The Nature Conservancy - LMR - Illinois

Horseshoe Lake

In 1927, the Illinois Department of Conservation purchased for development of a Canada goose sanctuary 49 acres on Horseshoe Lake, which is located about seven miles north of Cairo, Ill. The 2,400-acre oxbow was formerly a Mississippi River channel and has a maximum depth of about six feet. Since the construction of a spillway in 1930, it has maintained constantly an average depth of four feet.

Geese populations estimated at up to 150,000 winter in what is now the 11,692-acre Horseshoe Lake State Conservation Area. Bald eagles also winter at the site and have recently begun nesting. The area shelters plants and animals normally found in swampland much further south, including significant stands of bald cypress, tupelo gum and swamp cottonwood trees.

Strategies and Progress

The Conservancy is currently evaluating ways in which it can contribute to Horseshoe Lake conservation efforts.

What's to Gain?

During spring and fall migrations, the Horseshoe Lake area serves as a vital rest stop for many species of birds, including cerulean, prothonotary and additional warblers.

Cattails at sunset

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The Nature Conservancy and its partners work at sites along the entire length of the Mississippi River, from its headwaters in Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico.