Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on in Kendall County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The park was established in the late 1960s and is named for the

natural spring A spring is a point of exit at which groundwater from an aquifer flows out on top of Earth's crust (pedosphere) and becomes surface water. It is a component of the hydrosphere. Springs have long been important for humans as a source of fresh w ...

within its boundaries. The park has two

artificial lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

s and the Fox River flows through the northern end of the park. Silver Springs hosts a variety of activities including fishing, hunting, boating and hiking. The park has areas of native

prairie restoration Prairie restoration is a conservation effort to restore prairie lands that were destroyed due to industrial, agricultural, commercial, or residential development. For example, the U.S. state of Illinois alone once held over of prairie land an ...

, a sledding hill and a seven-mile (11 km) equestrian trail. The prairie restoration areas hold many species of plants including

lead plant ''Amorpha'' is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States (US), and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo. The name ''Amorpha'' ...

, and

purple coneflower ''Echinacea purpurea'', the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to s ...

Location

The Park is divided by the Fox River, with the northern area situated next to the

Farnsworth House The Edith Farnsworth House, formerly the Farnsworth House, is a historical house designed and constructed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe between 1945 and 1951. The house was constructed as a one-room weekend retreat in a rural setting in Plano, Il ...

, designed by

Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Ludwig Mies van der Rohe ( ; ; born Maria Ludwig Michael Mies; March 27, 1886August 17, 1969) was a German-American architect. He was commonly referred to as Mies, his surname. Along with Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius and Frank Lloyd ...

. The property that Mrs. Farnsworth bought frames part of the western side of the Park. One of the main access points to the park is a bridge that takes Fox River Drive (Ben Street in Plano), over the river, and to an adjoining road (Fox Road) that runs past the entrance to the park. In the 1960s when the current bridge was being constructed, Mrs. Farnsworth appealed to the Kendall County Board, suggesting a block to the bridge, citing ecological concerns among other things.

History

There is evidence that the Fox River valley near Silver Springs was populated by indigenous people near the end of the last ice age, 10–14,000 years ago. The original tract of land that became Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area was purchased by the state of

in 1969, and has been open since January of that year. The park is located in Kendall County,

, west of the city of Yorkville. Since the original acquisition in 1969, have been added to the park Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area was one of five new state parks opened in northern Illinois from 1969–1971. As part of more than added to the Illinois state park system during this period, Silver Springs opened to alleviate traffic at other state parks in the area. At the time, the

Illinois Department of Natural Resources The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

(IDNR), which oversees the state park system, was attempting to provide the

Chicago area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hint ...

with the most state park facilities in Illinois.Bukro, Casey. "New State Park openings",
ProQuest
, ''Chicago Tribune'', 27 June 1971. Retrieved 30 October 2007. The park had nine extant wells tapping the Galena–Platteville Aquifer when the state purchased the property. By 1973 a modern well was drilled, reaching a depth of . The well, located near the park entrance, was drilled by K & K Well Drilling Co. of Mokena, Illinois through black dirt,

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. Upon completion, the well produced about per day during the summer. The well provides the park with water, but the other nine wells remained in use following its completion.Woller, Dorothy M. and Gibb, James P.
Public Groundwater Supplies in Kendall County
" (

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

), ''Illinois Department of Registration and Education'', 1974, p. 15. Retrieved 30 October 2007. A

project began on within Silver Springs in 1980; was added to the restoration project in 1991.Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
" ''Illinois Department of Natural Resources'', official site. Retrieved 12 October 2007. The IDNR undertook another prairie restoration in an area within the park, on the north side of the Fox River, in 2002. For the 2002 project, the IDNR removed numerous

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

from the area including:

basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since http ...

, and exotic

honeysuckle Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the genus ''Lonicera'' () of the family Caprifoliaceae, native to northern latitudes in North America and Eurasia. Approximately 180 species of honeysuckle have been identified in both contin ...

. The non-native exotic honeysuckle species had thrived in the absence of fire through human intervention. These actions were meant to allow native burr and

black oak Black Oak may refer to: Places in the United States * Black Oak, Arkansas * Black Oak, Daviess County, Indiana * Black Oak, Lake County, Indiana, a neighborhood of Gary, Indiana * Black Oak, Missouri Other * Black Oak Arkansas, American band ** ...

, and

shagbark hickory ''Carya ovata'', the shagbark hickory, is a common hickory in the Eastern United States and southeast Canada. It is a large, deciduous tree, growing well over tall, and can live more than 350 years. The tallest measured shagbark, located in Sa ...

a chance to reproduce.

Bodies of water

Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area covers and includes four distinct bodies of water, two

s, the Fox River, and Silver Springs.Baratta, Divina.
Silver Springs State Fish & Wildlife Area
", ''Chicago Wilderness Magazine'', Winter 2007. Retrieved 12 October 2007. The larger of the two lakes, Loon Lake, covers and has of shoreline. Loon Lake's maximum depth is and it has an average depth of .Map of Loon Lake
vi
Chicago Paddling and Fishing Guide
original map: Hydrologic Survey, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, February 7, 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2007. Loon Lake, sometimes known as Silver Spring Lake, was constructed in 1960 when a lowland area was excavated. The lake's water level is maintained through a small watershed and groundwater seepage. Water quality at Loon Lake was identified as "good" in 1996 by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.Lower Fox River Watershed
" Watersheds of Illinois — 1996, ''Illinois Environmental Protection Agency'', 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2007. Beaver Lake, north of Loon Lake, is smaller, covering . It has almost a half mile (800 m) of shoreline and a maximum depth of ; Beaver Lake's average depth is .Map of Beaver Lake
vi
Chicago Paddling and Fishing Guide
original map: Hydrologic Survey, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, February 7, 1996. Retrieved 12 October 2007. The park's name comes from a

located along a trail on the south end of the park. The spring's name is derived from the effect of sunlight on its surface, which makes the pool appear to shimmer like

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. Even through the winter, the bubbling spring never freezes, and plants often poke through snow surrounding the watercress-bordered pool in the coldest months. Three miles of the Fox River, which Silver Springs empties into, flows through the park's north end.

