Kankakee River area assessment

The Kankakee River Area Assessment covers an area ofapproximately 2,019 mile2 (1,292,230 acres) spanning parts offive counties in eastern Illinois, including most of Kankakee and Iroquois counties and parts ofWill, Ford, and Vermilion counties. The Kankakee River originates three miles southwest of South Bend, Indiana, enters Illinois six miles east ofMomence, and flows 62 miles before its confluence with the Des Plaines River to form the Illinois River. The Iroquois River, originating in Jasper County, Indiana, is the largest tributary ofthe Kankakee River. Once the Iroquois enters Illinois it flows 55 milesuntil itjoinstheKankakeeRiverjustbelowAromaPark. Theboundary ofthis assessment report encompasses 25 subbasins within the Illinois portion ofthe Kankakee and Iroquois River drainage basins. Over 90% ofthis area occurs in the "Grand Prairie" division ofthe state. Two ofthe 25 subbasins in this area, the Kankakee River (upper) and Kankakee River (lower), totaling 231,005 acres, have been designated as a "Resource Rich Area" because they contain significant natural community diversity. The Kankakee Ecosystem Partnership was subsequently formed around this core area of high quality ecological resources. This assessment is comprised offive volumes. In Volume 1, Geology discusses the geology, soils, and minerals in the assessment area. Volume 2, Water Resources, discusses the surface and groundwater resources and Volume 3, Living Resources, describes the natural vegetation communities and the fauna ofthe region. Volume 4 contains three parts: Part I, Socio-Economic Profile, discusses the demographics, infrastructure, and economy ofthe area, focusing on the two counties with the greatest amount ofland in the area --Kankakee and Iroquois counties; Part II, Environmental Quality, discusses air and water quality, and hazardous and toxic waste generation and management in the area; and Part III, ArchaeologicalResources, identifies and assesses the archaeological sites, ranging from the Paleoindian Prehistoric (B.C. 10,000) to the Postwar (AD. 1946), known in the assessment watershed. Volume 5, Early Accounts of the Ecology ofthe Kankakee Area, describes the ecology ofthe area as recorded by historical writings ofexplorers, pioneers, early visitors and early historians.published or submitted for publicatio