest.Environmental Change Institute UIUCAgroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program UIUCunpublishednot peer reviewe

Backwater Restoration Opportunities: Illinois River

During the past two centuries the Illinois River and its hydrology have been altered numerous times. Early navigation works, levees, diversion, agricultural and urban drainage practices, locks and dams and other changes all contributed to habitat modification. Over the years the river has changed from a free flowing stream bisecting a broad floodplain to a series of pools with substantial areas of leveed floodplain. The image conjured by the term “restoration” varies with the time frame used as a base. Given that all major navigation dams were in place by the1940's, a common vision of a restored river includes permanently flooded lakes and backwaters with sufficient depth to support the flora and fauna which were abundant in the early 1950's as well as recreational boating. Others envision a relatively free flowing river with a variety of backwater and side channel habitats.Ope

Evaluation of Sediment Removal Options and Beneficial Use of Dredged Material for Illinois River Restoration: Preliminary Report

The overall habitat quality of the Illinois River is significantly degraded by over 100 years of sediment accumulation. Once-deep backwaters and side channels have lost well over 70 percent of their water storage capacity and in many areas average about a foot deep. A twenty-year restoration project by the State of Illinois and Army Corps of Engineers is being planned to address this problem. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is evaluating methods of restoring habitat diversity by removing sediment to create a variety of water depths and elevations on the floodplain and islands. Numerous agencies and private companies have cooperated in this effort. This paper provides an overview of the work in progress and preliminary results. Potential beneficial uses of the sediment include topsoil and island formation. For these purposes it is best to add as little water as possible during dredging. The Dry Dredge™ completed a small pilot island in two feet of water by filling a ring of geotextile tubes and then pumping sediment at in situ moisture content into the ring. The Dry Dredge™ and a conventional clamshell also piled sediment at various elevations on an existing island where consolidation and erosion were observed. The transport of freshly excavated sediment on conventional conveyor belts was demonstrated. Sediment cores six feet in length were taken with a vibracore and analyzed for a variety of chemical and physical parameters. Plant growth in sediment was compared to that of native topsoil in greenhouse tests, and field tests with corn and soybeans are underway. Prior dredged material placement sites were investigated to determine the agronomic properties of the sediment after years of weathering. Additionally, clam shelled sediment at in situ moisture content was trucked to a former industrial site where the progress of soil formation is being monitored along with the appearance of plants. The potential exists for unloading sediment from barges directly onto brownfields and farmland with slurry pumps. A hydrodynamic model was developed to predict project impacts on flood heights, water flow and sedimentation rates. Researchers are also looking into various methods of detecting objects buried in sediment.Ope

Potential Use of Innovative Dredge Technology and Beneficial Use of Sediment for River Restoration

This paper focuses on an overview of concepts for removing sediment from the backwaters and side channels of the Illinois River.Ope

Long Distance Transport of Illinois River Dredged Material for Beneficial Use in Chicago

Sedimentation severely impacts aquatic habitat along the Illinois River system in Illinois. The problem is especially severe in backwater lakes and the Peoria Lakes that are bisected by the navigation channel. The State of Illinois and the US Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with local governments and other organizations, are investigating methods of restoring the river’s watershed. Key elements of the developing restoration plan include reducing future sedimentation and removing large quantities of sediment from the backwaters. This paper reports on a pilot project for sediment removal and beneficial use. Sediment mechanically excavated from Lower Peoria Lake is being transported by barge 270 km (168 mi) for use as topsoil. It is being placed on fields at the old US Steel South Works mill bordering Lake Michigan. The site is currently covered with slag and has no topsoil. The area will become part of the Chicago Park District’s lakefront park system.Ope

Woodland Wildflowers in Your Yard

Provides information about woodland wildflowers commonly used in Illinois landscaping.Ope

Underground Lives of Woodland Wildflowers

Provides an overview and photos of spring woodland wildflowers that are native to Illinois.Ope

Plant-pollinator interactions over 120 years: loss of species, co-occurrence, and function

Using historic data sets, we quantified the degree to which global change over 120 years disrupted plant-pollinator interactions in a temperate forest understory community in Illinois, USA. We found degradation of interaction network structure and function and extirpation of 50% of bee species. Network changes can be attributed to shifts in forb and bee phenologies resulting in temporal mismatches, nonrandom species extinctions, and loss of spatial co-occurrences between extant species in modified landscapes. Quantity and quality of pollination services have declined through time. The historic network showed flexibility in response to disturbance; however, our data suggest that networks will be less resilient to future changes

A Year of Progress at the Florida-Orchard Prairie

The prairie at Florida and Orchard streets in Urbana underwent a transformation over the 2013 growing season. In April, it was dominated by dandelions and weeds. As the season progressed, a variety of prairie plants transformed the field into a sea of white, purple, and yellow blossoms. As fall turned to winter, the plants became dormant and provided cover for the field's inhabitants. The prairie also attracted insects, including many pollinators and beneficial predators. A variety of birds and small mammals, including a fox, visited the site.Ope