Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on in

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

Schuyler Schuyler may refer to: Places United States * Schuyler County, Illinois * Schuyler County, Missouri * Schuyler, Nebraska, a city * Schuyler County, New York * Schuyler, New York, a town * Schuyler Island, Lake Champlain, New York * Schuyler C ...

, and Mason County,

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

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 territori ...

History

Sanganois is a bottomland area with sloughs, backwater lakes, and timbered ponds. It is near the confluence of the

Sangamon River The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...

and Illinois River.; the original confluence of the meandering Sangamon River channel and the Illinois River is contained within the Sanganois Conservation Area. The area is located in southwestern Mason County, northwestern Cass County, and a small portion in Schuyler County. The area was first owned and operated as private duck clubs. Sanganois Gun Club was the largest club with was purchased by the State of Illinois in 1948. The state has purchased additional acreage to expand over the years, including the new addition of Stewart Lake. Today the Sanganois State Fish and Wildlife Area contains over , of which roughly is water.

Flora

Sanganois contains bottomland timber with

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

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 cottonwood trees.

Fauna

Sanganois contains waterfowl refuges, such as Barkhausen Refuge, Ash Swale Waterfowl Refuge, and Marion-Pickerel Waterfowl Refuge. Sanganois is listed as an Important Birding Area by the

Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

. Tens of thousands of migratory waterfowl, including ducks, American white pelican, tundra swans, and

trumpeter swans The trumpeter swan (''Cygnus buccinator'') is a species of swan found in North America. The heaviest living bird native to North America, it is also the largest extant species of waterfowl, with a wingspan of 185 to 250 cm (6 ft 2 in to 8 ft 2 in ...

, use the site. Migratory shorebirds use the lakes when they are shallow, including species like pectoral sandpipers, least sandpipers,

lesser yellowlegs The lesser yellowlegs (''Tringa flavipes'') is a medium-sized shorebird. It breeds in the boreal forest region of North America. Taxonomy The lesser yellowlegs was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in ...

greater yellowlegs The greater yellowlegs (''Tringa melanoleuca'') is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It breeds in central Canada and southern Alaska and winters in southern North America, Central America, the West Indies and South America. Taxonomy ...

semipalmated plover The semipalmated plover (''Charadrius semipalmatus'') is a small plover. ''Charadrius'' is a Late Latin word for a yellowish bird mentioned in the fourth-century Vulgate. It derives from Ancient Greek ''kharadrios'' a bird found in ravines and ri ...

semipalmated sandpiper The semipalmated sandpiper (''Calidris pusilla'') is a very small shorebird. The genus name is from Ancient Greek ''kalidris'' or ''skalidris'', a term used by Aristotle for some grey-coloured waterside birds. The specific ''pusilla'' is Lati ...

, and

dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus ''Erolia''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown ...

. When the floodplain lakes have deeper water levels,

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari (bird), Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders ...

terns Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of ...

, and ducks make their home. Other birds that nest on the site include:

brown creeper The brown creeper (''Certhia americana''), also known as the American treecreeper, is a small songbird, the only North American member of the treecreeper family Certhiidae. Description Adults are brown on the upper parts with light spotting, r ...

lark sparrow The lark sparrow (''Chondestes grammacus'') is a fairly large New World sparrow. It is the only member of the genus ''Chondestes''. Distribution and habitat It breeds in southern Canada, much of the United States, and northern Mexico. It is much ...

, blue grosbeak,

western meadowlark The western meadowlark (''Sturnella neglecta'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, about in length. It nests on the ground in open grasslands across western and central North America. It feeds mostly on bugs, but will also feed on seeds and berri ...

Eurasian tree sparrow The Eurasian tree sparrow (''Passer montanus'') is a passerine bird in the Old World sparrow, sparrow family with a rich chestnut Crown (anatomy), crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, an ...

Bewick's wren The Bewick's wren (''Thryomanes bewickii'') is a wren native to North America. It is the only species placed in the genus ''Thryomanes''. At about long, it is grey-brown above, white below, with a long white eyebrow. While similar in appearan ...

, and bald eagles.

Recreation

Hunting

There are approximately 60 waterfowl blind sites, huntable acres, and approximately that are open to walk-in hunting. Youth hunting events are available during hunting season. Visitors are encouraged to check in to ensure the site is open to access and to avoid this site during waterfowl and deer hunting seasons, but birders may hike an unpaved road around Knapps Island or the levee.

References

* * {{Authority control State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Cass County, Illinois Protected areas of Mason County, Illinois Protected areas of Schuyler County, Illinois Protected areas established in 1948 1948 establishments in Illinois