The Cache River is a 92-mile-long (148 km) waterway in southernmost Illinois, in a region sometimes called Little Egypt. The basin spans 737 square miles (1,910 km) and six counties: Alexander, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union. 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.
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 km) of aquatic and riparian habitat, and is eventually planned to expand to 35,500 acres (144 km). The Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Cache River State Natural Area protects another 14,489 acres (58.63 km). Local landowners, through Wetlands Reserve Program easements with Natural Resources Conservation Service, protect an additional 13,500 acres (55 km) 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 km) of private lands are using some sort of NRCS conservation program in the Cache River Watershed.
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