Bay Creek Wilderness
Encyclopedia
The Bay Creek Wilderness is a 2866 acres (11.6 km²) parcel of land listed as a Wilderness Area of the United States. It is located within the Shawnee National Forest
in Pope County, Illinois. The nearest town of any size is Eddyville
.
land.
Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939, and in 1990, the Illinois Wilderness Act set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Bay Creek Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest.
Today, the United States Forest Service
manages much of the wilderness; after attempting to re-establish conifers on the land parcel, the agency largely left it alone, and spinneys and groves of hardwood
s reestablished themselves.
, is currently under study for potential listing as a Wild and Scenic River.
, another Wilderness Area within Shawnee National Forest. The Burden Falls waterfall is made up of water flowing out of the Bay Creek Wilderness.
On the southwestern edge of the Bay Creek Wilderness, Bay Creek itself flows through the ghost town
of Watkins Ford, Illinois into Bell Smith Springs, a National Natural Landmark
.
Shawnee National Forest
The Shawnee National Forest, located in the Ozark and Shawnee Hills of Southern Illinois, consists of approximately 280,000 acres of federally managed lands. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Pope, Jackson, Union, Hardin, Alexander, Saline, Gallatin, Johnson, and Massac...
in Pope County, Illinois. The nearest town of any size is Eddyville
Eddyville, Illinois
Eddyville is a village in Pope County, Illinois, United States. The population was 153 at the 2000 census. The Lusk Creek Wilderness is nearby.-Geography:Eddyville is located at ....
.
Second-growth wilderness
As with other wilderness areas within Shawnee National Forest, the Bay Creek Wilderness is made of second-growth forested areas that were used, until the land condemnations of the 1930s, as agricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
land.
Shawnee National Forest was created in 1939, and in 1990, the Illinois Wilderness Act set aside seven separate parcels of land within this National Forest as relatively small wilderness areas. The Bay Creek Wilderness, one of these parcels, is a roadless parcel of land within the national forest.
Today, the United States Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
manages much of the wilderness; after attempting to re-establish conifers on the land parcel, the agency largely left it alone, and spinneys and groves of hardwood
Hardwood
Hardwood is wood from angiosperm trees . It may also be used for those trees themselves: these are usually broad-leaved; in temperate and boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostly evergreen.Hardwood contrasts with softwood...
s reestablished themselves.
Bay Creek
Flowing through and draining most of the Bay Creek Wilderness is the upper reaches, close to the headwaters, of Bay Creek, the watercourse for which the wilderness is named. Bay Creek, a tributary of the Ohio RiverOhio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
, is currently under study for potential listing as a Wild and Scenic River.
Adjacent protected areas
On its northwestern edge, the Bay Creek Wilderness adjoins the Burden Falls WildernessBurden Falls Wilderness
The Burden Falls Wilderness is a 3,775-acre unit of the Shawnee National Forest. It is located in northwestern Pope County and southwestern Saline County, Illinois. The wilderness is characterized by roadless second-growth hardwood forest, punctuated by a small, seasonal waterfall on Burden Creek...
, another Wilderness Area within Shawnee National Forest. The Burden Falls waterfall is made up of water flowing out of the Bay Creek Wilderness.
On the southwestern edge of the Bay Creek Wilderness, Bay Creek itself flows through the ghost town
Ghost town
A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...
of Watkins Ford, Illinois into Bell Smith Springs, a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
.