Agencies
Services
Land and Water Reserve Area
1
County
Jo Daviess
Location
The reserve is in the western part of Jo Daviess County, about three miles south of Galena, with an active railroad corridor running near the southwest border of the property. The site overlooks the backwaters of the Mississippi River known as the Harris Slough.
Description
Casper Bluff Land and Water Reserve provides long term protection to ceremonial and effigy mounds that contain cultural and archaeological importance, including the only intact Thunderbird effigy in Illinois. The site is unique in the abundance of historical documentation of the mound group such as detailed maps, drawings, and written narrative. The natural communities on the reserve include dry-mesic oak savanna, mesic upland forest, open oak woodland, hill prairie, successional grassland, and prairie restoration. Casper Bluff also protects significant wildlife habitat for Species in the Greatest Need of Conservation identified by the Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, particularly woodland and grassland habitats of the Wisconsin Driftless Natural Division.
Ownership
Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation
Natural Division
Wisconsin Driftless Natural Division (#1)
Registered
May 2008
Size
89.5 acres
Access
Casper Bluff is open to the public for recreational use from dawn to dusk daily. A small picnic pavilion is located along the bluff top overlooking the Mississippi River. A gravel trail originates near this pavilion and travels westerly down the side of the bluff connecting to the adjacent Galena River Trail. A parking area is located along the eastern boundary with a kiosk, maps, and signage.
Topographic Quad
Bellevue
For Further Information
Visit the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation Website or Contact the INPC
Illinois Nature Preserves Commission
One Natural Resources Way
Springfield, IL 62702
217-785-8686
DNR.INPC@illinois.gov