Spring Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area is an Illinois state park on in Tazewell 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 ...

Description

The state park is centered on ''Spring Lake'', an long alluvial lake that lies parallel to the Illinois River. The lakebed lies by the foot of the river's

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

bluff in an abandoned bed of the river, also known as a meander scar. It is a shallow lake that is no more than deep and an average depth of . The lake, located in the southwestern corner of Tazewell County, has been extensively altered by dikes built in the 1900s (decade) and the 1950s. The second dike system was built around both old Spring Lake and a second, smaller lake, Saiwell Lake, and caused the two lakes to almost merge into each other. The two lakes are now only separated by a spur dike, and both lakes are now called halves of modern ''Spring Lake''. The nearest major town is

Manito, Illinois Manito is a village in Mason County, Illinois, United States. The population was 1,552 at the 2020 census, down from 1,642 in 2010. On March 31, 2023, an EFU tornado struck northwest of the village. Geography Manito is located in northeastern ...

Flora

Spring Lake has over 17 different species of aquatic vegetation, including

Eurasian milfoil ''Myriophyllum spicatum'' (Eurasian watermilfoil or spiked water-milfoil) is native to Europe, Asia, and north Africa, but has a wide geographic and climatic distribution among some 57 countries, extending from northern Canada to South Africa. It ...

(invasive to Illinois),

lily ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

, and lotus. "The tremendous spring recharge from the bed of the lake amounts to 52 acre feet a day, creating very cold water temperatures under the insulating layer of vegetation for the majority of the summer months. This is a unique situation and only occurs in Spring Lake within the State of Illinois." The site is one of the few remaining upland

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accepts ...

forests that still exist along the Illinois River. There is also oak-hickory woodland.

Fauna

Fish

Spring Lake is managed by 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) for

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

, bluegill, bullhead, carp, channel catfish, crappie, muskie,

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 p ...

, and sunfish. The water of the lake, fed by abundant local springs, is cooler than most Illinois River lakes. In the 1980s, both north and south lakes were rehabilitated to remove an undesirable carp and

gizzard shad ''Dorosoma'' is a genus that contains five species of shads, within the herring family Clupeidae. The five species are native to the North and/or Central America, and are known from both fresh water and the waters of estuaries and bays. The Am ...

population. This rehabilition improved water clarity, helped aquatic plants to grow, and improved the desirable fish population. Muskie are trap netted and spawned at Jake Wolf Fish Hatchery annually in March, producing over half a million eggs for state-wide needs.

Birds

Spring Lake is a popular birding area, with species such as:

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers Th ...

vireo The vireos make up a family, Vireonidae, of small to medium-sized passerine birds found in the New World (Canada to Argentina, including Bermuda and the West Indies) and Southeast Asia. "Vireo" is a Latin word referring to a green migrato ...

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

s, mute swans, waders,

dabbling ducks The Anatinae are a subfamily of the family Anatidae ( swans, geese and ducks). Its surviving members are the dabbling ducks, which feed mainly at the surface rather than by diving. The other members of the Anatinae are the extinct moa-nalo, a y ...

snow bunting The snow bunting (''Plectrophenax nivalis'') is a passerine bird in the family Calcariidae. It is an Arctic specialist, with a circumpolar Arctic breeding range throughout the northern hemisphere. There are small isolated populations on a few ...

longspur The longspurs, genus ''Calcarius'', are a group of birds in the family Calcariidae. The name refers to the long claw on the hind toe of each foot. The genus formerly included the thick-billed longspur, ''Rhyncophanes mccownii'', which is now p ...

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 ...

, spoonbills,

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue colour. Its name comes from that of a bird — the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'') — which presents a similarly coloured stripe on its head. The word is oft ...

, and waterfowl. Peoria Audubon Society has logged about 250 species.

Recreation

Fishing

There are four boat launching ramps. IDNR enforces a power limit of in the lake.

Hunting

Waterfowl, squirrel, and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the re ...

archery hunting are permitted at Spring Lake.

Hiking

There are five trails within the park in mixed pine plantation and oak-hickory woodland: the Stage Coach Road (, Deer Run (, and the Whispering Pine which is divided into three separate trails (, , and .

Camping

There are two Class C campgrounds in the north park: Pine Campground and Oak Campground. Tent camping is also available. There are five-day use areas with picnic tables, and two of these have shelters available.

References

* * State parks of Illinois Protected areas of Tazewell County, Illinois Illinois River Lakes of Illinois Protected areas established in 1950 1950 establishments in Illinois Landforms of Tazewell County, Illinois {{TazewellCountyIL-geo-stub