Wildlife

Plant species native to Illinois prairies prior to European settlement are found within the park's prairie restoration. While the plant life varies by season, species observed in the park include:

, wild bergamot, and purple prairie clover,

black-eyed susan ''Black-Eyed Susan; or, All in the Downs'' is a comic play in three acts by Douglas Jerrold. The story concerns a heroic sailor, William, who has been away from England for three years fighting in the Napoleonic Wars. Meanwhile, his wife, Susa ...

tall coreopsis ''Coreopsis tripteris'' is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is widespread across much of eastern and central North America from the Florida Panhandle west as far as eastern Texas and north to Québec and On ...

, compass plant, wild quinine, rattlesnake master,

New Jersey tea ''Ceanothus americanus'' is a species of ''Ceanothus'' shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild ...

, big bluestem,

switch grass ''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switchgrass is one of the ...

, and

Indian grass ''Sorghastrum nutans'', commonly known as either Indiangrass or yellow Indiangrass, is a North American prairie grass found in the central and eastern United States and Canada, especially in the Great Plains and tallgrass prairies. Description ...

. Along the park's trail, several species of trees are found. Six species of

oak An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...

, three species of ash, and basswood, cottonwood, pawpaw,

Kentucky coffeetree The Kentucky coffeetree (''Gymnocladus dioicus''), also known as American coffee berry, Kentucky mahogany, nicker tree, and stump tree, is a tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the legume family Fabaceae, native to the Midwest, Upper South ...

and hackberry are among the tree species living within the boundaries of Silver Springs.Region Two Ecosystem Program: Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area
" ''Illinois Department of Natural Resources'', Conservation 2000. Retrieved 12 October 2007. The Fox River at Silver Springs has numerous species of freshwater fish including,

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

channel catfish The channel catfish (''Ictalurus punctatus'') is North America's most numerous catfish species. It is the official fish of Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, and Tennessee, and is informally referred to as a "channel cat". In the United States, the ...

, bullhead,

carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...

muskie The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

and

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus '' Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a ...

. The Loon and Beaver Lake fish population is maintained through human stocking. Channel catfish, bass, bluegill and crappie are stocked in both lakes. Besides its prairie restorations and bodies of water, Silver Springs has areas of

deciduous forest In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

s, and

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s, both of which are populated with species of mammals, birds and insects. Bird life observed in the park includes:

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

, great horned owl,

eastern screech owl The eastern screech owl (''Megascops asio'') or eastern screech-owl, is a small typical owl, owl that is relatively common in Eastern North America, from Mexico to Canada. This species is native to most wooded environments of its distribution, a ...

and long-eared owl;

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

have been sighted further upstream along the Fox. Reptiles and amphibians are present in the park but are more elusive than other types of animal life.

Activities

When in season, hunting and fishing are two of the park's primary activities; during the fall and winter over are opened to the public for hunting. Pheasant hunting, through a park operated controlled hunting program, is popular at the park. Dove hunting, squirrel hunting, and bow hunting for deer are also permitted with some restrictions.Thomas, Gary.
Get away for a day: Silver Springs is the perfect place to connect with nature
," ''Outdoor Illinois'', September 2002, via Illinois Periodicals Online, Northern Illinois University. Retrieved 12 October 2007. The park has areas set aside for

trap shooting Trap shooting, or trapshooting in North America, is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting, which is shooting shotguns at clay targets. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays. They are disting ...

, and

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, participants are required to bring their own equipment and restrictions apply. For anglers, Loon Lake is stocked in the spring and fall with

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

and a small one-half acre pond to the east of the lake is stocked annually for children during the National Hunting and Fishing Days, which is marked yearly by events at Silver Springs.Illinois will celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Days Sept. 22-23 Festivals planned for Silver Springs SFWA, John A. Logan College
" ( Press release), ''Illinois Department of Natural Resources'', 17 September 2007. The Fox River is open for fishing from both the bank and boats. There are no motor restrictions and a boat launch is available at the park. The Fox River is shallow near the park and boaters are advised to use caution. Silver Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area has trails for

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and horseback riding. A short, half mile (800 m) trail leads to Silver Springs near the park's east entrance. A longer, trail follows the course of the Fox River through the park's wooded areas. The

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

trail is located in the wildlife management area of the park and stretches . A one-mile (1.6 km) path travels through the prairie restoration area as well. During the winter, much of the park's trail system is open to

cross-country skiing Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is widely practiced as a sport and recreation ...

, and a four-mile (6 km) trail is open to

snowmobiling A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, 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 ...

, weather permitting. When ice thickness permits, the lakes are opened to ice skating and

ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longer ...

Sledding Sledding, sledging or sleighing is a winter sport typically carried out in a prone or seated position on a vehicle generically known as a sled (North American), a sledge (British), or a sleigh. It is the basis of three Olympic sports: luge, skele ...

is another popular activity; Toboggan Hill is located inside the park's east entrance.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Springs State Fish And Wildlife Area State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Kendall County, Illinois Springs of Illinois Protected areas established in 1969 Landforms of Kendall County, Illinois 1969 establishments in Illinois