Iroquois County State Wildlife Area

Iroquois County State Wildlife Area is situated in a low glacial outwash plain associated with the Kankakee River Valley that consists of marshland, sand ridges and dunes. The initial acquisition of land occurred in 1944 for the purpose of protecting Illinois' declining prairie chicken population. Prairie chickens did not survive and public hunting became the major use. The state purchased an additional 560 acres in 1984. Known as the Hooper Branch Savanna, 480 acres of this parcel is considered the largest single tract of rare native savanna remaining in Illinois. The total acreage at Iroquois County is now 2,480.