Des Plaines River Study of Ecosystem Restoration, Flood Control

A major survey of the upper Des Plaines River is part of the $9.8 million Phase II Feasibility Study on ecosystem restoration and flood control. Supervised by the Army Corps of Engineers, the project brings together federal, state, and local organizations and is the first comprehensive look at the river's ability to support wildlife and native vegetation and also to evaluate the health of 21 tributaries upstream of the river's confluence with Salt Creek at the village of Riverside.

The upper Des Plaines has been severely affected by urban development. The river flows through communities in Racine and Kenosha counties in southeastern Wisconsin, and through eastern Illinois communities including Gurnee, Libertyville, Vernon Hills, Mount Prospect, Park Ridge, River Grove, Riverside, and, of course, Des Plaines. Major floods in 1986 and 1987 resulted in more than $100 million in damage in these communities, and significant floods occur, on average, every four years. Researchers and community leaders hope that the study can identify projects that will use environmental restoration techniques to help the watershed function as it should.

Data collection began this summer using five measures of biological health. To measure stream quality, Frank Veraldi of the Army Corps' Economic and Environmental Analysis Section led a group to evaluate water habitat quality and species diversity. They were pleased to find the Iowa darter — threatened in Illinois — as well as six species of freshwater mussels in the mainstream Des Plaines in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

"These are mussel species that are relatively tolerant, but their presence still indicates some degree of water and substrate quality," notes Veraldi. "It's good to see them."

Other researchers have been at work on land, using a Habitat Evaluation Protocol (HEP) and a hydrogeomorphic (HGM) model to assess terrestrial and wetland habitat. The HEP measures availability of resources such as shelter and food for key species, while the HGM model measures the level of function for various community types, such as the flatwoods and depressional wetlands that are common to the watershed. A Floristic Quality Assessment has also been conducted, with help from, among others, Gerould Wilhelm, co-author of Plants of the Chicago Region.

Agencies involved in the project include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the EPA, forest preserve districts in Lake and Cook Counties, the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission and the Illinois DNR.

Data collection and analysis are ongoing. For more information about the Phase II study, contact Kimberly Fisher at (312) 353-6400.

— Rebecca Grill